The former basketball player Pau Gasol, the former CEO of Inditex Pablo Isla, Iker Casillas, Vitálik Buterin, the youngest crypto millionaire in the world; John Elkington, founder of Volans and a world authority on social responsibility and innovation, and thus up to 600 guests will parade between this Wednesday and Friday, June 9, for the recital of La Nave, in Madrid as part of the eleventh edition of South Summit.
The main meeting of the entrepreneurial and innovative ecosystem, co-organized by IE University, carries on this occasion with a message that transcends the entrepreneurial ecosystem. “But if there is a message that we seek to convey in this edition, it is that 2030 is already here. In other words, there is no time to lose to implement all these well-designed objectives to advance on the already essential path of sustainability and the good thing is that we have all the strength of innovation to advance and achieve those objectives", points out the founder and director of the event María Benjumea.
In the overwhelming business ecosystem that will parade through La Nave in this edition, the one that could be identified as the star of the year in the world of innovation, Artificial Intelligence applied to multiple sectors, will have special relevance. "I do not believe that artificial intelligence is going to replace people, but it is undeniable that it is going to generate many opportunities for a world that will be radically different and to which we must adapt with people and collaboration at the center," says Benjumea. .
The founder of South Summit talks about this eleventh edition with as much or more passion with which she talked about entrepreneurship back in 2012 when the Spanish economy was on the brink of financial abyss. “Now the situation is different. There are complications but the Spanish economy is holding up better. If those bad times have taught us anything, it is with effort, desire, enthusiasm and innovation that we can get ahead. That is why we invite collaboration and action ”, points out the directive.
In this edition, Benjumea feels especially proud that sectors such as space and health have joined the list of exhibitors. “It has been a sector traditionally linked to innovation both in the hospital and pharmaceutical fields. There have always been a lot of start-ups, but it was difficult for the industry to enter. Now they have realized that collaborating goes further. We have very attractive medical projects applied to everyday life. And the same goes for sports, ”she points out.
Benjumea discards the theories that we are witnessing a second .com bubble like the one experienced at the start of this century. So she launched one of the first online channels Infoempleo and knows both realities well. “Then companies were founded to fatten them up and be able to sell them. Now, there are Unicorns (start up whose valuation exceeds 1,000 million dollars) that have grown organically. This market is already mature beyond the fact that there are moments of growth and others in the opposite direction. The economy is cycles,” she assures.
But the South Summit lives not only on innovation, since its 2022 edition this event is no longer just about bringing together the entrepreneurial world, it is also committed to taking it to the final beneficiary, the citizen. For this, Benjumea has opted for music.
In parallel to the activities of La Nave, free music concerts will be held in the center of the city. The South Summit Street Fest, which is what this initiative is called, will have the Plaza de Santa Ana as venues, on the 7th; the Plaza de La Paja, the 8th and the end of the party will take place on Friday June 9th in Plaza España with a concert by the Spanish producer and DJ Juan Magá, 2manydjs. From Ghent (Belgium), the brothers David and Stephen Dewaele, among others.
An intense activity that has a direct impact on the economy of the Spanish capital. According to a report by PwC, each visitor who comes to the South Summit generates around 1,260 euros in the city's economy. This translates into a total impact of 28 million euros in the three days of the event. Added to them is the creation of 2,200 equivalent monthly jobs. "11% in organization personnel, 67% in supply chains and another 22% in companies benefiting from the increase in employee consumption directly and indirectly," the report states.
