Rising Up in Spain is a government program to accelerate startups all over the world and set up them in Spain.
The 2020 call for proposals has received 355 applications from 62 different countries. The winning companies propose innovative services that apply technology to sectors such as renewable energies, customer service, biotechnology and education, among others
The ICEX-Invest in Spain-Rising UP in Spain-programme, aimed at supporting the implementation of international talent in Spain and enriching the Spanish entrepreneurial system, has completed selection of the 15 winning international startups in the 2020 call. These innovative projects will be able to start benefiting from the programme's online services provided due to the international pandemic caused by COVID-19, until the situation is restored, and they can begin to streamline their procedures to physically move to Spain. The 15 startups come from Argentina (2), Chile (3), Colombia, the U.S., Israel, Netherlands, the United Kingdom (2), Russia, Singapore, Switzerland and Ukraine. All of them offer innovative services by applying technology to a wide range of fields, such as renewable energy, logistics, agriculture, customer service, biotechnology, intellectual property, human resources, education and e-commerce.
To select the projects, ICEX-Invest in Spain has had the support of the main stakeholders of the entrepreneurship ecosystem and the public institutions devoted to supporting it: the Spanish Association of Capital, Growth and Investment (ASCRI), the Spanish Association of Business Angels Networks (AEBAN), the National Innovation Company (ENISA) and the Ministries of Industry, Trade and Tourism and Labour and Social Economy. Thanks to the Rising UP in Spain programme, the 15 selected startups will receive assistance to develop their ideas in Spain through a specialised acceleration programme adapted to the needs of each one, provided by Cink Venturing and TheVentureCity; two leading accelerators with experience in mentoring and connected to a wide network of investors. The startups will benefit from advice on the process of creating a company in Spain (soft-landing), support in areas such as the company's formal incorporation, tax and labour advice, etc. They will also have access to a wide network of investors, free work space for six months, support to attend investment forums specialised in obtaining funding for startups, visibility in media outlets specialised in entrepreneurship and help with obtaining visas.
355 applications from 62 countries Rising UP in Spain thus begins a new call that has received 355 registrations from 62 different countries. Specifically, 49.8% of the registrations came from Latin America, 22.2% from Europe, 19.4% from Asia, 5.3% from Africa and 3% from North America. ICEX-Invest in Spain will offer its usual support services for the implementation in Spain of all those projects that, whilst not being winners of this call, will undertake their productive projects in Spain.
This programme has been a great success since it was launched in 2016, both for the number of foreign entrepreneurs who have been interested in participating, and for the quality of its projects. Specifically, a total of 1,050 companies and entrepreneurs from more than 70 countries have applied. Of these, 55 start-ups have been selected so far. These are extremely diverse in terms of both the technology of their proposals and their origin, to which these 15 new ones have now been added. Winning companies ECOWAVE POWER | Israel Tidal power generation technology in ports and marinas (as opposed to the high seas). RIGI TECH | Switzerland Logistics service using drones, with its own technology; innovative applications in the health sector and emergency services, as well as in last mile solutions. M3STORAGE | Chile Platform for renting space in shopping centres for use as warehouses and automated and close collection points. Last mile logistics solution. CO2i Ltd. (DryGro) | United Kingdom Cultivation of water lentil on arid land with patented technology; an alternative for the production of protein for animal feed and potentially also for human consumption. ACTIVECHAT | Ukraine/USA Tool to train customer service bots with natural language. WORKNMATES | Argentina Platform for flexible rental and management of shared workspaces, for freelancers and companies. SHA256 (SharpShark) | Chile Service for protecting digital intellectual property, with blockchain-based certification service, monitoring and defence against infringements. PSEUDOFREEZE | Colombia Patented bacteria-based refrigerant that allows the freezing point to be reached at higher temperatures, thus saving energy. CELERATIVE | USA. A platform for hiring and paying remote technology workers, as well as managing their remote work. NEURO-BIO / United Kingdom Biotech company that is developing a biomarker for the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease and a treatment of its symptoms through a nasal inhaler, with an additional avenue of study in oncological applications. WIRSOLUT | Argentina Logistics and transport software that uses satellite services and wireless devices for real-time shipment traceability and fleet tracking. NEEKIDS | Chile Online psycho-pedagogical evaluation platform for recommending educational materials adapted to the profiles of students with special needs. OPSCIENTIA | USA/Singapore A project that seeks to give users back ownership of their personal data on the internet, as well as exploiting its economic value and facilitating the portability of this information in migrant populations. CLOUDWISE | Netherlands Creators of COOL, a digital platform that brings together various educational apps and incorporates tools for managing online education. GIFTERY | Russia Platform for automatically issuing gift cards for businesses and SMEs; it incorporates user and impact analytics tools to manage marketing campaigns and obtain conversion metrics.