Lisbon’s Camara Municipal private tour

Today I had the opportunity to visit Lisbon’s Camara Municipal (City Council) and have lunch with an advisor of Lisbon Mayor Carlos Moedas.

After trailing in the polls, Moedas’ surprise election a year ago was celebrated by the local and international business community. His supporters are hoping that the liberal Harvard MBA graduate and former Goldman Sachs banker will be able to infuse some private sector flavor into a very old, very slow and very bureaucratic institution. According to my lunch companion, it IS an everyday struggle.

One of the hot button issues for the mayor, who has three years left on his four year mandate, is housing.

The new administration is facing the challenge to urgently provide more housing (both social housing and affordable options) for its population, while not turning away foreign investors who are to thank for the spectacular renovation of the Lisbon city center.

Another of Moedas’ focus areas is to continue to establish Lisbon as a European Tech Hub, notably through the Fábrica de Unicórnios (the Unicorn Factory) project, which is expected to be completed next month.

It will be fascinating to witness the further transformation of Lisbon into a full-fledged European hot spot over the next few years.