The aim  of South Summit Industry & Energy Bilbao was to bring together the  main players in these fields to discuss the trends, opportunities and challenges they face in an innovative format of open conversation, in which they actively participated together with the audience of the first day.

The opening ceremony of South Summit Industry & Energy was attended by María Benjumea, founder and president of South Summit, and Ainara Basurko, Provincial Deputy for Economic Promotion of Bizkaia. Both have highlighted the value of the territory's ecosystem, which is increasingly mature and has more business opportunities.

In this regard, María Benjumea stated that "Bizkaia not only stands out for its special quality of life, but it is also one of the strongest points for the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem. There are more than 500 startups that make up this ecosystem, whose value increases year after year. Bizkaia must be the meeting point from where we begin to collaborate to change our country's industry and build a future towards a sustainable economy".

For her part, Ainara Basurko, Provincial Deputy for Economic Promotion of Bizkaia, pointed out that "Bizkaia has many opportunities for entrepreneurs, which is why many choose us to settle. First of all, the Basque Country's tax advantages are a unique opportunity for startups, in addition to the fact that we are a region that is particularly recognised for its ability to retain talent."

After the inauguration, James Arbib, founder of the think tank RethinkX focused on identifying innovations to ensure an impact on society, outlined the keys necessary to achieve this impact in his keynote 'The Multiplier Effect of Building Sustainably'. "What we really need is a change in mentality. Technological tools exist, we just need to believe them. Problems will always exist, the only way to evolve is through our ability to adapt," he stressed.

The opportunities of the ecosystem in Bizkaia was the main topic of the first open conversation of the day, entitled 'Fostering REAL Open Innovation in Biscay' and starring Ana Yurena García, Innovation Technician at Iberdrola, Olatz Goitia, Managing Director of Beaz, Sebastián Priolo, co-founder and CEO at Woza Labs and Ainara García, Project Manajer PMO at Barbara IoT. All of them agreed on the potential of Bizkaia as a centre of innovation thanks to the collaboration between all the actors involved.

 The second outstanding conversation of the day was led  by Ander Muñoz, Director of Innovation and Strategic Projects at Beaz  Bizkaia, and Jordán Guardo Vázquez, Senior Manager of BAT - B Accelerator Tower, who spoke about the different opportunities and advantages offered by the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Bizkaia, as well as the importance of public-private collaboration for the development of startups.

In addition, attendees on the first day of South Summit Industry & Energy Bilbao They have been able to meet some of the startups that are leading the changes and trends in these sectors, such as Pixforce (Brazil), OccluNet(Italy), FLOD. AI (France), Altered Carbon (United Kingdom), Dizmo (Switzerland), Atlas Metrics (Germany),BeON Energy (Portugal), Eolic Wall (Peru), Star Robotics (Spain), Electriq Global (Israel), Nanostine (Spain), VanOnGo – (Germany), Bitmetrics (Spain), Imageryst (Spain) and Elssway (Israel).

The first day of South Summit Industry & Energy will close with a visit to the most cutting-edge technological and industrial hubs in Bilbao, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Guggenheim Museum, with the aim that attendees can continue networking and generating real business opportunities.

South Summit Industry & Energy will conclude its second edition in Bilbao tomorrow, Friday, November 24, with more round tables and keynotes, including a talk focused on the possibilities of sustainable investment given by Owen Reynolds, director of Teklas Ventures. In addition, there will be a round table on the role of companies as drivers of change, with the participation  of Liz Fleming, Director of Ecosystem at South Summit, Silvia Pérez, Director of Innovation at Repsol, Óscar Fernández de Retana, Director of R+D at Arteche and Carlos Garrido, Director of Innovation  at Saitec Offshore Technologies.