Anas El Arras has been appointed CEO of the Algarve Tech Hub. The founder and CEO of GrowIN Portugal has accepted the challenge of putting this organisation’s strategic plan into practice, the aim being to make the Algarve one of the world’s leading ecosystems for companies operating in the field of innovation.

Anas El Arras’ entrepreneur profile and his international career path lie at the heart of this appointment.

Furthermore, the CEO, who was born in Morocco and has a proven track record in an international career spanning half the globe, chose the Algarve as the place to settle and work. According To Algarve Tech Hub: “He is living proof of the region’s potential to attract business people and entrepreneurs from around the world wishing to develop their projects here”.

The Algarve Tech Hub’s new CEO says he is “very honoured and grateful for the opportunity to take on this new role, as well as for the trust and support of all of the stakeholders involved. As I see it, the Algarve has everything that is needed to become one of the world’s leading innovation ecosystems. I am committed to using my knowledge and network of contacts to achieve this shared goal for the region”.

Miguel Fernandes, director of the not-for-profit business association, Algarve Evolution, which brings together various technology companies, some of them from outside Portugal, sees in Anas El Arras “an example of what defines our ecosystem: dynamic, welcoming, multicultural and open to new ideas and the potential of innovation”.

Francisco Serra, chairman of the board of the Algarve STP, considers that the Algarve Tech Hub’s new CEO will bring “a lot of international experience, in-depth knowledge and leadership, all of which are needed in order to put the strategic plan for the region into practice. We at the Algarve STP will give all of our support and we are eager to work together on the development of this regional vision”. The University of Algarve also sees Anas El Arras’s appointment to the position of CEO in a favourable light.

“We have worked hard to get where we are today. We are eager to put our vision for the region into practice with concrete measures, under Anas’s leadership”, enthuses Hugo Barros, director of the CRIA – Divisão de Empreendedorismo e Transferência de Tecnologia (Division of Entrepreneurship and Technology Transfer) at the University of Algarve.

The Algarve Tech Hub was the result of a vision shared by technology companies, start-ups, local authorities, central government and universities to develop a robust ecosystem in the Algarve in the area of new technologies, attracting international stakeholders, technological talent, investors and digital nomads to the region.