South Summit is currently running a series, the Scaleup Series, which kicked off in London on the 29th February. The London event brought together scaleup founders, unicorn legends, and investors, with a series of talks focusing on the Spanish startup ecosystem, to make the entire ecosystem aware of the opportunities within Spain. The gathering was co-organised with IE University, which has a strong emphasis on improving and nurturing the startup ecosystem in Spain.

South Summit

As mentioned, South summit was born with the strong belief that the entrepreneurial and innovative spirit would be the driving force to heal the economy. For this reason, “our aim is to be the reference hub that shapes the future via entrepreneurship, open innovation, ecosystem making, and business opportunities,” states its website.

Today, South Summit is recognised as one of the leading entrepreneurship and innovation platforms and one of the most important networks of high-value connections among the main ecosystem agents to detect opportunities, develop business and contribute to a positive impact.

The night

The ‘Scaleup Series’ began with a welcome from María Benjumea, Founder and President of South Summit, Juan José Güemes, VP Finance at IE University, and Darko Hajdukovic, Head of New Primary Markets and Deputy Head of Digital and Securities Markets at LSEG. The individuals introduced the night and highlighted the opportunities that startups in Madrid benefit from.

Following the welcome, Neil Shah, the Tech Sector Specialist at the London Stock Exchange, delved into the scaleup ecosystem in London, and how the London Stock Exchange plays a part in the market.

Next, the panel 'Gamechanger Series: Scaling Up in Proptech' will discuss Clikalia's growth with Alister Moreno, Founder & CEO at Clikalia, and Miguel Nigorra, Partner at Fifth Wall. The session will be moderated by Catalina Valentino, Co-Founder of Elixr.

Later, under the title 'Fuelling the Fire: Later Stage Investment Opportunities in the UK and Spain,' moderated by Carmen Alfonso Rico, General Partner at Cocoa Ventures, panellists included Javier Torremocha, Co-Funder and Managing Partner at Kibo Ventures; Itxaso del Palacio, General Partner at Notion; Paul Brodie, Managing Director Europe at Liquidity Group, and Florian Malidin, Growth Equity at Generation Investment Management.

Finally, Bernhard Niesner, Co-Founder of Busuu, and Christian Owens, Founder of Paddle, discussed the lessons that they learned in their scaleup journey to becoming unicorns, chaired by Juan Jose Güemes.

The South Summit Scaleup Series will continue its European tour on March 5th in Paris, April 11th in Milan, and the finale on April 18th in Lisbon.