Portugal relies on artificial intelligence to boost exports

LISBON (Reuters) – At a time when the slowdown in the global economy is perceived as a threat to Portugal's growth, the country is banking on a new platform of artificial intelligence to help companies boost their exports.

Launched by the AICEP, the public agency responsible for promoting exports and investments, the platform uses artificial intelligence technology, including machine learning, big data and design, to provide customized services to thousands of businesses.

"The platform will be a brave new world," AICEP President Luis Castro Henriques told Reuters. "This will allow us to attract more companies to the internationalization, serve them better and be more productive."

Called "Portugal Exporta", it offers a range of services to its clients, such as the matching of companies and investors, information on potential partners and internationalization plans customized for each company.

"The platform will certainly bring important results for export growth (…) and, therefore, new records in 2019, even though we are currently witnessing a slowdown," said Henriques.

The surge in exports and the boom in tourism spurred Portugal's recovery after the 2011-2014 debt crisis and its rescue.

In 2017, the economy experienced the strongest economic growth since the turn of the century but last year, export growth slowed and economic expansion slowed down slightly.

The weight of exports in the country's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 44% last year, compared with 30% in 2010, when companies were forced to find external markets during the severe crisis-induced downturn of the euro area debt.

"The goal is that exports reach 50% of GDP by 2025," said Henriques. "For this to happen, Portugal must continue to increase its exports, diversify its markets, but also to bring more companies to export on a recurring basis."

Portugal has 44,000 companies that can export but only 23,000 do so regularly, according to data from the National Institute of Statistics of Portugal.

"When the platform is fully operational, we should be able to serve all Portuguese companies with an export profile," said Henriques.