Startup Valencia held its General Assembly of Members on 18 June, a meeting in which the association shared the evolution of the organisation and presented the priorities that will shape its activity over the coming months.
The event brought together members, institutional representatives and business leaders, and featured the participation of Juan Luis Hortelano, president of Startup Valencia; Vicente Lafuente Martínez, president of the Confederación Empresarial de la Comunidad Valenciana,CEV; Inmaculada García Pardo, secretary general of the CEV, and Eva Blasco García, president of CEV Valencia.
Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia and VDS, opened the session by highlighting the importance of continuing to strengthen connections between startups, companies, investors, institutions and the rest of the actors that form part of the technological ecosystem of the Valencian Community.
He also highlighted the value of the association actively participating in broader business structures to generate new opportunities, bring innovation to the productive fabric and contribute to ensuring that the needs of startups are taken into account in the spaces where strategic decisions are made.
Business growth and collaboration, key to competitiveness
Before the start of the Assembly, Vicente Lafuente took part in a conversation about the main challenges currently facing Spanish companies and the role that startups can play in the transformation of the economy.
During his address, the president of the CEV highlighted the agility and adaptability of startups, two qualities that allow them to respond quickly to market changes and develop new solutions. At the same time, he noted that their smaller size can limit their access to specialised funding and resources and structures capable of responding to increasingly complex regulation.
“Startups have a great capacity to innovate and adapt, but their size can also make it difficult to access funding or manage growing regulation and bureaucracy. Business organisations must help ensure their needs reach the spaces where economic policies are designed”, stated Lafuente.
In this regard, he highlighted the importance of technology companies actively participating in associations, committees and working groups. These spaces allow shared challenges to be identified, proposals to be put forward and conditions more favourable to business growth to be created.
Lafuente also focused on the capacity of startups to bring innovation to small and medium-sized enterprises, facilitating the incorporation of new technologies, process optimisation and the development of products and more competitive services.
More connections between startups and traditional companies
Collaboration between technology startups and established companies was another of the main topics addressed during the conversation.
As Lafuente explained, collaboration opportunities exist in virtually all economic sectors of the Valencian Community. To make the most of them, startups must be able to clearly convey the value of their solutions and demonstrate how they can contribute to solving specific problems within organisations.
“Opportunities exist in every sector. Startups must clearly explain what problem they solve, what value they bring and how their technology can improve the competitiveness of other companies”, he stated.
This connection allows established companies to access innovative solutions in a more agile way, while startups find new opportunities to validate their technology, attract clients and scale their business models.
Opportunities in strategic sectors
The conversation also addressed the new European geopolitical context and the increase in investment in strategic areas such as defence, energy, cybersecurity and critical infrastructure.
Lafuente explained that the opportunities for startups go far beyond the armaments sphere and extend to technologies and solutions applicable to different industries, such as photonics, artificial intelligence, data protection, energy efficiency and process optimisation.
“The new European landscape will mobilise investment and major projects in strategic sectors. To compete for these opportunities, startups, companies, universities and technology centres will need to collaborate and build joint proposals with the capacity to operate at a European scale”, he stated.
In this context, he identified talent as one of the main assets for transforming investment into economic growth and technological capacity. The Valencian Community has universities, research centres, companies and professionals that can play a relevant role in this new phase.
A shared roadmap for 2026 and 2027
Following the conversation with the president of the CEV, the General Assembly of Members of Startup Valencia took place.
The agenda included the presentation of the strategic evolution of the association, its budgets and the activity plan for 2026 and 2027. The session allowed the main advances of the organisation to be shared, upcoming challenges to be analysed and members to be aligned around the priorities of this new phase.
The Assembly highlighted the value of a community made up of startups, companies, investors, institutions and professionals who share the objective of generating connections, creating new opportunities and facilitating the growth of technology projects from the Valencian Community.
A community that generates opportunities
The event concluded with a networking space in which attendees were able to exchange experiences, explore new avenues of collaboration and strengthen their relationships within the Startup Valencia community.
The General Assembly of Members represents one of the association’s main spaces for participation and strategic reflection. A meeting to share progress, face new challenges and continue building, alongside its members, a technology community that is more connected, competitive and open to the world.
