MELLA Supply

Connecting business, capital and opportunity

MELLA prepares and connects Afro-Lusophone businesses with the capital, networks and practical support they need to grow.

Get on the list See the November rooms

LISBON, PORTUGAL
TWO ROOMS · 8 + 10 NOVEMBER 2026

November 2026 · Lisbon

Two rooms during Web Summit week

During Web Summit week, MELLA will bring the Afro-Lusophone business community and its allies together across two carefully designed rooms.

Sunday, 8 November · The Open Round

An open welcome gathering for founders, partners and allies of the ecosystem.

Tuesday, 10 November · By invitation

A curated room where five prepared businesses meet decision-makers positioned to provide relevant financial, access or intellectual capital.

No pitch competition and no judging — just clear asks, relevant offers and accountable next steps.

Invitations and places go to the MELLA list first.

Get on the list

A wider view of capital

Capital is more than one cheque

Technology, venture capital and the wider investment ecosystem are vital engines of economic growth. MELLA builds alongside them — broadening the pathways through which promising businesses can access exactly what they need.

A technology company may need equity. A product business may need equipment financing. A creative venture may need distribution, while a service business might need just one anchor client. Another founder may simply need a trusted mentor, a technical expert or a single introduction.

We help each business understand its next stage, identify the right kind of capital and articulate a clear ask. At the same time, we help capital providers discover businesses, understand their context and shape meaningful ways to engage.

We are not here to replace the ecosystem. We connect it, strengthen it and help more value move through it.

Capital takes different forms

Every form of capital counts

Financial

Equity, loans, grants, equipment finance, revenue-based finance and community crowdfunding.

Access

Customers, contracts, introductions, procurement, partnerships, distribution and networks.

Intellectual

Sector expertise, mentorship, strategic guidance and technical support.

Every form of capital counts. Every commitment is documented. Delivery matters more than promises.

One ecosystem. Different journeys.

One shared economic story

Community-rooted businesses

Food, beauty, craft, services, retail and creative work. Informal, newly formalised or already generating revenue. Businesses ready to consolidate what works and build what comes next.

Innovation-led ventures

Technology, innovation and impact-led ventures with an MVP or validated concept, preparing for growth, strategic partnerships and investment.

MELLA meets every business where it is, identifies the capital that fits and connects it with the right next step. Readiness may determine when a cheque makes sense; it should never determine who gets through the door.

How MELLA works

Diagnose. Prepare. Connect. Count. Prove.

Diagnose

We help businesses understand where they stand, what is working, what needs strengthening and which form of capital fits their next stage.

Prepare

Founders build clear, credible asks. Capital providers gain a closer view of the market and the context required to spot relevant opportunities.

Connect

MELLA TABLE brings prepared businesses and prepared capital into carefully curated rooms, designed around relevance, trust and genuine exchange.

Count

We document commitments, track what happens next and distinguish what was promised from what was actually delivered.

Prove

We turn that evidence into a clearer picture of the Afro-Lusophone economy: its strengths, its needs and the opportunities waiting to be unlocked.

The MELLA loop

Diagnose → prepare → connect → count → prove → build again.

About MELLA

Capital readiness for the Afro-Lusophone economy

From Lisbon, we map businesses, people, organisations and patterns across Portugal and the wider Portuguese-speaking world. We turn that insight into diagnostics, programmes, curated connections and evidence that help businesses grow — and help partners engage the economy with greater relevance.

Recognised as a Web Summit Community Partner and an EU Opinion Leader by the European Commission, MELLA has become a trusted bridge between founders, professionals, creatives, institutions and capital providers.

Our role is to create the right conditions, bring together the right people and close the distance between potential and opportunity.

Partners and ecosystem

Who we work with

Mella Supply is incubated at Casa do Impacto (Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa) and collaborates across programmes, training and events — including Strategic Disruption Consulting, co-host of the November gathering.

Get on the list

Only useful doors

Join for curated opportunities, event invitations and the monthly MELLA note.

Right business. Right capital. More opportunity in motion.