In 2014, entrepreneur Iker Marcaide founded Zubi Labs in Valencia, a group for creating impact companies and asset management. He had just created what was the first company of Spanish origin to be listed on the Nasdaq, Flywire and previously known as peerTransfer. Since then he has promoted business projects such as the sustainable construction company Woodea, but also the La Pinada eco-neighborhood, currently in the design and processing process, and even a private school that follows the Montessori philosophy and is a reality in Paterna.
Now, the company faces an "expansion and growth strategy", as confirmed to this medium and, in addition to Valencia, it has opened offices in Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga. With examples like Marcaide, the Valencian entrepreneurial ecosystem shows signs of maturity and a clear ambition to grow. It is also perceived in proposals such as the one that Startup Valencia closed this week with The Next Web (TNW), a company of the Financial Times, an entity that held its event in the Marina for the first time in the city last year.
With what was announced on Thursday, they will work to "accelerate" the international expansion of the Valencia Digital Summit (VDS), the international technological event promoted by the Valencian startup association and which last year brought together more than 12,000 professionals from 91 countries and more than 600 national and international investors.
"We believe that València has tremendous potential, and the internationalization of VDS will accelerate this. We are delighted to continue our journey in Valencia through this strategic agreement to join forces and take VDS to the next level," said Zach Butler, director at TNW. For Juan Luis Hortelano, president of Startup Valencia, this strategic collaboration serves as a "catalyst for VDS's global expansion efforts, with the hope of breaking records again for the third consecutive year."
The City Council is working to enhance the international aspect of València and its ecosystem, which has brought together in a single brand, València Innovation Capital, the entire innovation strategy of the city, thus absorbing its own brands such as "València Tech City" or other similar ones that were promoted in the past legislatures. "We want València to be the gateway to the powerful Latin American innovative ecosystem in Europe and the technological reference hub of the Mediterranean," says the Councilor for Tourism, Innovation and Investment Acquisition Paula Llobet, who was yesterday at the last day of the 4YFN of Barcelona, accompanying the sector.
From the Barcelona fair, "many business possibilities" are brought to València, among them, those that could come after the "interest" shown by the delegation of the Netherlands, or that of the representatives of the government of Medellín, Colombia, with whom They study collaboration possibilities. GoHub, the investment fund of the Valencian company Global Omnium, with projects and an office in Miami, had already taken steps in opening up to Latin America.
At the stand that the Valencia City Council has installed at the 4YFN fair were Startup VLC, Big Ban Inversores Privados, CDTM, Finnova, Drapper B1, Innsomnia, KMZero, Marina de Empresas, Lanzadera, Invest in València, Fundación Social Nest, Opentop, Stars, ZubiLabs, IdeasUPV and The Impact Project, agents of an ecosystem that grew 16% last year.
For him, his reference will be, even more from now on, in La Harinera and Las Naves, the two industrial spaces converted into coworking and innovation rooms located in the maritime area of the city where Lanzadera, Angels and Innsomnia have defined since years ago as the innovative space par excellence of the city.
Other spaces that the previous local government promoted are, for the moment, on pause. “We increased the tertiary land in Benimaclet, we launched the technological development of Vara de Quart and we unlocked the PAI del Grao so that leading companies could settle here and create quality employment in our neighborhoods, but the PP of María José Catalá has already ruled out or paralyzed these initiatives that would have generated enough land for the city to be a great reference for companies,” laments socialist councilor Javier Mateo.
Vara de Quart's project sought to emulate Barcelona's 22@ in one of the capital's industrial areas, in front of the Tres Forques neighborhood. The man who was going to be its designer, Miquel Barceló, explained to La Vanguardia that he had been entrusted with the task of converting this industrial area into an “innovative district”, and that he would do so by fighting against what was dubbed the 'Valencian paradox'. However, when the current local government was asked whether it would be resumed or not, they explained that when they arrived at the council "there was nothing, not even a budget, just a Power Point that we don't even know where it is," says councilor Paula Llobet.
