A new edition of Startup OLÉ will be held on September 5th, 6th and 7th, with the participation of the European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel.

The main novelties this year will be the great participation of companies and institutions from Castilla y León through the CYL-HUB project financed with next-generation funds from the European Union, the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the State Public Employment Service, channeled through the Junta de Castilla y León, as well as the celebration of a forum with startup villages, Startup Village, within the framework of REInA (Rural European Innovation Area).

Salamanca will once again be the world capital of technological entrepreneurship and innovation. The countdown for the celebration of the eighth edition of Startup OLÉ 2022 has already begun and forecasts indicate that it will far exceed the number of attendees harvested in previous years. In fact, as of today, more than 160 speakers have already confirmed their participation and it is expected to exceed 300.

Thus, the great world summit of entrepreneurship will bring together in Salamanca, from September 5th to 7th 2022, the national and international entrepreneurial ecosystem with the support of public institutions, corporations, investors, startups, freelancers, SMEs, universities, science parks, business schools and accelerators, with networking being one of the main attractions of the event.

The working sessions will take place over three days at the Hospedería Fonseca, the Colegio Arzobispo Fonseca and the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones de Castilla y León. The program is almost ready and the activities will include round tables, pitch competitions, startup fairs, business rounds between startups, SMEs, freelancers with corporations and investors (matchmaking) and networking activities.

Startup OLÉ 2022, as in previous editions, will have a networking platform, which will allow attendees to connect and schedule meetings, encouraging networking, allowing each of the registrants to connect based on their interests, verticals and technologies. Meetings can be held in person or through videoconferencing, which strengthens the generation of synergies.

Top keyplayers

This eighth edition will feature leading specialists. Proof of this will be the outstanding participation of the current European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, who will speak at the official opening of the meeting. On the other hand, the participation of leading institutions and companies from different sectors has also been confirmed, such as Oracle, ACCIONA, Incibe, CDTI, Iberdrola, Sek Lab Accelerator, Hispasat and Enagás. The president of ICO, José Carlos García de Quevedo, and the unicorn and co-founder of Blabacar, Vincent Rosso, will also take part in the event.

This year will also see the participation of freelancers, innovative SMEs, startups, scaleups and institutions of Castilla y León through the CYL-HUB project, a project to boost innovation and entrepreneurship in Castilla y León financed by Next Generation EU funds channeled through the Junta de Castilla y León with a total budget of 1,342,280 euros. It is a transnational project based on the areas of open innovation and entrepreneurship of the self-employed, innovative SMEs, startups and scaleups based on five cross-cutting axes: job creation, ecological transition, social and territorial cohesion, digitalization and gender equality, which promotes reforms that help and accelerate the economic and social recovery of Castilla y León, with support from the Recovery Funds through the Mechanisms for Recovery and Resilience (MRR).

Three days full of activities

The event will begin on September 5th and will run through September 7th. Open innovation, investment models from the point of view of women, new investment strategies and the approaches and commitment of public administrations and institutions will be some of the issues of special interest and topicality that will be addressed in the various round tables scheduled.

In parallel to the round tables, the Startup Village/Rural European Innovation Area (REInA) will be held on the 6th and will deal with issues related to rural innovation initiatives at the European level. Once the Startup Village/Rural Europe Innovation Area is over, the opening will be given by Emilio Corchado, CEO of Startup OLÉ, who will give a welcome speech to the attendees and will be followed by Ms. Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth; Ricardo Rivero, Rector of the University of Salamanca; Carlos Manuel García Carbayo, Mayor of Salamanca and José Bayón, CEO of Enisa.

The event will conclude on September 7th with the final of the Startups Pitch Competition, the awards ceremony such as the Pegasus Award (participation in the semifinal of the Startup World Cup Semi Finale), the award to the winner of the challenge "Innovation and sustainability in rural areas" organized by Iberdrola in collaboration with the Startup OLÉ and with the support of the European Commission or the Open Innovation Challenge Award organized by Capital Energy Quantum, along with the closing of the event, and a final networking cocktail.

The winning startup at the Salamanca summit will participate in the semifinal of the Startup World Cup, to be held in San Francisco (USA). In this way, the echoes of the Salamanca Summit will resonate on a planetary scale.

An event open to the whole of society

Another outstanding feature of Startup Olé is that its wide range of activities will be accessible to any citizen. Those interested in attending the different round tables and workshops can already register through the website https://startupole.eu/ and obtain the corresponding free ticket that will entitle them to attend the activities completely free of charge.

The success of Startup Olé over the years is reflected in the fact that a total of 120 countries have been represented with speakers and startups throughout these seven editions.