Telefónica seeks startups in a new call for Open Future to "decentralize entrepreneurship"

Through Open Future, the company supports the generation of employment and the growth of the business fabric at a local level

MADRID, 28 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Telefónica has launched the second global call for Open Future 2022, in which five regional innovation centers are looking for startups that want to revolutionize traditional industries by applying disruptive technologies, an initiative with which the company intends to "decentralize entrepreneurship."

Five Open Future hubs, located in Cornellà (Barcelona), Ceuta, Badajoz, Segovia and Talavera de la Reina (Toledo), are participating in this call, which will be open until mid-October. The 'startups'; selected will become part of the Open Future ecosystem, a program with which Telefónica strengthens its open innovation capabilities.

This means that they will be able to use a shared workspace with the necessary means and infrastructures to promote their acceleration process and they will have the opportunity to contact other entrepreneurs, companies and public and private organizations. In addition, they will have access to mentors and advisors, private equity financing, visibility in the media and attendance at events.

The global manager of Open Future, Inês Oliveira, has highlighted Telefónica's commitment to "decentralizing entrepreneurship", since many of the more than 30 'hubs' that have been created -most of them in Spain, but also in Argentina and Peru-- are outside the big capitals like Madrid or Barcelona.

"We want to be where the entrepreneur is born and give him the tools so that he can grow his work where he is", he declared in an interview with Europa Press.

Through the current call, the multinational wants to know the proposals of the 'startups'; in virtual reality, artificial intelligence, 'machine learning'; (machine learning), 'big data'; (big data), internet of things, 'blockchain';, 'computer vision'; (artificial vision), biotechnology, eSports (electronic sports), 'gaming' (electronic games), 'agrotech' (technology applied to agriculture), cybersecurity, eHealth' (digital health) and the cloud, among others.

"As it is a transversal and technological agent, Telefónica allows us to verticalize and work in different industries and gives us that 'expertise'; both at the level of mentors, as a value proposition, as well as our experience, even working with 'startups' , in different areas", commented Oliveira.

As he explained, when tools are provided to accelerate startups, it helps to generate self-employment and, in some cases, entrepreneurs end up hiring other people who live in the same city.

Then, these companies begin to do business with the closest local ecosystem and the business fabric of the area begins to grow. Likewise, universities come into play, providing technological advice and access to talent, and new investors that may arise in the region to finance startup projects.

This "virtuous cycle", according to Oliveira, is a stimulus to the local economy that slows down the flight of young talent to the cities and, in this way, contributes to the fight against depopulation. The directive has set the example of Ceuta, where "There was no startup incubator or accelerator and, since the opening of the Open Future hub in 2020, 20 startups have been supported.

These have focused above all on the electronic games sector and have taken advantage of the autonomous city's location as a "gateway to Africa" ​​and its tax advantages.

Since it was launched in 2014, Open Future has carried out more than 200 'calls'; search for 'startups' and has accelerated more than 1,300 projects, which have generated some 4,000 jobs. The previous call for 2022 closed with the participation of more than 140 startups and 500 entrepreneurs, with prominence from the e-commerce, agrotech, engineering and network sectors.

Telefónica's role consists of defining an acceleration plan for between six and nine months and offering the advice that each startup needs: on marketing, financing, technology or other aspects.

Meanwhile, the company benefits from "capturing the 'deal flow' of 'startup' opportunities that we can detect and that may be interesting for a future investment or business development with Telefónica," Oliveira indicated.

Finally, the person in charge of Open Future has emphasized that, despite having a local base, startups always have a "global vision". This is the case of Dsruptive, a digital health company from Almería that sells microdevices that are implanted under the skin outside of Spain.