Por Redaccion 
Marbella will consolidate itself as a reference in technological entrepreneurship with the celebration on May 7 and 8 of the second edition of the Startup OLÉ Marbella’25 fair, which will take place at the Palacio de Congresos y Exposiciones Adolfo Suárez. The mayor, Ángeles Muñoz; the provincial delegate of Research and Innovation in Málaga, Miguel Briones; the CEO of The Pool Marbella, Christian Rasmusson; and the CEO of Startup OLÉ, Emilio Corchado, presented today this event, which will connect startups with investors, national and international corporations, public administrations, and other sector agents. The event, with the support of the City Council, aims to promote the internationalization of the Andalusian and Spanish ecosystem and connect it with European and American communities, among others.
The mayor recalled the success of the first edition in 2004, when more than a thousand attendees from all over Europe gathered, with nearly 300 speakers and over 70 startup companies participating. She emphasized that «our city is the ideal place to host events of this nature.» She noted the agreement between the City Council and the General Foundation of the University of Salamanca, through Startup OLÉ, which includes the provision of public spaces and logistical support for the organization and dissemination of the event, as «a very solid collaboration framework to turn Marbella into a digital entrepreneurship epicenter and reference.» She pointed out the operation of the Marbellup building, «a facility where innovation and training go hand in hand,» detailing that during its first year of operation, over 1,500 people have participated in various activities and courses, also driving the digitization of local SMEs.
Corchado, who thanked the City Council for their support, stressed that the initiative «supports the creation of quality jobs and internationalization» and that «everyone who attends the event will come out strengthened with numerous contacts.» «The goal is for the entrepreneurial culture to start to permeate,» he added, referring to the experiences that some speakers will share firsthand. Meanwhile, Rasmusson referred to a recent article in the Financial Times mentioning Marbella 2.0, «a concept that we at The Pool had envisioned from the beginning and is now a reality,» stating that «the city’s quality of life is undeniable and that will attract talent, but once they are here, we need to provide them with the ecosystem and platform to develop their projects.» Finally, Briones noted the «framework of trust» offered by the city and outlined the various initiatives promoted by the Andalusian government to support startups.
The program of Startup OLÉ Marbella’25 will include forums on investment funds, business angels, and accelerators, talks on the role of public administrations and universities in supporting entrepreneurship, roundtable discussions on the value of the media in the ecosystem, and activities aimed at promoting and enhancing cybersecurity and artificial intelligence as key verticals. There will also be presentations highlighting collaboration between various European Innovation Valleys, among others. The event will feature a startup fair, a competition to reward the best proposals presented, and a space for corporations, public administrations, and service providers to introduce themselves to entrepreneurs, as well as business rounds and networking cocktails.
Regarding speakers, participation is expected from, among others, the mayor of Marbella; the Director General of Entrepreneurship and Continuous Training Development of the Andalusian Government, Javier González; the Open Innovation & Entrepreneurship of Enagás Emprende, Emilio Martínez; the Deputy Director of Innovation at RTVE, Esteban Mayoral; Google software engineer Karl Hiramoto, and the Director General of Research and Innovation of the Community of Madrid, Marina Villegas. Those interested in attending this event, which also has the support of the Junta de Andalucía, Enagás, RTVE, The Pool, Global Super Angels Club, the City Council of Salamanca, and the University of Salamanca, can register for free at the link. More information about the fair can be found here.