Companies

New Generation: meet Diogo Ribeiro from dportus

May 6, 2025 Portugal

With a master’s in industrial engineering and management, Diogo Ribeiro is the grandson of the founder of the footwear company Campeão Português. He has recently launched dportus, a B2B shoe platform

Diogo Ribeiro has a master’s in industrial engineering and management, but the footwear industry was already in his blood. He says he was born in a shoebox, otherwise, he wouldn’t be the grandson of Domingos Torcato Ribeiro, founder of the iconic company Campeão Português.

He now looks at the footwear industry with fresh eyes and has recently launched dportus, a platform that aims to promote footwear companies across borders.

Was working in the footwear industry a natural choice?

Absolutely. As the grandson of Domingos Torcato Ribeiro, founder of Campeão Português, a company known as the university of footwear, I always joke that I was born in a shoebox.

Afterwards, with my father at the helm of the company, I absorbed all the passion for footwear from an early age.

How would you define your project? How does it stand out in the market?

I define dportus as a facilitator. I aim to help footwear manufacturers expand their reach so that the Portuguese footwear industry can flourish and become one of the most sought-after in the world.

dportus is different from anything else on the market because it allows all businesses and potential customers to find everything that can be produced in Portugal in one place. A bit like going to a trade fair, but without leaving your desk and with much more choice. I see this as the future of the industry and a way of great growth for everyone.

What have been the biggest challenges to date?

As the digitalisation of the footwear industry is still an unexplored area, everything is new. Despite the enthusiasm of the manufacturers already on the platform, I sometimes feel that they don’t really see its potential as a growth channel for the industry.

I see dportus as an opportunity to improve this, as it is a platform where we can share what innovations are being developed on an almost weekly basis.

Communicating and publicising what is being created/developed is one of the keys to maintaining the interest and global demand for the Portuguese industry. This is where dportus can help, acting as a digital store window.

What advice would you give to a young person starting out in the industry?

The search for knowledge and innovation is my advice to anyone entering the industry. You have to be willing to think outside the box to reach more places and reinvent certain processes.

Above all, you have to believe that it’s an attractive industry where you can really be the best in the world!

Source and Image Credits: portugueseshoes.pt

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