Portugal is “at a strategic turning point” to reinforce its digital competitiveness, said Bernardo Correia, Secretary of State for Digitalization, at the Axians Portugal Digital Awards ceremony, an initiative by that company in partnership with Goingnext, which Expresso joined with a media partner, which took place this evening at the Estoril Casino.
The government official highlighted that the country is now seen by international investors as a solid destination for technology and artificial intelligence (AI). “Outside they talk about Portugal with an optimism that we sometimes don’t feel internally”, he said, recalling meetings in other member states, and even on the other side of the Atlantic, in the United States, where the country is often highlighted for its current economic growth and its ability to attract investment. “Portugal has unique conditions to compete at the forefront of European digital”, he reinforced.
Bernardo Correia highlighted, however, that the digital transformation of the State is a critical factor in increasing national productivity. “It’s not worth digitizing before simplifying. Replacing papers with PDFs does not create efficiency”, he stated, defending a structural change based on the principle of trust between the State, companies and citizens. The objective is theoretically simple: 100% digital and accessible public services by 2030, the achievement of which now has the support of the recently appointed chief technology officer (CTO) of the State, Manuel Dias, and his team.
From the Secretary of State’s perspective, AI should be a central axis of the country’s economic strategy. Portugal, he said, brings together the five essential factors to achieve this goal: talent, competitive renewable energy, international connectivity, available financing and balanced regulation. “We have unique conditions to attract investment and create value from AI”, he highlighted, highlighting the Amália AI model as an example of national scientific capacity.
The government official also reinforced the challenge of digital skills, remembering that only 56% of Portuguese people have basic digital literacy. “If we have already arrived here, imagine what we can do with 80% of Portuguese people with these skills”, he stated, anticipating the launch of the Digital Skills Pact, which aims to train two million Portuguese people by 2030, and which was under public consultation until last week.
Bernardo Correia ended his speech with a direct appeal to the private sector. “We need them to continue creating products that simplify companies’ lives and investing in digital training. Only then will Portugal be able to compete at the front line.”
A decade of transformation
The 10th edition of the Axians Portugal Digital Awards marked a decade of monitoring technological developments in the country, in a year in which AI dominated a large part of the finalist projects. “It has been 10 years where we have built the main digital transformation award in Portugal”, stated Gabriel Coimbra, highlighting that over this period “more than two thousand applications” have passed through the competition.
The Goingnext partner recalled what he considers the three major phases of digital transformation in Portugal: the experimentation phase in 2015-2016, the acceleration driven by the pandemic in 2019-2020 and, more recently, the “even more important acceleration, greatly influenced by AI”. This year, the 59 finalists represent more than ten sectors, with banking and energy leading in number of projects.
Carmo Palma also gave a historical overview of the projects that marked the last decade and that were distinguished with prizes at the Axians Portugal Digital Awards. Well-known examples such as the MB Way, the Digital Mobile Key or the automatic renewal of the Citizen Card. “It is a source of pride to have been able to follow and recognize these very relevant projects throughout this decade,” he stated.
The managing director of Axians Portugal also highlighted the consistency of companies such as EDP and Fidelidade, which were present in all editions of these awards, as well as the role of digital leaders awarded over the years. “Your projects were relevant and made the jury’s life difficult”, he acknowledged, addressing the 2025 finalists.
Among the 17 winners of the 10th edition of the Axians Portugal Digital Awards, which you can find in the list below, the highlights are those awarded in the two special categories: Grand Digital Transformation Award and Best Digital Leader, respectively awarded to MC Sonae, with the Smart Retail project, the largest smart store in the world, and to Paulo Fernandes, former President of Fundão City Council.
When receiving the distinction, the former mayor highlighted that innovation “can be democratized even in a rural and agricultural territory”, remembering that Fundão, “small in number of people, but big in soul and openness to innovation”, proved that “in the most unlikely places extraordinary things happen”. Paulo Fernandes highlighted the role of local authorities as “one of the best public policy laboratories”, valued the work of local teams and argued that digital transformation only makes sense when “the probable becomes normal for all parts of the territory”.
Meet the winners of the Axians Portugal Digital Awards and learn more about the projects here.
Digital Grand Awards – Special Categories
Grand Digital Transformation Award | Best Retail & Distribution Project
| Best Future of Customer & Consumers Project
MC (SONAE) – Smart Retail | The biggest smart store in the world
Best Digital Leader
Paulo Fernandes, Former President of the Fundão City Council
Digital Industry Awards – Categories by Market Segments
Best Banking Project
CGD – Transformation of customer service and service
Best Insurance Project
Fidelity – Sofia.pt
Best Manufacturing Project
INEGI – FLASH COMP
Best Energy & Utilities Project
EDP Group – Scale Up O&M
Best Professional Services Project
Ascendi IGI – Centralized Video Analysis for Automatic Detection of Road Incidents
Best Healthcare Project
CUF – AI in Clinical Imaging
Best Tourism Project
Pestana Hotel Group – Digital Customer Interaction Platform
Best Transportation & Logistics Project
CTT – Tray Vision
Best Central Government Project
ART – App GOV.PT
Best Local Government Project
Fundão City Council – Fundão Integrated Innovation Project
Digital Transformation Awards – Categories by Type of Transformation
Best Future of Business Analytics Project
Galp – Power Predictive Models
Best Future of Work Project
Words – Digitalism
Best Future of Operations Project
Visteon Portuguesa – Line Monitor
Best Future of Ecosystem Project
Millennium bcp – pagaFlex
Best Startup
Out of Limits – NEUROSTAND
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