Click & Tac, a platform where users can find the closest French-speaking service provider in their area, plans to expand its operations to the coastal city of Porto this year, according to the Portuguese company's co-founder.
"Right now, we are active in Greater Lisbon and Margem Sul because many companies there have registered on our website. The next step is to offer our services to the French-speaking community in Porto in 2020," Halim Derres told Via News in an exclusive interview.
Halim, who is from France with African roots, co-founded Click & Tac in Lisbon in 2019 with Cedric Bouery. Their vision is to give visibility to French-speaking entrepreneurs, companies, and professionals while helping users find French-speaking service providers more easily.
The services that can be found on their website covers a wide range of areas, including marketing, interior design, tourism, home cleaning, dentistry, photography, real estate, entertainment, architect, wedding planning, and psychiatry.
Users can share and rate each of their experiences or even refer a professional to the community.
"We cover almost every legal job," Halim, the company's co-CEO said, adding that there is a large French community in Portugal. "However, our services are not limited to French people and can be used by anyone who speaks French."
French Community in Portugal
As of December 31, 2018, 16,611 people were registered with the French Embassy in Portugal, 40% of whom had dual nationality, according to the statistics released by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF), which are available on the website of the French Embassy in Lisbon.
The actual number is higher as some French people are working in Portugal without having registered at the embassy, which is not a mandatory practice.
The 2018 statistics showed that the incoming flow of French nationals to Portugal recorded an increase of over 25% for the second consecutive year, the second highest increase observed after Italy.
With 19,771 people (including 1/3 retired), France was reported to be the 7th largest foreign community in the country (behind Brazil, Cape Verde, Romania, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and China).
About 3 million French people visited Portugal in 2018 compared to 600,000 in 2010. The French represented 13% of foreign visitors.
Feedback, Future Plans
Halim says their main clients also include French-speaking people who are not currently in Portugal but plan to visit or move to this country.
"If you're coming to Portugal, you may need to find a lawyer, a school, an accountant, or a driver, or you may want to establish a company. You can find the related information in French on our website."
Asked about the feedback they have received so far, he said they are in uncharted territory because Click & Tac is a first-of-its-kind company in Portugal.
"At the beginning, everything was new to us, to our partners, and to our clients. But the feedback has been very positive, and many companies and professionals want to be featured on our website."
The incoming flow of French nationals to Portugal recorded an increase of over 25% for the second consecutive year.
2018 statistics released by the Portuguese Immigration and Borders Service (SEF)
According to him, Click & Tac has officially partnered with the Entreprendre network and is also in contact with the French Embassy in Lisbon to reach out to more French-speaking users and service providers.
"We want to make our services available across Portugal. After Porto, we may expand our business to Faro," Halim said, adding that they are also interested in offering their services in other countries such as Spain and will be looking for investors to expand their company.
On Click & Tac's business model, he said registration for service providers was initially free on their website but they are now offering different packages with different prices, including a premium partnership plan.