Valencia Digital Summit’s closing ceremony was the scene of a highly anticipated announcement for the entire Spanish innovation ecosystem. The High Commissioner for Spain Entrepreneurial Nation, Francisco Polo, reported for the first time that the Startup Act would be passed in Congress next week, specifically on the 3rd of November.
This news was celebrated by Juan Luis Hortelano, president of Startup Valencia — the organisation promoting the international tech event – who said that “It will introduce measures that will change the productive structure of the country and make it a more attractive place for investment”. He added that “it is an act that we at Startup Valencia have been demanding for years to boost the ecosystem and facilitate the development of innovative businesses with high added value”.
Francisco Polo explained the main aspects of this act, which include stock options and the introduction of a visa for digital nomads.
The institutional closing also boasted the participation of Pilar Bernabé, Delegate for the Valencian Community, who agreed with Polo in highlighting that events such as Valencia Digital Summit offer the region international visibility and turn it into a focal point of digitalization and entrepreneurship. “This is the event that the Valencian ecosystem deserves,” she stated.
VDS2022 Competition
The last day of Valencia Digital Summit also included the awards ceremony of the VDS2022 Competition, which declared startups Trebellar and Delivers.ai winners in the Seed and Growth categories, respectively. The prize consisted of a stand at VDS2023, a stand at TNW Valencia and tickets to TNW Amsterdam.
An international jury, made up of key players of the ecosystem such as Sébastien Lefebvre, Partner at the French venture capital firm Elaia; Nelly Markova, Principal of the English venture capital firm Molten Ventures; Rachelle Young, Program Director for TNW – the main event of Amsterdam’s tech ecosystem promoted by the Financial Times – and Juan Luis Hortelano, president of Startup Valencia, was in charge of choosing the winners in the Seed and Growth categories from the following list of startups: Trebellar, Arkadia Space, Mojito360, Exheus, Reental, Proky, Delivers.ai, Drill Surgeries, BizAway and IDNow.
More than 500 startups from 35 different countries applied to participate in the VDS2022 Competition.
The closing ceremony also saw the presentation of THE CHALLENGE awards, a team competition organised by the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) together with Startup Valencia, as part of the Valencia Digital Summit. The first prize, endowed with a financial reward of €1,200 euros and personalised mentoring, went to Viejos Amigos. The second and third prizes, rewarded with €1,000 and €800 respectively, went to Bluechange and Greencam.
Finally, the Health & Wellbeing Startup award, sponsored by the Regional Ministry of Innovation, Universities, Science and Digital Society, was given to Repodrugs.
Triple Michelin-starred chef Quique Dacosta also received the Valencian Innovation Ambassador Award, in recognition of his career and commitment to innovation. Earlier, Dacosta participated in the Valencia Digital Summit programme through a meeting with the CEO of KM ZERO Food Innovation Hub, Beatriz Jacoste.
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