- “We are convinced that there is nothing better than connecting regions, generating ecosystems in each region, and, of course, taking Spain’s innovation to new places,” she said.
- South Summit has been instrumental in helping the finalist startups of its ten editions to generate an investment of $10.17 billion, according to the report ⦁ ‘The socio-economic contribution of South Summit in Spain’, prepared by PwC, and whose main conclusions have been presented today.
- The presentation of the eleventh edition of ⦁ South Summit Madrid was chaired by José Luis Martínez-Almeida, Mayor of Madrid, who affirmed that “the City Council will continue to support this global event and thank María Benjumea for everything she has done for this city and for being the true accelerator of entrepreneurship”.
- Between the 7th and 9th of June, La Nave will once again host the 11th edition of South Summit under the slogan ‘Today 2030’, which will feature major national and international speakers such as Pau Gasol, Pablo Isla, Andrew Winston, and Jenny Fielding.erneath the slogan ‘Immediately 2030’, which is able to function main nationwide and worldwide audio system comparable to Pau Gasol, Pablo Isla, Andrew Winston and Jenny Fielding.
Madrid, 27th of April 2023. Innovation has no borders and South Summit, co-organized by IE University, is a great example of this. More than 32,000 startups from 175 different countries, 7 of them unicorns, have passed through its ten editions, generating more than 10.19 billion in revenue and nearly 48,000 jobs. With these excellent figures, and after the good experience of South Summit in Brazil in its second edition, María Benjumea, president and founder of South Summit, has announced that the next objective of South Summit will be its international expansion to Asia and the United States.
At the presentation ceremony of South Summit Madrid 2023, held today in Madrid, María Benjumea stated that “from the very beginning of South Summit, our idea was to change mentalities in order to go global. The world has no borders, and our commitment has always been collaboration and innovation in a global context. We are convinced that there is nothing better than connecting regions and taking innovation from Spain to new places”.
Benjumea also emphasized during the event that “South Summit will always be the place where we find business opportunities for all the players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, but always from a human and global point of view”. She referred to ‘Today 2030’, the slogan that will open the next edition of South Summit Madrid 2023, as “taking care of the planet is fundamental and we have many challenges ahead of us to achieve it, but there are also many opportunities that the objectives of the 2030 Agenda bring”.
The president and founder of South Summit also wanted to applaud the consensus with which the Startups Law has been approved, a regulation that “is already becoming an international benchmark. A catalyst for companies, a great mechanism for attracting talent and investment”.
With these objectives, South Summit reaffirms itself as a global benchmark for startups, investors, and other players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. While the value of the global entrepreneurial ecosystem as a whole has decreased by 2.3% in 2022, the Spanish ecosystem has not only resisted but has increased its value by 8.6%, reaching 93,000 million dollars in 2022, as explained by Alberto Tornero and Jordi Esteve, partners at PwC Spain in the presentation of their report The socio-economic contribution of South Summit in Spain’.decreased
The good figures for Spanish startups are also reflected in their number and employability. Specifically, in 2022 the entrepreneurial ecosystem in our country was made up of 12,041 startups (8% more than in 2021), which employ nearly 160,000 people (+14%). With all this, Spain remains the fourth European country with the highest number of startups, only surpassed by the United Kingdom, France and Germany.
The Vice President of IE University, Juan José Güemes, insisted that “South Summit 2023 will generate economic activity of around 30 million euros. The data from the study shows us the opportunity for growth of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in its quest to attract talent and generate wealth and employment.” ,
Madrid, one of Europe’s leading hubs
Madrid consolidates its place as one of many predominant European innovation hubs in accordance with the PwC report, with an ecosystem made up of roughly 2,500 startups that generated round 37,000 jobs throughout 2022 and raised round €1.28 billion. It’s also the fourth European metropolis when it comes to the variety of exits above 100 million euros and the fifth when it comes to the variety of enterprise capital funding rounds.
In light of these figures, the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who presided over the presentation of the new edition of South Summit, stressed that “the City Council will continue to support this global event and thank María Benjumea for everything she has done for this city and for being the true accelerator of entrepreneurship. 2012, the year of its first edition, marked a before and after for Madrid, which is already in the TOP5 in Europe”.
Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, also thanked María Benjumea for her insistence and her work to promote the approval of the Startups Law and to bring the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem together to achieve this goal. Artigas has publicly proposed to María Benjumea that, “taking advantage of the next ESNA (European Startup Nations Alliance) meeting, South Summit should play a leading role and present what is being done in Spain, while strengthening links with Europe and Latin America”.
Furthermore, Javier Fernández-Lasquetty, Minister of Economy, Finance, and Employment of the Community of Madrid, stressed that “we are in a more vibrant time than ever and it is going to grow. The contribution of value made by South Summit, and especially María Benjumea, is absolutely decisive. The figures tell us so. When the review and the documentary are made on ‘how the entrepreneurial ecosystem grew within the Community of Madrid’, South Summit will certainly be there”.
South Summit Madrid: a catalyst for economic growth and Employability
How has South Summit Madrid contributed to the consolidation of the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, even in the midst of economic uncertainty? The report prepared by PwC Spain and presented today reveals that the most positive impact has been felt among the Spanish startup’s finalists of the different editions of South Summit, which saw their turnover multiply by 13.9 times since they participated in the event, reaching around €7.64 billion in turnover. In terms of job creation, these same startups saw their number of employees grow 3.8 times, to almost 36,000 people.
Between the ten editions of the South Summit held from 2012 to 2022, the finalist startups of all the meetings have generated a total investment of 10.17 billion dollars, of which around 75% belong to Spanish startups. If we take into account all the South Summits held worldwide, the investment amounts to 10.61 billion dollars.
South Summit Madrid 2023, ‘Today 2030
South ’Summit Madrid 2023 will be held at La Nave de Madrid from the 7th to the 9th of June under the slogan ‘Today 2030’ which will bring attendees closer to the future to learn about and analyze all the innovations to be implemented in order to achieve the sustainability goals of the 2030 agenda.
South Summit Madrid 2023 will have the institutional support of Spain Up Nation, the Community of Madrid and Madrid City Council, as well as Mutua Madrileña, Google for Startups, BBVA Spark, Endesa, Wayra – Telefónica Innovation and BStartup of Banco Sabadell as Global Partners, joined by Toptal this year.
The content of the eleventh edition of this global gathering will be divided into eight verticals: Connectivity & Data, Consumer Trends, Education, Fintech & Insurtech, Health, Industry 5.0, Mobility & Smart Cities, BizDev Tech, Enterprise, and Sustainability & ESG, the latter three being new.
South Summit Madrid 2023 will feature major international and national speakers to discuss key issues in the world of innovation. Among them are Pablo Isla, President of the International Board of Trustees of IE University, and sports stars such as Pau Gasol, an important representative of the new Sportstech trend, which applies innovation and entrepreneurship to the world of sport and wellness. Also present will be internationally renowned personalities in the world of entrepreneurship such as Andrew Winston, manager of Winston Eco-Strategies, and Jenny Fielding, co-founder of The Fund VC.
The organization’s forecasts indicate that South Summit Madrid 2023 will break all attendance records and generate economic activity of around 28 million euros in the city of Madrid alone, according to the PwC report, which would imply a growth of 37% compared to the economic impact registered in the 2022 edition.
For South Summit Madrid 2023 Press Accreditation
If you want to attend South Summit Madrid 2023 as accredited media, please send us your name, surname, media, e-mail, telephone, date of birth, ID/Passport number, and country of origin to: pablo.gomez@trescom.es ; ignacio.crespo@trescom.es
For extra data: https://www.southsummit.co/
Trescom
Florita Vallcaneras / 627 811 799
Pablo Gómez Salcedo / 634 95 50 19
florita.vallcaneras@trescom.es / pablo.gomez@trescom.es
