Throughout this month at Startup Valencia, we have witnessed a flurry of activity, with events and activities taking place almost daily. Among the standout moments, not only of May but of the entire year, is the commencement of construction on La Terminal. This new tech hub of the Valencian innovative ecosystem, located within the former maritime station of La Marina de Valencia and promoted by Valencia Innovation District, is beginning to take shape.
We have also welcomed Ángela Castelló as Head of Partnerships at Startup Valencia. We strongly believe that her addition will play a pivotal role in consolidating the position of the Valencian Community as one of the leading tech hubs on the global stage. She has also joined as a partner of the Tbig Finance association, and through this agreement, our startups will have access to financial expertise without the need to integrate a financial team into the organisation.
In addition, during the month of May, we proudly became a member of the Board of Trustees of ADEIT, the University-Enterprise Foundation of the University of Valencia. This partnership enables us to collaborate closely establish shared objectives, as we work together to further advance the Valencian innovation ecosystem.
We kicked off our May agenda on the 8th with the opening ceremony of the Leadership program organised by Fundación Conexus and Fundación Pablo VI. We had the pleasure of joining the programme participants for an inspiring talk by Vala Afshar, Chief Innovation Evangelist Officer at Salesforce, on the significance of culture and people in organisations.
On the following day, we launched a new edition of the Llamp Tech Transfer programme. This initiative, now in its second year, is a collaborative effort between Startup Valencia and the I2CV Association, with the support of the General Directorate of Entrepreneurship of the Department of Sustainable Economy of the Generalitat Valenciana. The programme brings together all five public universities in Valencia, aiming to foster the creation of tech-driven public companies. These ventures will play a crucial role in propelling the entrepreneurship, innovation, and tech ecosystem of the Valencian Community forward.
On the 10th of May, we solidified our partnership with the ICAV (Valencia Bar Association) by signing a collaboration agreement, achieved through the efforts of Salvador Silvestre, José Soriano and Lucía Carrau. The aim of this agreement is to continue fostering synergies between the legal and tech worlds. This agreement builds upon two years of collaboration in promoting the development of the Valencian LegalTech ecosystem through the LegalTech Hub of Startup Valencia. On the same day, I had the privilege of attending The Coworking Conference, an event that turned Valencia into the coworking capital, bringing together over 200 professionals from the industry.
On the 12th of May, Karina took on the role of moderator in a panel discussion focused on the impact of Artificial Intelligence and its transformative role in companies. This session was part of the second edition of the ‘Valencia Legal Hackathon’ organised by innova.legal, in which Startup Valencia participated as a collaborator.
Furthermore, on the 17th, the WayCO Ruzafa premises hosted an afterwork gathering exclusively for members of Startup Valencia. This event offered a valuable opportunity for association members to connect, exchange ideas, and expand their professional networks.
On the 25th, we celebrated the 31st edition of the series “El Mundo Que Viene” (The World to Come), in collaboration with BStartup of Banco Sabadell. The focus of this edition was on the future of the EdTech sector, specifically exploring the challenges and opportunities presented by generative artificial intelligence and its diverse applications. The event brought together industry experts including Clara Torrijos, founder and CEO of Koanly; Marcos García, COO at Kokoro Kids; José Manuel Martínez, CEO of Medicarama, and Josep Martínez, director of Masters and Bootcamps at EDEM, and was moderated by Rosa Gorriz, founder and CEO of Stellium Business School.
On the same day, the EY Scale UP Award Final Gala took place, an event dedicated to acknowledging and showcasing Spanish scaleups in which I had the honour of participating as a jury member. Truksters emerged as the victorious startup.
On the final Friday of May in collaboration with La Razón, we orchestrated a round table discussion titled ‘The Keys to Tech Innovation’. I had the privilege of participating alongside Juan Cumbrado, Director of Innovation at Mapfre; Gema García, Director of Open Innovation and Corporate Venturing at Repsol; and Alberto Tornero, Head of Scale Ups & Open Innovation at PwC. During this engaging session, we delved into a range of topics, such as the significance of open innovation within corporations, the role of startups as catalysts for the growth of large companies, and the emergence of new business models centred around the startup ecosystem for corporations.
We also attended the CTO Summit, a prominent tech event that gathers the top CTOs from across Spain for a two-day conference in Valencia. We ended the day at the awards ceremony of the Conexus Foundation, an organisation led by Manuel Broseta, where Pablo Motos was recognised for his contributions in promoting the interests and global image of the Valencian Community.
As we bid farewell to the month of May, we find ourselves entering the final countdown for the submission of entries to the VDS2023 Competition. Just one month left!
Working together
makes us stronger
