BNEW Best Startup Awards 2023 recognize key companies for the new economy

• Carlos Prieto, delegate of the government of Spain in Catalonia, chaired the event, accompanied by Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor of the Barcelona City Council; Joan Romero, executive director of ACCIÓ; Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State in the CZFB, and Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB and the BNEW, with the assistance of numerous personalities linked to the business sector.

• Agualytics won the award in the BNEW Sustainability vertical; Vecla earned recognition in BNEW Mobility; HDR in BNEW Talent; Myorcare in BNEW Health; Additive Spaces in BNEW Proptech; and Zentinel Machine Data Solutions in BNEW Digital Industry.

• The formula of participation, collaboration and open innovation promoted by the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) allows the startups participating in the Innovation Hub to connect with investors and establish synergies in order to materialize their projects.

Barcelona, October 5th, 2023.- Within the framework of the third day of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) organized a gala dinner yesterday at the DFactory Barcelona facilities, in which the awards ceremony for the Best Startups of BNEW 2023 was held, recognizing the best emerging company in each of the verticals that make up the event: Digital Industry, Proptech, Mobility, Talent, Health and Sustainability.

Carlos Prieto, delegate of the government of Spain in Catalonia, chaired the event, accompanied by Laia Bonet, first deputy mayor of the Barcelona City Council; Joan Romero, executive director of ACCIÓ; Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State in the CZFB, and Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB and the BNEW. The awards ceremony was attended by representatives of the 80 startups that submitted their candidacy to the BNEW Startup Innovation Hub contest, a unique meeting point to share the latest technological advances in industry 4.0 and connect companies with potential partners and investors.

The jury of the awards has evaluated the solutions of the 30 finalist startups according to the impact they have on the industry, the capacity of the management teams and the high-value technological solutions that provide sustainable competitive advantages. Likewise, the sustainable growth potential of the startup, its ability to influence the economy and society, and its innovation component have been assessed.

During his speech, Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State in the CZFB, stressed that “BNEW is a reference event to advance effectively towards the economy of the future. A more prosperous future where startups are agents of change, vectors of transformation… Startups not only generate jobs and wealth, but are also driving advances in technology, sustainability, health, education, in transversal sectors involved in the new economy.”  

In this sense, Blanca Sorigué, general director of the entity and the BNEW, added that “from the CZFB we want to thank all the startups participating in these awards for their contribution in this important transformation process that the industry is experiencing. Likewise, we would like to encourage all those entrepreneurs who have an innovative project in mind, to be persevering and bet on it, because the new economy needs disruptive projects that respond to new challenges”. 

Best BNEW Startups 2023

Among the 80 national and international startups participating in this edition, 6 emerging companies have been recognized, one for each of the vertical sectors of BNEW 2023.

Award for the best startup of BNEW Sustainability for Agualytics: company that offers solutions for the efficient and sustainable management of the water cycle in agriculture focusing on the concept of water traceability. Saturnino José González, CEO of Aqualytics, has collected the award.

Award for the best BNEW Mobility startup for Vecla: company focused on a new system of total or partial conversion of all types of pre-existing combustion engine vehicles or new manufacture to electric. José Antonio Vega, founder of Vecla, has received the award.

Award for the best startup of BNEW Talent for HDR: company that has developed an AI application to improve the performance of work teams and different departments in a company, through communication, transparency and improvement in decision making. Based on a tried and tested 11-step methodology. Maria Florencia Martínez, from HDR, has been in charge of receiving this recognition.

Award for the best startup of BNEW Health for Myorcare. MyOr’s platform, MyorCare, powered by cutting-edge, data-driven AI, introduces a paradigm shift from reactive to proactive care, in the realm of food allergies affecting millions of people worldwide.  Elizabeth Bannett, General Manager of Myor in Spain has collected the award on behalf of the company.

Award for the best BNEW Proptech startup for Additive Spaces: its main objective is the research and development of new materials and automated design processes in the construction of buildings through additive manufacturing, contributing to the digital and sustainable transition of the building sector. Alejandro Cavazos, Founder & CCO of Additive Spaces, has received the award.

Award for the best startup of BNEW Digital Industry for Zentinel Machine Data Solutions: company of integrated systems for plug and play Industrial Observability solutions that help manufacturers increase their productivity, optimize the use of resources and ensure sustainable production. María Rivas, CCO-Founder of Zentinel Machine Data Solutions, has collected this distinction.