During this February, the valencian startup ecosystem has once again demonstrated its positioning as an internationally recognized technological hub, marking an important date on the calendar: the 7th edition of VDS will take place on October 23 and 24. The City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia will host the international tech event organized by Startup Valencia, where it is expected that more than 12,000 professionals from over 100 different countries will attend; more than 700 investors with an investment portfolio of over 10 billion euros, and will feature the participation of more than 500 renowned speakers and over 2,500 startups.
Continuing with VDS, on February 21st, we traveled to Madrid to present the socio-economic impact report of the last edition, prepared by EY. According to the consulting firm, VDS2023’s economic impact amounted to 12.3 million euros. This analysis also indicates that the sixth edition of the international tech event multiplied the organization’s investment by 9.2 times, that each attendee generated an average value of 1,027 euros to the city’s economy, and that the attending funds, managing assets worth 30,000 million euros, enabled participating startups to aspire to obtain more than 50 million euros in financing.
This month, our focus was particularly on the internationalization of our ecosystem and its consolidation as a world reference. February started with a meeting with the prestigious Sigma Squared Society, a global community of young impact entrepreneurs under 26, aimed at fostering relationships and establishing channels of collaboration.
From February 13th to 15th, we participated in the eMobility Expo World Congress, with a booth in the Generalitat’s space. On February 14th, Marta Gironés, Account Executive at Startup Valencia, introduced the association, gave an overview of the ecosystem, and talked about our Mobility Workgroup. Throughout the three days, associated startups Skroller, Arkadia Space, Miivo, Gaia Charge, were able to pitch and showcase their projects in the mobility sector. On the last day, Karina Virrueta, Head of Innovation Ecosystem, participated in the award ceremony, presenting an award to Datafolio.
Furthermore, on February 22nd, we participated in the Valencia Innovation Capital event presentation at La Harinera, where Startup Valencia is currently located. The mayor of Valencia, María José Catalá, and Paula Llobet, councilor for Tourism, Innovation, and Investment Attraction at the Ajuntament de Valencia, presented this new innovation strategy, consolidating the city as a prominent international innovation hub.
To highlight our ecosystem and to showcase the opportunities it offers, Karina Virrueta spoke at Lanzadera about the possibilities that Valencia as a region has for entrepreneurship. She did this within an inspiring “Q&A” dynamic at Marina de Empresas.
Of course, we did not miss an essential appointment in the last week of February: MWC, where we represented the Valencian startup ecosystem at 4YFN with Valencia Innovation Capital, highlighting its status as a reference hub in Southern Europe. We also took the opportunity to present the seventh edition of VDS.
Among the notable dates this month, on the 1st we were able to join OVHcloud Spain in celebrating its 20th anniversary during the OVHcloudSummit event in Madrid. On the 8th, we kicked off the ‘Startup C-Level Insights’ cycle, alongside BStartup from Banco Sabadell, with a session focused on the role of the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at different stages of a startup. And on the 11th, we commemorated International Day of Women and Girls in Science by giving our partner, María Luisa Domingo, CEO of Evolving Therapeutics, a space to reflect on the importance of celebrating this day.
