South Summit closed its eleventh edition yesterday and has become the one that has managed to gather the most investors. 6,500 emerging companies from 125 countries and 2,000 managers with a cumulative portfolio of 300,000 million euros have spent the last three days at the reference forum held in Madrid. Its president, MarÃa Benjumea, emphasized that 175,000 high value connections have been made between companies.
The event, co-organized by IE University, awarded its main prize to Uelz, a company of Valencian origin dedicated to implementing payment platforms in companies. Finland’s Onego Bio, meanwhile, known for cracking the code to produce chicken-free egg white protein through precision fermentation, won the most disruptive start-up award, and German Build38, specializing in cyber security, was recognized as the most scalable. A total of 4,500 firms competed for a prize.
During the closing day, the aerospace sector was discussed, which the central government wants to promote. The commissioner for the Perte sector, Miguel Belló, called for promoting collaboration between the administration and private entrepreneurs in an area in which Spain still has a long way to go. During the numerous conferences on Friday, the relationship between sport and technology, which has been incorporated into the daily routine of high-level professionals, was also addressed, and the importance of emerging companies in the improvement of human health was highlighted .
The closing ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, who encouraged those present to get started. “Let’s take advantage of the growth coming to Spain in the coming years to continue promoting talent”, he said. In the same vein, Javier Fernández-Lasquetty, Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment of the Community of Madrid in office, who defended the fiscal policy of autonomy, “low taxes and freedom”, as the focus of ‘attraction of entrepreneurs.
Jazztel founder MartÃn Varsavsky participated in a panel discussion with Benjumea and argued that Spain, and in particular its capital, can become the gateway to Europe for entrepreneurs from the other side of the Atlantic
MarÃa Benjumea thanked the help of all the collaborators of this edition and emphasized that during this legislature the Law on Emerging Companies has been approved to be able to create a legal framework that gives protection to the ecosystem of companies emerging from Spain and be able to attract talent from other countries and retain national talent.
