From the beginning, the two pavilions occupied by 4YFN (4 Years From Now) were a continuous coming and going of entrepreneurs, investors and corporations eager for interactions. Without a doubt, this startup meeting is confirmed as one of the most dynamic areas of the Mobile World Congress.
And in this very favorable scenario, four companies focused on sustainability invested by Banco Sabadell’s BStartup were explaining their projects and establishing valuable contacts with the entrepreneurial ecosystem. In this way, Banco Sabadell’s service for startups wanted to give notoriety to its Green vertical, which it launched four years ago to support technology companies that facilitate the transition to a more sustainable world.
The enthusiasm of the first time at 4YFN was especially evident in the team at Ocean Ecostructures, a Barcelona company founded in 2021, which has developed its own state-of-the-art technology (Bio Boosting System) to reverse the negative impact that structures have historically had. marine areas – such as ports, docks or oil platforms – and convert them into biodiversity hotspots, contributing to the recovery of marine life. “I’m very excited to see the team’s faces, how their eyes shine. For them, being here is a source of pride, a stimulus to move forward,” said Ignasi Ferrer, CEO and co-founder of Ocean Ecostructures, together with Mireia de Mas (operations director) and Anna Lloveras (scientific director).
With their participation in the contest, they also sought to achieve “more visibility in the technological world, not always evident when you move in the field of sustainability, and to identify potential partners in innovation and research to continue developing our technologies and to help us regenerate marine life on a large scale.”
Their business idea is a reality that already works in 18 Spanish ports – including Barcelona -, where 150 units of their artificial marine microreefs have been placed, which combine regenerative, robotic and digitalization technology. In addition, they plan to install another 700 soon and two international projects in a very advanced phase. They do not lack ambition – they are supported by a financing round of 1.6 million euros last November, which BStartup joined – and that is why they have set themselves a colossal challenge: to install 20,000 before 2030. “The model is already validated. We convert degraded underwater spaces into ocean friendly. We quantify this, we translate it into tangible benefits for our clients, who pay us a fee for a set of services. They cover regulatory and compliance needs and convey to citizens what they do, without being greenwashing. That it is real is very important to us.”
Being among the five finalists of the 4YFN Awards, a global competition aimed at finding the best digital startups in the world and whose winner will be revealed tomorrow, was a plus to make the most of your time at the event. “It has been a very intense and fun day, in which we have had a very good turnout at the stand of people interested in our technological solution, which is unique in the world, and many contacts and interest in our project,” according to Ferrer. The great atmosphere both in 4YFN and in the rest of the MWC was also notable: “I have seen many people with very different profiles and countries, with a fantastic cosmopolitan vision, it has given me the feeling of very good vibes.”
Newe, which develops, implements and manages new consumption models related to the circular economy for large retailers, participated for the third consecutive time at 4YFN, this time with BStartup. As Pablo Candau, CEO and founder together with Ramon Borruel, assessed, “the event has met our expectations. We always see it as a great opportunity to talk with our own investors, with other entrepreneurs who are from our environment or from outside it, and that for one day those relationships that we usually have online are in person, because putting on a face is always very good” .
This startup accelerated by Lanzadera offers a comprehensive rental management and reverse logistics service for eCommerce, mainly aimed at companies in four verticals: fashion, electronics, DIY and sports, where it already has clients such as PC Componentes, Leroy Merlin, Worthen or Adolfo Domínguez , among others. It currently operates in Spain and Portugal, but has expansion plans in other countries, to open its circular businesses wherever its multinational clients operate. With a team of 13 people, it aims to invoice one million euros this year.
“We not only create the platform, but as they have orders, all the infrastructure behind it – insurance, logistics and even storage – is managed through software that we enable so that all these operations are completely automated and savings are made. all that complexity,” Candau explained.
Another ‘repeat’ startup at the BStartup stand was Moa Foodtech, which combines biotechnology and artificial intelligence to convert waste and byproducts from the agri-food industry into a nutritional product with high added value. According to its CEO, Bosco Emparanza, “4YFN has become something very big, it is impressive. It constitutes a great meeting point that is very suitable for us, because impact investment has become more professional and there are more and more funds. Our entire ecosystem is here and we take the opportunity to establish relationships with investors and meet with potential partners from other biotechnology and institutional companies.”
Moa Foodtech has two business models: ingredient and process development. In the first area, its great milestone will be to go on the market in the middle of this year, with production in Belgium and Spain of special food for the elderly, plant-based meat industry and snacks, among others. On the other hand, the platform – which develops processes and scales technology at an industrial level – has opened new collaborations with leading corporations in the agri-food industry.
13 people are part of Moa and another 4 will soon join, most of them with scientific profiles. They are currently closing their second round of investment – the first, of 1.5 million, was in 2021 – and in parallel they are financing themselves with collaboration projects with the industry. Emparanza highlights the role of BStartup since its inception: “we found a lot of support from them, they perfectly understand the role and situation of the startup. Furthermore, having them on the board of directors provides support for other investments and gives us access to many sustainability events.”
For its part, Bia Power, a software platform that monitors electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and controls the process to ensure that vehicles get the cheapest and cleanest energy, was targeted during its participation in 4YFN “find direct clients, from companies with a large fleet or strategic ones in the energy sector, anyone who is betting heavily on sustainable and renewable energy,” according to Marc Arjona, Tender Manager of this startup founded in 2019 and based in Barcelona, ??Amsterdam and Toronto.
The three founders – Candace Saffery Neufeld, CEO, Ginés Espada, CTO and Roby Moyano (product manager) – detected an opportunity within the energy flexibility sector, with a project that is in the implementation phase. Currently, around 20 people are part of the team and they operate in Spain and Portugal, although through some partners they also have a presence in the UK, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Australia.
Bia Power has developed a SAS that optimizes the charging process of an electric vehicle, so that it has the lowest economic and operational cost. “We work mainly with fleets of heavy electric vehicles, trucks and buses. In light vehicles it costs us more to enter, because the impact on your bill is less,” said Roby Moyano. This year, the company plans to raise a new round of investment that will allow them to scale in the future of e-mobility and network interoperability.
