Crowned the 17 regional impact startup ambassadors in Spain, among 101 selected early-stage startups by Spain Up Nation, might give a hint of their potential to grow into unicorns.
As part of the Spain Up Nation gala, celebrating all of the 101 early-stage impact startups from Spain's 17 autonomous regions, special awards went to ambassador companies, selected for their especially high social and environmental impact in their respective region.
"These recognitions are awarded to startups with a more transformative approach in each community, being a reflection of the commitment of Spanish entrepreneurship with sustainable development", it was stated.
The first edition of the TOP101 Spain Up Nation awards, which took place in Cordoba on November 5th 2024, wants to highlight entrepreneurship with impact in Spain, as well as the country's entrepreneurial talent. It is a public-private collaboration between entities of the public administration, such as the well-known financial support organization ENISA, and Spain's 17 regional development agencies, all said to have a fundamental role in the growth of startups committed to social and environmental transformation.
The CEO of ENISA, Borja Cabezón expressed: (translated from Spanish)
“The entrepreneurial ecosystem of our country has experienced a great development in recent years, thanks to the sum of efforts and the collaboration between the different public administrations and private entities. ENISA, as an institution commissioned by the
government of Spain, to promote the Spain Up Nation initiative, shows the high potential of our country as a place not only for to live and visit, but also to undertake, invest and launch
new projects.”
If you are researching future impact unicorns, or early-stage impact startups in Spain, these 17 regional impact startup ambassadors from TOP101 Spain Up Nation, may be of interest.
Which ones of these companies do you think have the potential to grow into unicorns? Do you have knowledge about any of these emerging companies to add value to this piece?
--> Please, leave a comment below.
17 regional impact ambassadors in Spain, out of 101 early-stage awarded startups
The Impact startup ambassador for Andalusia: Cobiomic
Cobiomic is a biotech spin-off from the biomedical Institute of Cordoba and the University of Cordoba, providing personalized medicine in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. The company focuses on precision medicine and biomarker identification for chronic inflammatory diseases.
The CEO of Cobiomic is the co-founder Yas Hanaee. Please note that the cover image features the co-founder and director Carlos Pérez Sánchez, who was also present to receive the impact startup ambassador award for the region of Andalusia.
The Cobiomic team expressed their gratitude on LinkedIn with these words:
"Being named ambassadors in these awards underscores our commitment to innovation and social impact. We are deeply grateful to the organization and those responsible for the Top101 Spain Up Nation awards for this honor.
"We feel motivated to continue exploring new solutions that meet the unique needs of each person, fostering a healthcare approach that is not only more effective but also more accessible and attuned to today’s health challenges".
The Impact startup ambassador for Aragon: Zepren Solutions
From Zaragoza in the Aragon region, Zepren Solutions offers advanced test and measurement instrumentation, and sensors based on optoelectronic and radar technologies. Their measurement instrumentation for many different fields are all based on proprietary and licensed technologies. Their mission is to leverage technology transfer from Universities and Technology centers to the industry based on an Open Innovation strategy.
The CEO and also founder of Zepren Solutions is Asier Villafranca, PhD.
The company expressed their gratitude on LinkedIn with these words:
"Zepren Solutions has been named ambassador of Aragon at the Top101 SpainUp nation gala held in Córdoba! A new recognition of our entrepreneurial trajectory and the potential impact of the developments we are undertaking."
"Thank you very much to Instituto Aragonés de Fomento and CEEI Aragon for your support and to all the staff and collaborators for contributing every day to keep this project taking steps forward."
The Impact startup ambassador for Asturias: H2Vector
From Gijón in the region of Asturias, this Clean tech company develops green hydrogen-based energy machines and projects to decarbonize energy applications. CEO and founder of H2Vector is Miguelangel Ocando.
Their flagship product, the Vector Series, is stated to be a revolutionary power-to-power hydrogen-based energy management system and hydrogen battery. This innovative system produces green hydrogen from water and renewable energy surpluses, returning energy back to the system through electricity and heat (for stationary applications), as well as hydrogen gas and electricity (for mobility applications).
In August, 2024, H2Vector announced the DAHSS Energy Project to develop hydrogen storage in solid compounds for its application in energy skid and industrial mobility. Solid storage, the company writes, is emerging as a promising option where volume is a major requirement or where fast refuelling is required and always available regardless of location.
The impact ambassador for Asturias expressed their gratitude on LinkedIn with these words:
"It fills us with gratitude to have been selected as regional ambassadors in this event that promotes entrepreneurship in Spain.
At H2vector we have worked to develop innovative solutions based on green hydrogen, which allow us to reduce carbon emissions and move toward a clean and accessible energy future. We believe in the power of innovation to transform the world.
This recognition further motivates us to continue advancing in our commitment: to contribute to a more sustainable world through green hydrogen."
The Impact startup ambassador for the Balearic Islands: We Are Lab
Led by CEO Marc Masmiquel Mendiara, We Are Lab is an eco-design laboratory for an environmentally sustainable future.
With a team made up of designers, engineers, scientists and researchers, their goal is to carry out concrete innovations in circular economy, in marine biodiversity regeneration, in aerospace research and in alternatives to plastics with negative carbon footprint ecomaterials.
During the Covid19 crisis, We Are Lab collaborated with the public health system by providing systems to prevent the spread of the virus through 3D printing.
The Impact startup ambassador for the Basque Country: ScrapAd
Samuel Ruiz De Lorenzo is the founder and CEO for ScrapAd, a global platform for the metal recycling industry. The marketplace is designed to connect buyers and sellers of recyclable metals worldwide, claiming to offer fully transparent transactions.
This circularity startup based in the Basque Country has two main objectives: to help recyclers find the best buying or selling counterpart for their materials and to reduce to a minimum the waste that ends up being deposited in landfills.
ScrapAd operates in 125 countries, has more than 3,000 registered companies and has already avoided the emission of more than 31,900 tonnes of CO2 thanks to the use of materials traded on the platform, according to their own numbers.
The Impact startup ambassador for the Canary Islands: Light Bridges
Light Bridges offers the space community a way to bypass lengthy procedures and avoid high-risk expenditures on infrastructure, personnel and logistics. In the Canary Islands, the company manages five robotic telescopes at the Teide Observatory, part of the Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (IAC), alongside Astronomy high-performance computing centers, all funded by private investors.
The cover image features Miquel Serra-Ricart who is the scientific director at Light Bridges.
Light Bridges describes their mission as wanting to democratize access to world-class scientific facilities by enabling countries and research organizations to budget shared resources, without the need for significant investment in proprietary telescopes or computing centers.
Currently, they are promoting cooperation on selected science projects with top research institutions. Some of these projects are referred to as Metal Type Asteroids 2024, Jovian Trojan Asteroids 2024, Comet Hyperbolic 2024 and Neo Fast Rotators 2024.
The Impact startup ambassador for Cantabria: Idrus
Idrus operates from Santander and specializes in the development of software and automated telephone services. Their Rovozia product, using voice bot technology and artificial intelligence, enables telephone conversations with a natural and friendly language, stated to be greatly improving acceptance rate and overall efficiency.
The cover image features Carlos Recio Calzada, CEO for Idrus.
The company expressed their gratitude on LinkedIn with these words:
"We are proud to share that Idrus has been recognized as ambassador of Cantabria in the TOP101 of entrepreneurship with impact in Spain, a distinction received in Córdoba by the hand of FORO ADR and ENISA with innovative entrepreneurship.
We thank SODERCAN | Society for the Development of Cantabria | for their support of local entrepreneurship. This achievement drives us to continue developing innovative solutions.
A very special mention to our amazing team at Idrus, whose commitment, passion and daily effort have been the key to get here. Each of them is a fundamental piece of our success."
The Impact startup ambassador for Castilla-La Mancha: Abastores
Abastores is co-founded by Rubén Orihuela, COO and Carlos García Santacruz, CEO.
In the context of special recognitions for this Agri tech company, shortly prior to receiving this award as regional Impact startup ambassador for the region Castilla-La Mancha, the company raised €750,000 in October, 2024. Carlos García Santacruz, CEO Abastores, commented this announcement on LinkedIn: (shortened and translated from Spanish) "We increase capital and debt in Abastores! With three VCs who have believed in us and fallen in love with our business. Enisa will join this party with innovative entrepreneurship with the Agro impulso line. Without which, we would not be writing these lines today.
A new stage begins, where we have to multiply all the business figures, improve technology and professionalize the company to reach the next level. Most importantly, we will democratize access to the agricultural market. And I have no doubt that we will achieve it."
The Impact startup ambassador for Castilla and León: Quevana
The CEO and founder Alejandro Álvarez, featured on the cover image, makes plant-based cheeses from cashews from Segovia, in the region of Castilla and León.
It all started with the simple fact that Alejandro Álvarez, a vegan since the age of 16, was missing eating cheese. He then decided, together with his family, to create plant-based cheeses with great flavour, texture and nutritional value.
Through innovation in fermentation and maturation processes Quevana claims to be succeeding with delivering 100 percent plant-based cheeses to the market.
The Impact startup ambassador for Catalonia: Robopedics
Robopedics, led by CEO and founder Ivan Martinez, wants to democratize access to the existing technology to allow stroke-disabled in a wheelchair to stand up and walk again, but at home, every day, and without medical supervision.
This Barcelona based impact startup has developed what it claims to be the world's first advanced bionic walking system for personal use as an alternative to the wheelchair. This new system called Awake, allows for those disabled due to stroke to stand up from the wheelchair and walk every day at home, independently and without medical supervision.
The Impact startup ambassador for Extremadura: Smallops
Leading this Agri tech startup in the region of Extremadura is CEO Iñigo Monreal.
Smallops offers solutions to olive oil waste management processes, transforming them into valuable resources. The company has innovated the production process of OPS nanoparticles and biogas by hydrothermal carbonization (HTC), developed internally. This approach optimizes waste management and offers advanced solutions to improve environmental sustainability in the agro-industrial sector.
The Smallops technique allows the creation of nanoparticles at a low cost compared to other techniques for the production of metallic nanoparticles. In addition, the company obtains a product with up to six environmental applications.
The Impact startup ambassador for Galicia: Innogando
Innogando offers RUMI, a GPS tracking system for livestock that monitors an animal’s status.
This Agri tech based in Lugo in the region of Galicia is led by CEO Elio López García.
Innogando expressed their gratitude on LinkedIn with these words:
"We had already told you that we have received recognition as a TOP101 company. But our surprise has been when we managed, not only that, but also... to be ambassadors of Galicia!
On November 4th, we met in Córdoba the 101 companies with innovative and impact projects in the entrepreneurial environment, in an event full of surprises."
"We were able to know the hard work of our colleagues and the impetus of Spanish entrepreneurs. We are very happy with the recognition that has been given to us and that events like this are held, putting in value and giving visibility to startups."
More details about Innogando here: Fundraising, early-stage impact startups in Spain.
The Impact startup ambassador for Madrid: Alcyon Photonics
Led by CEO Jimena Garcia-Romeu, Alcyon Photonics designs high-performance photonic devices that can be transversally applied to integrated chips for a broad range of applications, for example optical communications, biochemical sensing, spectrometry through micro-satellites.
Their innovation stems from the Optics Institute of the Spanish Research Council (IO-CSIC) and holds several patents on Photonic Building Blocks.
By integrating various optical components, such as waveguides, modulators, and detectors onto a single chip, integrated photonics enables compact and high-performance solutions for applications spanning communications, sensors, medical devices, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and beyond.
Alcyon Photonics expressed their gratitude on LinkedIn with these words:
"Honored to share that we’ve been recognized as an Ambassador of Comunidad de Madrid in the Top 101 Spain Up Nation awards!
This achievement is a testament to the hard work and commitment of our entire team. A heartfelt thanks to Enisa and Comunidad de Madrid for sponsoring this event and championing innovation and growth in Spain’s startup ecosystem. Their support makes a powerful difference in fostering entrepreneurship across the region.
Looking forward to collaborating with fellow ambassadors and stakeholders to keep pushing boundaries and strengthening Madrid's startup ecosystem."
The Impact startup ambassador for Murcia: Bleecker Technologies
CEO Félix J. García Clemente
Bleecker Technologies is a spin-off founded by faculty members of the University of Murcia (Spain) specialized in Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, with broad experience in R&D projects.
The company has obtained several patents for innovative technology and commercializes products and advanced solutions for the industry.
The Impact startup ambassador for Navarra: Uraphex
Javier López Palacios, CEO leads Uraphex from Pamplona in the region of Navarra. The company refers to themselves as specialists in the regeneration of water in the main industrial processes, in a sustainable, cost-effective and chemical-free way.
This clean tech startup has patented a technology that allows water savings of up to 90% in refrigeration systems, as well as in the washing of fruit and vegetables. The company specializes in the design, manufacture and installation of equipment that regenerates and disinfects water without using chemical products.
To date, they have managed to save their customers more than 300,000 m³ of water and avoid the use of 290 tons of chemicals, contributing significantly to environmental sustainability. The team is working on new applications in sectors such as automotive, steel and textiles.
They are definitely doing a lot of things right since in less than a year during 2024, Uraphex has received some of the highest recognitions in the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Spain:
Best startup in Navarra by CaixaBank
Best startup in Spain by the Santander X Spain Awards
Top startup in Spain with the greatest impact in the TOP101 Spain Up Nation
Top 1 in Navarra for our environmental and social impact
The Impact startup ambassador for La Rioja: Adamo Robot
Led by CEO Carlos Jiménez Guajardo Fajardo, Adamo is a robotic medical device capable of aiding in the diagnosis of back pain injuries and delivering contactless treatment using temperature-controlled pressurized air.
In 2020, Adamo Robot began researching together with La Rioja Biomedical Research Center (CIBIR) and the company was born in 2021 as a spin-off from Future Sense SL, a company created with the aim of developing innovative solutions using robotic technology in the field of physiotherapy.
After more than 5 years of research and with the support and validation of the University of Oviedo and the University of Alcalá, the first Adamo Robot robotic system was born, a device that integrates state-of-the-art components, such as the UR robotic arm and the FLIR thermal camera, and which uses a jet of pressurized air for the treatment of musculoskeletal disorders.
Adamo expressed their gratitude on LinkedIn with these words:
"Adamo Robot was selected as an ambassador for the Spain Up Nation brand as the most impactful innovative company from La Rioja.
Honored to announce that on Monday, November 4th, at the Gala of Spain's Top101 Companies, Adamo Robot was awarded the prestigious title of Ambassador Company of La Rioja.
We are deeply grateful to the jury for this incredible recognition. It is an honor that validates our continuous effort to create a positive impact on society and revolutionize the fields of physiotherapy and rehabilitation."
The Impact startup ambassador for Valencia: CoCircular
Led by CEO Paula Sánchez Collado.
Due to the tragic flooding in the region of Valencia on Oct 30th it might be that CoCircular could not attend the Awards event in person.
To learn more about CoCircular and CEO Paula Sánchez Collado, this impressive impact startup based in Valencia was especially highlighted by me back in 2022 in this insight: Circularity Champions in Spain, 5 startups pushing a circular economy
Image credits: All images come from the companies' own social media feeds and have been cropped and edited for aesthetics.
Created by Caroline Lagergren
For the full list of the TOP101 early-stage impact startups awarded by Spain Up Nation:
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caroline (at) expandtospain (dot) com
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