Telecommunications, consulting, programming and even a law school: 7 companies were recognized in the 6th edition of the PME Heroes Award. The presentation of the winners took place yesterday, June 27, the date on which the International Day of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is also celebrated.

Created in 2016, the Heróis PME Award was developed by Yunit Consulting and aims to distinguish and publicize the life stories of Portuguese entrepreneurs and their companies. This initiative, which “unites reason with emotion”, aims to inspire the business community, giving voice and visibility to those who are true examples of strength, courage and vision, who generate employment and wealth for the country and who stand out for their resilience. , good practices and the ability to overcome obstacles.

“At Yunit Consulting we believe in the humanization of communication and the Heroes PME initiative is proof of this. The topics we deal with are highly emotional: we help realize and fulfill ambitions and dreams, through investments, and doubts, hesitations and fears often arise. Therefore, we decided to create communication that gave security and “permission” for ambition – showing a willingness to support – and, at the same time, created a sense of community and purpose. And that’s how the PME Heroes emerged,” the company says.

According to the consultancy firm, this award highlights Yunit Consulting’s unique DNA, which accompanies SMEs throughout their life cycle – from strategic thinking to implementing change – and helps them drive growth.

How are the winners chosen?

Divided into five categories – HPME General (Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises), S Factor, Digital Transformation, Internationalization and New Startup – the PME Heroes Award distinguishes real and verifiable stories. But there are specific criteria for each area.

The General HPME category evaluates courage, business vision and impact on the local community. In the S Factor (Sustainability) category, ESG criteria, the financial sustainability of the project and its scalability and innovation potential are evaluated.

In the Digital Transformation category, innovation and strategy, technology, processes and customers are considered. In Internationalization, export capacity, international prospecting and projection, productive capacity and the degree of innovation are assessed.

Finally, in the Breakthrough Startup category, the criteria are the relevance of the idea to the economy, growth potential, differentiating vision, pitch quality, diversity and human resources.

A positive balance

For the first time since the initiative was created, the General Heroes SMEs category awarded a winner per subcategory -Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises-, growing 16% compared to the last edition. “This growth was driven by the new segmentation that allowed companies to relate more closely to the initiative, taking into account the criteria that allow them to be characterized and included in their business level. On the other hand, the new structure of the General Pymes Heroes category reinforced the recognition of SMEs, regardless of their size, distinguishing them as examples of entrepreneurship,” states the consultant.

Of the companies that applied for this edition, the majority were based in the districts of Lisbon and Porto (24% each), followed by Leiria (12%) and Setúbal (10%). As for the sectors represented, Industry led the number of applications. As in the last edition, the Sustainability category registered a very positive trend, growing by 38% compared to 2023. “This shows, once again, that Portuguese SMEs keep responsible practices on the radar of their operations,” says Yunit Consulting.

How do companies view this distinction?

In its eight years of history, this award has received more than 600 applications and awarded 80 companies, generating a direct impact on their employees. “The PME Héroes Award is, first of all, public recognition of the determination and entrepreneurial capacity of SMEs. In addition, it has a very strong internal impact: the common effort of preparing an application promotes a greater feeling of belonging to the organization among the employees of these SMEs. On the other hand, the participation of all interested parties in the story voting process also has an enhancing effect on these connections, which is very relevant for companies. The teams are more motivated and, in the long term, this generates new opportunities for strategic alliances,” says the consultant.

Discover the complete list of winners

Microenterprise Subcategory

1st place – NBI – Natural Business Intelligence

Small Business Subcategory

1st place – Cocktail team

Medium business subcategory

1st place – Code for everyone

S factor category

1st place – Olimec

Category Digital Transformation

1st place – Mastering – DAUTI

Internationalization Category

1st place – Creators of Innovation

Start Revelation

1st place – Barkyn

Yunit Consulting

Founded in 2001, Yunit Consulting is a management consultancy specialising in supporting investment and capitalisation of companies through financial and tax incentives. With offices in Lisbon and Porto, the company already has more than 600 clients and 900 projects completed.