Zaragoza Startup Fest, a “small village”, has already become a successful event bringing together investors and startups.

“We gave up a small village where we thought we would have 80 members, but we ended up having to change the space because we went to 300. Last year we had 450 and now we have 800.” With these words, Sergio Martinez, co-founder of Zebra, reviewed this Thursday the evolution of the entrepreneurial forum Zaragoza Startup Fest, which takes place these days in the capital of Aragon. An event that brought together leading investors with young companies, startups from different parts of the country who wanted to be here to talk about their projects and see opportunities for getting more funding.

“In the first episode, people believed the message and we said: something is going to happen in Zaragoza and Aragon.”recalls Martínez, who attributes the success of the event to a “word of mouth” that seems to imitate that “magic” or “boil” in the entrepreneurial field that is found in cities such as Malaga or Valencia, and who believes that it makes sense for Zaragoza to have this, with Aragon, “agrees with all the commitment to innovation.”

“We fully support this event, that’s why we wanted to attend,” said Aragon government vice-president Mar Vaquero.speaking this morning at a forum taking place this Thursday in Etopia. “We support innovation, especially young entrepreneurs who are going to join this technological and digital revolution that we are seeing in Aragon,” said the head of the presidential administration, economy and justice of the autonomous executive, who wanted to emphasize the value of public opinion. private collaboration to “continue to strengthen” the autonomous community’s positioning as a technology “hub.” He also noted that the rate will be reflected in the second issue of the Volna technology meeting, which his department is already preparing.

Regarding the next Waves event, which will be held in the first quarter of 2025, the vice president said that the space that will be allocated for the meeting of entrepreneurs and investors will be increased.and that an attempt will be made to make visible not only the potential of local talent, but also that “there are entrepreneurs who are willing to come to Aragon if they have the support.”

In parallel with the event that took place in Etopia, Adidas Tech held another event, which was attended by Mar Vaquero.according to what she herself said. The appointment of the German sports equipment company, whose Spanish subsidiary has important operations in Zaragoza, “settled with the need that if we ensure that technology companies are attracted, we will also help train local talent and attract young entrepreneurs.”

Anyway, Zaragoza Startup Festival During the two days of celebration, it reflected the typical atmosphere of communication between entrepreneurs and potential investors, here directly and without any protocol. The meeting was attended by over 100 startups and over 100 investors from all over Spain. Great private equity gurus such as René de Jong, Iñaki Arrola, Gerard Olivet and Helena Torras were able to listen to projects such as Banbu, a young Basque company producing water-free soaps and creams, or the Catalan company Byte Travel. a technology firm in the travel sector that processes visas for travelers from anywhere in the world and is already listed on the SME BME Growth stock market. Representatives of local talents such as the promoters Media Value or SignosIoT, even representatives of a more consolidated startup such as Numéricco, among many others, did not want to miss the event, which was closed by the mayor of Zaragoza. , Natalia Chueca.