In 2007, there were 3660 companies in São João da Madeira: despite being the smallest municipality in size in Portugal, it is the twentieth in economic turnover. It is the head of shoe industry in Portugal, an important industrial activity in Portugal, having the seat of the Shoe Technological Centre. Beyond that, the city is developing a Science Park and main "Centro Empresarial e Tecnológico" ("Business and Technology Centre"), as well as important commercial, financial and service centre of the region, having its largest Shopping Mall and largest concentration of banks. Inaugurated in 2008 by President Aníbal Cavaco Silva the Centre is a modern project by architext Filipe Oliveira Dias, that services as an incubator for high technology businesses in order to diversify the local market. It is actually the first of ten buildings in the zone, of a planned 80,000 square metre technological park, including the "Núcleo de Investigação e Desenvolvimento" ("Investigation and Development Nucleus"). In 2009, a series of protocols of understanding were signed to establish a regional network of "Innovation and Competitivity" between business and education, in order to foster technological innovation.