The Spanish Chamber of Commerce promotes the entrepreneurial ecosystem at South Summit 2024

 

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce has significantly strengthened its presence at South Summit 2024 , the key annual event for the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem. With the aim of fostering an entrepreneurial culture and supporting innovative startups, the Chamber not only has its own stand, but has also established an exclusive hub to facilitate connections between emerging companies participating in the Impulsa Startup program and potential investors, clients, and partners.

 

José Luis Bonet , president of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, emphasized the importance of this initiative: “The Spanish Chamber of Commerce has in its DNA the responsibility to address a key need for society and the country: to promote a culture of entrepreneurship, especially in the form of startups. That is why the Impulsa Startup program is especially important. By leveraging the extensive network of Chambers of Commerce, we offer support to entrepreneurs with innovative, technology-based business ideas throughout Spain.”

During the South Summit, five of the most innovative startups participating in the Impulsa Startup program will have the opportunity to present their projects in a pitch in English to an audience of investors, clients, potential partners, other entrepreneurs, and the general public. These companies are:

 

ATOM H2: Proposes a cutting-edge technology for the storage of hydrogen in solid state, using metal hydrides to transform surplus renewable energy into clean electricity on demand.

    Yorsio: An artificial intelligence (AI)-based platform designed to solve the housing problem through co-ownership.

SendingBay: Connects local carriers with e-commerce and last-mile delivery networks, optimizing their operations.

Bivo: An AI application that seeks to democratize access to professional, personalized physical training adapted to the specific demands of each sport.

Kala Health: A Spanish-language app designed to prepare and support women in the transition to menopause.

 

The Chamber Network: A Fundamental Pillar for Entrepreneurship

 

The Spanish Chamber of Commerce's initiative at South Summit has the active participation of a broad network of regional chambers, including those in Murcia, Terrassa, Madrid, Valencia, Cantabria, Girona, Menorca, Cáceres, Lanzarote, Seville, Tarragona, Badajoz, Castellón, Torrelavega, Alicante, and Lleida. Their presence reinforces the national commitment to supporting entrepreneurial talent.

 

Boost Startup: A Technology Business Acceleration and Creation Program

 

The Impulsa Startup program, co-financed by the ESF+ under the Education and Training, Employment and Social Economy Program (2021-2027), is designed to create and accelerate startups with a strong technological foundation. To date, the program has supported 320 entrepreneurs with 180 projects through the Chambers of Commerce network in 2024.

 

The program is structured in two key phases:

 

"Create and Grow": In this phase, entrepreneurs develop a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) through training, tutoring with Chamber technicians and mentoring with experienced entrepreneurs and businesspeople.

"Take Off": The entrepreneur is accompanied in the process of scaling their business model and presenting it to potential investors, with tutoring from specialized technicians and mentoring from experts in each business model.

 

In its first year, twenty-five Chambers of Commerce have joined the Impulsa Startup program, demonstrating its reach and relevance in the Spanish entrepreneurial landscape.

 

Cybersecurity in the Age of AI: A Crucial Debate

 

In addition to the activities related to the Impulsa Startup program, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce will host a roundtable discussion on cybersecurity on Thursday, June 5, at the Playground Stage. Titled "AI Guardians: Securing the Digital Frontier," the discussion will be moderated by Francisco Machín, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at IE University. It will feature prominent figures such as Carlos López Blanco, president of ESYS and of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce's Digitalization Committee; Adriana Freitas, Cybersecurity Senior Project Leader at APWG.EU; and Marina Nogales, Director of Cyber ​​Threat Intelligence at Unilever.

 

The strong presence of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce at South Summit 2024 underscores its fundamental role in promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and technological development in Spain.