The Business Plan module of the 20th Executive MBA at Católica Porto Business School concluded with seven teams pitching their business projects to a panel of investors and experts from the business and financial ecosystem.
Throughout the semester, participants were challenged to identify real market problems, validate solutions, develop business models and prepare investor pitches, in an exercise designed to bridge academic learning with the realities of entrepreneurship and innovation.
The projects presented covered a wide range of topics, including logistics decarbonisation and energy efficiency, the digitalisation of the construction sector, healthcare and longevity, emergency response solutions, ESG data management, and wellbeing and conscious consumption.
The panel of investors included Adriana Leal, Executive Director at Raize and Non-Executive Board Member at Banco Português de Fomento; Ricardo Vieira Alves, Board Member at Cuidafarma; Rita Vilas-Boas, Partner at Angel Invest; Jorge Condesso, CEO and Founder of Magellan Atlantic Capital Fund; Céu Carvalho, R&D&I Grants and Incentives Partner at KPMG Portugal; and Jorge Morgado, Board Member at Banco BAI.
Throughout the development of their projects, participants were supported by Vítor Verdelho, entrepreneur, Visiting Professor at Católica Porto Business School and specialist in biotechnology and innovation, and Susana Costa e Silva, Associate Professor at Católica Porto Business School, Director of the Master's in Management, Co-Director of the PhD in Management, and Co-Director of CIGMA – Centre for Impact in Global Management.
The final presentations gave participants the opportunity to test their ideas before a panel of professionals with extensive experience in assessing investment opportunities, receiving valuable feedback on the feasibility of their solutions, their market potential and the robustness of their business models.
This component of the Executive MBA is designed to provide an experience that closely reflects the realities of the business world, challenging participants to develop market-driven projects and present them in a setting that mirrors a real investor pitch.
Applications are now open for the 22nd edition of the Executive MBA, which begins in October 2026. Find out more about the programme and explore the curriculum in detail here.
