Building Madeira’s Future
A home for locals and internationals
The presence of digital nomads and remote workers on the island allows for the sharing of new knowledge, skills and opportunities between locals and internationals.
This will allow Madeira to become a serious tech and entrepreneurial hub in the future.
We’re here to make it happen!
MADEIRA FRIENDS
Where community, tech, fun and giving-back come together
We represent Madeira’s International Community since 2020. We started with burpees after the pandemic but quickly found a higher purpose for ourselves. Before we knew it, we started to build a vibrant ecosystem that will one day drive Madeira’s economic and social future. Utopia? We don’t think so.
We’re digital nomads, remote workers, expats and locals. We believe in a Madeira for all, an island where locals and internationals have access to the same opportunities, work together, do good together and appreciate each other.
The world is changing, and so is our island. Technology and remote work allow for the impossible today. It’s time for Madeira to shine beyond tourism and we’re here to do our part!
Over the last 5+ years, we’ve had tremendous impact on the island and on many people’s lives. But we’re just getting started. Get involved and see you in paradise!
Our story
-
It all begins with an idea. Well, we had no idea what we were getting ourselves into, we just wanted to do some burpees after the pandemic, get people together and stay healthy. We called ourselves Madeira Fitness Friends.
-
We did our first saturday workout in December 2020, we were only 5 people. We then realized that many digital nomads and remote workers were joining us from everywhere around the world. The local government, Startup Madeira and Gonçalo Hall had just kicked off the Ponta do Sol nomad village project and we got involved too.
-
We heard about a local animal association struggling to pay some vet bills and decided to challenge the community: how many burpees can we do in 5 minutes and how much money can we raise to help them? Very quickly we collected enough funds to pay off their debt and this made us realize, this is not about burpees, we can do so much more!
-
We just couldn’t stop thinking about all this. Where do we fit on this island? What’s our purpose in all this? So many internationals that don’t look like the typical old tourists. What’s going on here? We decided to give it a try and turn our hobby into a big thing. We went from Madeira Fitness Friends to Madeira Friends and our founders quit their job to try and make it happen!
Madeira Friends team
Luis, co-founder
Ex-SurveyMonkey, 12+ years experience in the tech world, he’s a man on a mission.
Lily, giving-back coordinator
Also known as Marelin’s sister. Volunteering, giving-back and doing ecverything with a smile? That’s Lily.
Marelin, co-founder
The most hardworking and caring woman in the world. A true giver.
Eli, Madeira Remote and Project Manager
Eli made use notion. She’s in charge of Madeira Remote and makes sure we reach our OKRs!
Victor, videographer
Victor is our video guy and is usually behind the camera, see picture above. He’ll shoot you but he won’t kill you, don’t worry.
Vanessa, Community Manager and Concierge
She’s our newest team member. Vanessa is a local and your go-to person for everything, she’s lovely!
Our Interns
Manon
How can we leverage Madeira Friends and Digital Nomads in Madeira to impact the island social and economic future? That’s what she’s studying!
Emma
Emma is working on a solution for what Manon is researching about and they are both finishing their studies in the university, stay tuned!
Our Board
Sebastian, board member
With the ambition of generating more revenue streams to fund our vision, Madeira Friends is evolving into a startup-like non-profit.
To strengthen our leadership, we have established an advisory board, with Sebastian as the first to join as both as advisor and social investor.
Sebastian brings decades of experience in building businesses from the ground up and is a co-founder of Huuuge, one of the largest mobile gaming companies in Europe.
READ OUR MANIFESTO.
(coming soon)