South Summit Madrid 2024: Investor and Innovator Meeting Attracted 18,000 Participants

The 13th edition of the South Summit Madrid, held from June 5 to 7, stood out as a key event for the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. Bringing together over 18,000 participants from 133 countries, the event underscored its international component, welcoming 6,500 entrepreneurs, 6,000 company representatives, and 2,000 investors, whose investment portfolios exceed $500 billion, a significant increase compared to the previous year.

For three days, La Nave in Madrid became the global epicenter of innovation and entrepreneurship. With the presence of more than 700 international speakers, the event addressed the latest trends in technology and innovation under the theme “Human by Design,” emphasizing the importance of placing humans at the center of technological evolution.

Among the renowned speakers were Steven Bartlett, creator of the podcast “The Diary of a CEO,” and Mateo Salvatto, founder of Asteroid Techs, who started his startup at 18 and already helps more than 400,000 people with disabilities. Both shared valuable insights on embracing failure as part of success and the impact of technology on improving quality of life.

María Benjumea, president and founder of South Summit said to Empreendedor.com/MyBusiness.com that “the foundation of South Summit are the connections. We define ourselves as a platform that connects all the people present in the ecosystem – the entrepreneurs, that is, the founders of startups – and connects them with the corporations that make up the global economy and that need innovation, new products and services.".




"They (corporations) need to transform themselves and, therefore, they need to collaborate with startups. Furthermore, investors, who are the third economic actor – or the second, since both startups and corporations are companies – are also part of the ecosystem. Thus, South Summit promotes all types of activities that multiply connections, creating real business opportunities that benefit startups, investors, corporations and all sectors involved in the context of innovation and collaboration.”

The South Summit also highlighted the presence of 26 international unicorns. Figures like Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Booking, Uri Levine, founder of Waze, and Vincent Rosso, co-founder of BlaBlaCar Spain, contributed their experiences and perspectives on the future of technology, including topics like Artificial Intelligence and successful business strategies.

The Portuguese played a significant role, with 18 speakers sharing their success stories and the 34 Portuguese startups present demonstrating the strength of the collaborative Iberian ecosystem.

In the Startup Competition, Madrid's Invopop was the grand winner, standing out for its innovative solution that facilitates invoicing in various countries. Other awards included Sycai from Barcelona, recognized as the “Most Disruptive” startup, and Navilens from Murcia, awarded as the “Most Sustainable.”