Footwear will be in debate at the Ministry of Economy from tomorrow on

The Portuguese footwear industry will be in debate and exhibition at the Ministry Of Economy from Monday until July 13 in order to publicize the project of innovation and digital economy of the FOOTure sector.

"With this initiative, the Ministry of Economy joins the Strategic Plan of the Portuguese Footwear Industry, which aims to make Portuguese footwear the great international reference in terms of sophistication and creativity, reinforcing Portuguese exports based on a national productive basis, sustainable and highly competitive, based on knowledge and innovation," says the Portuguese Association of Footwear, Components, Leather Goods and Its Substitutes (APICCAPS).

In a statement, the association announced that in Espaço 560, in the Ministry’s headquarters, on Horta Seca street, in Lisbon, will be exhibited some of the new technical and technological solutions in the footwear industry, being also scheduled the making of four thematic events about the future of the footwear industry in Portugal. Both initiatives will be open to the general public.

"The project Espaço 560 of the Ministry of Economy intends to promote Portuguese industry and its added values in a future and contemporary logic, being one of the measures of the i.4.0 initiative”, says APPICAPS, underlining that, "through an expositive concept and of thematic workshops cycles, it will be shown the capacity and potential of Portugal in the design, conception, production and marketing of components and products of various industries”.

The FOOTure exhibition will be inaugurated on Monday, by 6 p.m., with the presence of the minister of Economy, and in this same day it will start the cycle of workshops, whose topics will be "Startup Generation” (18 June), "Digital platforms of trade” (25 June), "Circular Economy” (2 July) and "Design as a critical factor” (9 July). 

The FOOTure 4.0 presents itself as a "roadmap for digital economy” which aims to "explore the opportunities created by Industry 4.0”, involving "a new ecosystem” of more than 70 entities between enterprises, ‘startup’ (companies with growth potential), universities, intelligence centres and entities from the scientific and technological system”. 

The initiative predicts an investment of 50 million euros in innovation and digital economy to make the footwear sector, "the world leader in customer relations through product sophistication, quick response and service level”. 

With the FOOTure 4.0 it is also intended to attract young people and to create skills, qualifying the top management of companies and to promote qualified entrepreneurship, as well as to promote the collective image of the industry.