AEP - Portuguese Business Association, CCI

AEP is active in its business environment both nationally and internationally. promoting, supporting and encouraging sustainable, profitable business growth and positively influencing the environment in which businesses operate through training, advice, information and support.

Through its activity to drive internationalization and external promotion, AEP has been continually developing external promotion activities, including business missions (sectoral or multi-sectoral), collective participation in international fairs, temporary exhibitions of products – market week – and permanent exhibitions of products – showrooms.

 We highlight the organization of seminars, forums and workshops, conducting studies on the several markets and promotional material, as for example, the directory of Portuguese Exporting Companies, as well as the support of business missions to Portugal and an entire permanent work of tailored support to companies that attend the numerous activities of internationalization.

 Over the past 26 years, AEP has acted in several foreign markets in Europe, Africa (with special focus to the PALOP countries, namely Angola and Mozambique, as well as Libya, South Africa, Senegal and the Maghreb), Latin America, the East (China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan are priority markets and recently Singapore, Indonesia, South Korea and Vietnam), the Middle East and, more recently, the United States (with locally focused activities in New York, Miami and Chicago) and Canada.

 In short, over the years, AEP claimed the position as a leading organization to support the internationalisation strategy of Portuguese companies. Proof  of this solid activity on international entrepreneurship among small and medium-sized enterprises, since 2015, AEP has been part of the Enterprise Europe Network, the world’s largest support network for small and medium-sized enterprises and startups with international ambitions, active in 39 countries in all regions of the EU, bringing together around 460 member organizations.

 The Enterprise Europe Network in Portugal is a very important internationalisation driver, supporting and connecting companies, bringing together firms to build new relationships, share best practices, foster new opportunities and provide practical support to help businesses trade globally.