From October 6 to 8, the largest annual event in southern Europe took place in Madrid: South Summit 2020. This meeting, organized by IE University, the Madrid City Council, BBVA, Endesa, Banco Sabadell BStartup, Google for Startups and Wayra, brought together entrepreneurs, investors, startups and corporations.
From left to right: Miguel Ángel Redondo, Begoña Villacís, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Nadia Calviño, María Benjumea and Ángel Niño. (Madrid City Council)
South Summit, a leading innovation platform focused on business opportunities that brings together the main actors of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, celebrated this year’s edition in an omnichannel format. Bringing together the leading industries of the edition: Health & Wellbeing, EdTech, Future of Work, Sustainability and Energy, Mobility and Smart Cities, Connectivity & Data, Fintech & Insurtech, ConsumerTrends, Travel & Tourism. As well as the 100 finalists startups in its Startup Competition; already prominent personalities and important world leaders, such as, for example, Enric Yuan (founder of Zoom), Will Shu (co-founder of Deliveroo), Antonio Banderas or Carlos Sainz, among others.
Some 30,000 people connected with this edition through a multi-channel digital platform, where the event could be followed live. And 3,800 projects were presented, of which 75% were international. A tool was also enabled that allowed the generation of networtking among attendees.
The Health & Wellbeing sector becomes the protagonist of the edition
Throughout these three days, the most innovative startups from different sectors have had the opportunity to present their projects to major investors and corporations, but only a few have managed to make it to the final.
Sectors such as education or tourism have been one of the key pieces of South Summit 2020. The health sector has become the clear protagonist.
Finally, the Spanish startup MedicSen, thanks to the transdermal patch for drug administration, has been proclaimed the winner. Thus becoming the most innovative startup of the edition.
Entrepreneurs take the floor
In addition to the startup competition, the event has had relevant personalities. Like, for example, Diego del Alcázar Benjumea, executive vice president of IE University and James Lamont, director and strategic partnerships at Financial Times. Both have debated about the future of education.
Eric Yuan, founder of Zoom, a videoconferencing platform, gave a presentation in which he revealed the plans for the company in 10 years from now. As well as his experience when creating a company. “Starting a company is a long journey, so you have to focus on the culture of the company and the value we can bring to society, stay in that focus and work hard every day because you face different problems every day; the important thing is to find the balance,” says the American founder.
The chief executive of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, and of Endesa, José Bogas, did not want to miss this edition either. In their talk they have claimed “a greater boost to digitization, innovation and green revolution to accelerate the post-Covid-19 economic recovery.” The need to continue to be more innovative, more efficient and customer oriented is very important in such a situation. Both insist on “accelerating the decarbonization of transport, the residential segment and the industry to leave a better and more sustainable world for the new generations, in which digitization plays an essential role.”
It should also be noted the presence of distant current figures from the innovative sector, such as the actor Antonio Banderas or the fashion designer Agatha Ruiz de la Prada.
Related posts
