BBVA Spark Summit 2024

October 17, 2024, at 9:00 am, at the Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona. The event of the entrepreneurial ecosystem where we move forward together for growth.

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Entrepreneurship is an art

Moving to growth

The latest edition of BBVA Spark Summit, held in Barcelona for the second consecutive year, brought together CEOs and founders of technology companies, investors and leaders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Speakers

Carlos Torres Vila

Chair | BBVA

Javier Fondevila

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Holded

Jordi Valls Riera

4th Deputy Mayor | Barcelona City Council

Felipe Navío

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Job&Talent

Roberto Albaladejo

Head | BBVA Spark

Laura Urquizu

President & CEO | Red Points

Jamie Gilbert

Principal | TPG Europe

Christhi Theiss

Executive Director of Debt Investments | BBVA Spark

Enrique Linares

Co-founder | Plus Partners

Nils Henning

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Casafari

Santiago Muguruza

Head | Bilbao Vizcaya Investments

Bastien Gambini

Managing Partner | Klima (Alantra)

Ainhoa Campo Nieto

Managing Director VC Investments | Bilbao Vizcaya Investments

Aquilino Peña

Co-founder & Managing Partner | Kibo Ventures

Ander Michelena

General Partner | Acurio Ventures

Lucía Hojman

Head of Business Development | BBVA Spark Spain

Xavier Pladellorens

Founder | Deporvillage & Pladecom Investments

Andrea Barber

Co-founder & CEO | RatedPower

José Manuel Villanueva

Co-founder & Co-CEO | 011h

Speaker

Carlos Torres Vila

Chair | BBVA

Carlos Torres Vila is the current Chair of BBVA. He joined the bank in 2008 as Head of Strategy and Corporate Development, and member of BBVA's Management Committee. In 2014 he was appointed Head of Digital Banking, and in 2015 became Chief Executive Officer of the bank. He was appointed Chair of BBVA and of the BBVA Foundation in 2018. He was a Partner at McKinsey & Company, where he worked for 12 years. He joined Endesa in 2002 as Corporate Director of Strategy and member of its Executive Committee, and became the company's CFO in 2007. Torres Vila graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and a B.S. in Management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he later earned an M.S. at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He also graduated in Law from UNED (Spain).

Speaker

Javier Fondevila

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Holded

Javier Fondevila is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Holded, a business management software for SMEs and entrepreneurs. Fondevila is a serial entrepreneur. He founded his first company at the age of 21 in 2012, a fashion business called Philpark, that grew to have 14 stores across Spain and a team of more than 100 people. In 2016, he co-founded Holded, a cloud-based ERP software for small and medium-sized businesses that today is the leader in its category in Spain. It was acquired by Visma Group in 2021. Fondevila holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) from the Universitat Pompeu Fabra and a Master's degree in Private Banking and Corporate Finance from the Universitat de Barcelona.

Speaker

Jordi Valls Riera

4th Deputy Mayor | Barcelona City Council

Jordi Valls Riera is the 4th Deputy Mayor of Barcelona City Council, where he heads the area of Economics, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism. He practiced as a lawyer at the beginning of his professional career. His extensive political career began in Manresa, where he was mayor from 1995 to 2006. In 2006 he was Minister of Labor and Industry of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and from 2007 to 2011 President of the Port of Barcelona. From 2012 to 2020 he held senior management positions in the French company Suez, residing in the United Kingdom, Chile and Mexico; and has also been General Manager of Mercabarna. Valls holds a law degree from the University of Barcelona. He has lectured at seminars and postgraduate courses at ECLAC (UN), IDB, ESADE and IESE, and has published on topics related to infrastructure management, local policies and public-private management.

Speaker

Felipe Navío

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Job&Talent

Felipe Navío is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of the Spanish HR Tech unicorn Job&Talent. He makes sure that the marketplace for essential work is a well-oiled machine, managing the inner workings such as product, revenue, and HR. By lacing his business expertise with the mission of bringing stability to workers, Job&Talent became a world-leading marketplace for essential work under his leadership. Prior to founding Job&Talent with Juan Urdiales in 2009, Navío worked at McKinsey and helped found the ticket platform Entradia.

Speaker

Roberto Albaladejo

Head | BBVA Spark

Roberto Albaladejo leads BBVA Spark, a business unit created to support tech companies and VC funds with financial products and services. Spark also includes BBVA's investments in venture capital funds and its open innovation activities. Prior to that, Albaladejo had several roles at BBVA: he led the Chairman and CEO Office, Research and Global Public Affairs; and worked as a Managing Director within the corporate strategy and M&A team in Madrid and New York, covering transactions in Europe, Spain and Latam, including some investments in fintech companies. Before BBVA, Albaladejo worked as a M&A advisor at Deloitte and as a tax advisor at Garrigues (former Andersen Legal in Spain). He also holds an Executive MBA at IESE Business School.

Speaker

Laura Urquizu

President & CEO | Red Points

Laura Urquizu is the President and CEO of Red Points, an AI brand protection platform. Under her leadership, Red Points has emerged as one of Spain’s largest technology companies and a prominent startup in Europe, receiving the ‘Future Unicorn Award’ from the Digital Europe Programme in 2023. In 2019, Urquizu was recognised by the Asociación Española de Directivos (Spanish Association of Executives) as Spain’s top CEO in the startup category. She has also been featured in various global lists of influential business leaders by publications such as Forbes and Business Insider. Before joining Red Points, Urquizu held executive and management roles at Arthur Andersen and Caja Navarra. She is a board member of the Catalan business entity Cercle d'Economia, the founder and chairman of the international initiative Global Legal Tech Hub, which promotes dialogue on the legal aspects of digital transformation, and serves on the boards of several startups.

Speaker

Jamie Gilbert

Principal | TPG Europe

Jamie Gilbert, Principal at TPG Europe, is with TPG Rise Climate based in London. This fund focuses on clean energy investments and is distinguished by its use of data-driven methodologies to ensure its portfolio effectively contributes to a measurable reduction in carbon emissions. Jamie serves on the boards of three of TPG’s investee companies: Gridserve, Matrix Renewables and Enpal. Gilbert was educated at Cambridge University, where he earned a Master’s Degree in civil and Structural Engineering. Gilbert’s career prior to joining TPG included roles at Australian financial services giant Macquarie and the UK development finance institution CDC Group plc, now known as British International Investment, where he specialised in infrastructure-related investments.

Speaker

Christhi Theiss

Executive Director of Debt Investments | BBVA Spark

Christhi Theiss is the Executive Director of Debt Investments at BBVA Spark. He leads debt investments in a variety of verticals, such as fintech, B2B, SaaS and more within BBVA Spark, supporting extraordinary founders on their growth trajectory with a mix of financing instruments such as venture debt, warehouse and debt facilities. Former Head of Europe in Capital Markets, he combines over a decade leading investment banking businesses with a global fintech trajectory as investor, founder and C-level executive in various companies in the US and Europe. Passionately involved in the innovation ecosystem, he serves on a variety of boards leveraging his network and experience to further startup growth. He holds a degree in International Marketing from the University of Skövde, an MBA from the University of Siegen and a Master's degree in Banking and Financial Markets from the Burgundy School of Business.

Speaker

Enrique Linares

Co-founder | Plus Partners

Enrique Linares is the Co-founder of Plus Partners, a venture capital firm with a focus on supporting entrepreneurs in Southern Europe in the earliest stages of their projects (seed and pre-seed) in three key verticals transforming our societies: health and nutrition, the future of work and productivity, and finance and property. Linares previously co-founded letgo, an app that facilitates the seamless buying and selling of second-hand items, which achieved more than 100 million downloads in the US and Turkey and became the first Spanish startup to reach unicorn status in 2017. In 2009, Enrique co-founded Captalis, a pioneering fintech company operating in Brazil which was acquired by its main competitor in 2014. In 2017, Linares was named the entrepreneur with the best growth trajectory in the 40under40 Awards by IESE Business School. He is currently a board member and advisor of several startups, as well as a board member of Faes Farma, a publicly listed multinational pharmaceutical company. In 2023, he joined Endeavor as a mentor, which gave him further opportunities to nurture the next generation of business leaders.

Speaker

Nils Henning

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Casafari

Nils Henning is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Casafari. The company has built a unique ecosystem with 50,000 professionals on top of Europe's most complete real estate database (virtual MLS, or Multiple Listing Service). They connect brokers, developers, asset managers, and investors, enabling sourcing, valuation, underwriting, and deal collaboration. With the location optimization platform TargomoLOOP (following the acquisition of Targamo) and APIs, they offer the best location intelligence and prediction solutions. Prior, Henning was involved in growing three startups into market leaders, valued between US$100 million and US$1 billion: Bigpoint, Kreditech and Adjust. Henning co-founded/invested in several other startups, including Whow Games, IDnow, Secret Escapes, Oxolo, etc. He holds an LL.M. and MBA.

Speaker

Santiago Muguruza

Head | Bilbao Vizcaya Investments

Santiago Muguruza has been Head at BBVA Vizcaya Investments since 2022. His professional career has been closely linked to BBVA, where he has held various roles focused on investment and strategic planning. His relationship with the bank dates back to 1998, when he joined its School of Finance. In 2000 he was appointed business development manager at BBVA e-Business, and in 2003 investment analyst. In 2006 he was appointed executive director of investor relations and, five years later, managing director of investor relations. In 2014 he took the lead as director of corporate strategy and, a year later, moved to the position of head of strategic planning. A graduate of Bentley University with a double major in Economics and Finance, he is also a CFA Charterholder, received specialized training in decarbonization strategies from the University of Cambridge and is a graduate of IESE Business School's executive management program.

Speaker

Bastien Gambini

Managing Partner | Klima (Alantra)

Bastien Gambini is Managing Partner at Klima/Alantra. He has more than 20 years of experience investing across Europe and North America in both venture and private equity in the energy transition sector. Former Managing Director for Europe at Equinor Ventures, he previously led the Spanish team at Demeter Partners and worked for Société Générale and BPI. He has led deals in the renewable, power grid, waste management, artificial intelligence and energy industries. Gambini has been a board member of more than 13 companies. He holds two post graduate degrees in Finance from Paris University Panthéon-Assas and an MBA from INSEAD.

Speaker

Ainhoa Campo Nieto

Managing Director VC Investments | Bilbao Vizcaya Investments

Ainhoa Campo is the current Managing Director VC Investments at Bilbao Vizcaya Investments. She joined BBVA Group in 2010, where she has held several positions of responsibility always related to strategic innovation. In 2018 she was appointed global head of open innovation in order to lead the creation of connections between startups and the bank. Before starting her professional adventure at BBVA, she developed her career in different areas of capital markets, M&A and innovation in leading companies such as Indra and La Caixa. Campo holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the University of the Basque Country. She also took part in a Digital Entrepreneurship Accelerator Program developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). The intersection between the banking sector and the entrepreneurial technology ecosystem has marked her career.

Speaker

Aquilino Peña

Co-founder & Managing Partner | Kibo Ventures

Aquilino Peña is the co-founder of Kibo Ventures, a venture capital fund that manages assets worth 350 million euros. Kibo Ventures has invested in more than 70 high-growth companies, including four unicorns. Among them are Flywire (the first tech company of Spanish origin to be listed on Nasdaq), Job&Talent, Devo, Sorare, Paack, Carto and Clarity. Peña has also been an angel investor in more than 15 companies such as Bodeboca, Acierto, Volotea or the ISDI business school, among others. Additionally, he has been Chairman of SpainCap, member of the Executive Committee of Adigital, President of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and Executive Director of the European Internet Advertising Association (EIAA), among other relevant forums. In his professional life prior to Kibo Ventures, he was CEO of Mediaedge:cia for Spain and Portugal, General Manager of Interactive Services Spain at Orange, Marketing and Customer Service Director of eresMas/Wanadoo (France Telecom), founder and CEO of Submarino in Spain and Strategy Consultant for The Boston Consulting Group in Madrid and São Paulo. Peña holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a dual degree in Law and Business Administration from ICADE.

Speaker

Ander Michelena

General Partner | Acurio Ventures

Ander Michelena is a General Partner of Acurio Ventures, an investment fund dedicated to supporting early-stage startups with a strong emphasis on collaboration. Between 2018 and 2021, alongside his role at AIV, Michelena launched two successful startups: the tourism portal Libere and Aplanet, a SaaS platform designed to help companies manage their corporate responsibility strategies. He has focused his efforts exclusively on All Iron Ventures since 2021. Michelena began his career in M&A at Morgan Stanley in London, gaining extensive experience in the financial sector. In 2009, he returned to Spain to launch Ticketbis, a startup that expanded to 45 countries, achieving profitability and generating millions in revenue before being acquired by eBay in 2016, a standout success story in the Spanish tech ecosystem. After the acquisition, Michelena remained at StubHub (a division of eBay valued at over $5 billion) for two years as General Manager International.

Speaker

Lucía Hojman

Head of Business Development | BBVA Spark Spain

Lucía Hojman is Head of Business Development at BBVA Spark in Spain. She joined the company in 2022 to support the launch of BBVA Spark, the new bank for high growth companies.

Previously, Lucía worked for over nine years at Endeavor —both in Spain and Argentina— with the most promising scale-ups, investors and ecosystem players in more than 40 markets.

Hojman has an extensive experience in selecting, supporting and empowering high impact entrepreneurs across a variety of industries, markets and regions. Currently, she leads strategic initiatives at BBVA Spark Spain to support the local salesforce in achieving KPIs and business objectives.

Speaker

Xavier Pladellorens

Founder | Deporvillage & Pladecom Investments

Xavier Pladellorens is the Founder of Deporvillage and Pladecom Investments. Pladellorens is an entrepreneur and investor with more than 25 years of experience in the field of new technologies and startups, and is currently an investor and advisor in several companies. In 2010, he founded Deporvillage, an e-commerce company selling sports equipment, which in 2021 was sold to the JD Sports/Sprinter group. During his time at the helm, the company achieved a turnover of over €160 million and was sold for a similar amount. Pladellorens holds a degree in industrial engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. As an investor, he invests in a wide variety of companies and funds, as well as in opportunities that may arise in different sectors of activity.

Speaker

Andrea Barber

Co-founder & CEO | RatedPower

Andrea Barber is the Co-founder and CEO of RatedPower, the leading SaaS for the design and engineering of photovoltaic power plants, used in over 160 countries. Her company was recently acquired by Enverus, the world’s largest energy software company, where she also serves as VP of Power & Renewables. She began her career in San Francisco. Before founding RatedPower, Barber worked as a country manager and business development director for a multinational renewable energy engineering services company. During this time, she led the company’s expansion in Brazil and Latin America, where she lived for seven years. Barber holds a degree in Business Administration and Management from UC3M and Neoma (France), an MBA in Business Internationalization, and specialized training in Social Entrepreneurship from INSEAD. She has been recognized as one of the top three European leaders in technological innovation by the European Institute of Innovation (EIT), awarded the "Fermina Orduña" prize for Technological Innovation of the Community of Madrid, and named one of the 100 most influential Spanish women by 'Forbes'. She also co-founded the podcast Vostok6, aimed at giving visibility to women breaking barriers in various fields.

Speaker

José Manuel Villanueva

Co-founder & Co-CEO | 011h

José Manuel Villanueva is the Co-founder and Co-CEO of 011h, a neoconstruction company founded in 2020 that is committed to sustainability, merging the digitization of processes with sustainable building. Before 011h, in 2006 he co-founded with Lucas Carné the fashion e-commerce Privalia, a company they sold in 2016 to Vente Privee and from which he completely dissociated himself in 2019. He began his professional career as a consultant at Bain & Company (1999-2002), where he acquired knowledge in business strategy and met his future business partner, Lucas Carné. Later, between 2002 and 2006, he was the director of New Balance in Vigo. Villanueva holds a degree in Business from ESADE, with exchanges in the United States and Paris. In 2018, he completed the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University.

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BBVA Spark Summit 2024, in pictures

Una de las ponencias del BBVA Spark Summit 2024

AGENDA

Spark Summit 2024. Barcelona, Fundació Joan Miró

10:00 - 11:15

Welcome coffee

11:15 - 11:35

Stage opening

Roberto Albaladejo, Head of BBVA Spark, and Jordi Valls Riera, 4th Deputy Mayor of Barcelona City Council, will kick off the new edition of the Spark Summit, an event dedicated to bringing together some of the most inspiring figures in Spain’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Roberto Albaladejo | Jordi Valls Riera

11:35 - 12:00

Navigating the shift: financing your company in a changing landscape (In English)

Venture capital investment has shifted towards moderation following the record figures achieved just a few years ago, with a growing focus on company profitability. In Spain, startups raised €2.2 billion in 2023—almost 48% less than in 2021, according to Dealroom’s recent report, ‘The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report‘, in which BBVA Spark collaborated. How are entrepreneurs navigating this paradigm shift?

In this session, Christhi Theiss, Executive Director of Debt Investments at BBVA Spark, will moderate a discussion with Nils Henning, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Casafari; Ander Michelena, General Partner of Acurio Ventures and former Co-founder and CEO of Ticketbis; and José Manuel Villanueva, co-founder and co-CEO of 011h, on how entrepreneurs can adapt to the changing financial landscape and explore the financing alternatives available in a volatile and uncertain environment.

This session will be in English.

Christhi Theiss | Nils Henning | Ander Michelena | José Manuel Villanueva

12:00 - 12:25

Scaling as a Climate Startup: What later-stage investors look for and how they structure funding rounds (In English)

Cleantech technologies are ushering in a new era filled with both challenges and business opportunities for technology companies. According to Atomico, 27% of venture capital investment in Europe in 2023 will be directed towards climate tech startups, a figure that has tripled since 2021.

Santiago Muguruza, Head of Bilbao Vizcaya Investments, will moderate this panel featuring two investors in growth-stage climate companies: Jamie Gilbert, Principal at TPG Europe, and Bastien Gambini, Managing Partner at Klima (Alantra). The panel will address the main challenges faced by climate companies when scaling their businesses, as well as the preferences of investors specialized in scaleups when choosing which companies to back.

This session will be in English.

Santiago Muguruza | Jamie Gilbert | Bastien Gambini

12:25 - 13:00

Redefining personal and professional success: how is the life of an entrepreneur after exit? (In Spanish)

Achieving a successful exit is often seen as a major milestone for a scaleup and its founders. In Spain alone, 52 companies reached this milestone in 2023, while across Europe, 1,234 companies did the same, according to Dealroom data. But what comes next for the founder of a company after selling it? Dive back into entrepreneurship? Or start investing, become a mentor, or perhaps take a sabbatical to travel the world?

In this session, Ainhoa Campo Nieto, Managing Director VC Investments at Bilbao Vizcaya Investments, will moderate a discussion with entrepreneurs who will share their personal journeys before and after selling their startups. Speakers will include Enrique Linares from PlusPartner and Letgo, Xavier Pladellorens from Deporvillage and Pladecom Investments, Andrea Barber from RatedPower, and Javier Fondevila from Holded.

This session will be in Spanish.

Ainhoa Campo Nieto | Enrique Linares | Xavier Pladellorens | Andrea Barber | Javier Fondevila

13:00 - 13:30

Spain, a fast-growing ecosystem in Europe: keys to success and new opportunities (In Spanish)

Spain’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has undergone significant growth, establishing itself as a leading hub in Europe. In 2023, it surpassed a combined value of €100 billion for the first time, marking a 7% increase over the previous year. It’s also the second fastest-growing ecosystem in Europe, expanding at 2.7 times over the past five years, with only Norway ahead. Additionally, Spain ranked fourth in the number of funding rounds in 2023, with 764, according to the latest ‘The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report‘.

In this session, Lucía Hojman, Head of Business Development at BBVA Spark in Spain, will lead a panel discussion exploring the factors behind Spain’s success and the future outlook for the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Panellists include Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA; Laura Urquizu, President and CEO of Red Points; Aquilino Peña, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Kibo Ventures; and Felipe Navío, Co-founder and co-CEO of Job&Talent.

This session will be in Spanish.

Carlos Torres Vila | Lucía Hojman | Laura Urquizu | Felipe Navío | Aquilino Peña

13:30 - 13:50

Stage closing

Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA, and Roberto Albaladejo, Head of BBVA Spark, will bring to close BBVA Spark Summit, the meeting place for key entrepreneurs and investors, with which BBVA Spark continues to strengthen its position as the bank of the technology ecosystem.

Carlos Torres Vila | Roberto Albaladejo

13:50 - 16:00

Networking cocktail

10:00 - 11:15

Welcome coffee

11:15 - 11:35

Stage opening

Roberto Albaladejo, Head of BBVA Spark, and Jordi Valls Riera, 4th Deputy Mayor of Barcelona City Council, will kick off the new edition of the Spark Summit, an event dedicated to bringing together some of the most inspiring figures in Spain’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Roberto Albaladejo

Head | BBVA Spark

Jordi Valls Riera

4th Deputy Mayor | Barcelona City Council

11:35 - 12:00

Navigating the shift: financing your company in a changing landscape (In English)

Venture capital investment has shifted towards moderation following the record figures achieved just a few years ago, with a growing focus on company profitability. In Spain, startups raised €2.2 billion in 2023—almost 48% less than in 2021, according to Dealroom’s recent report, ‘The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report‘, in which BBVA Spark collaborated. How are entrepreneurs navigating this paradigm shift?

In this session, Christhi Theiss, Executive Director of Debt Investments at BBVA Spark, will moderate a discussion with Nils Henning, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Casafari; Ander Michelena, General Partner of Acurio Ventures and former Co-founder and CEO of Ticketbis; and José Manuel Villanueva, co-founder and co-CEO of 011h, on how entrepreneurs can adapt to the changing financial landscape and explore the financing alternatives available in a volatile and uncertain environment.

This session will be in English.

Christhi Theiss

Executive Director of Debt Investments | BBVA Spark

Nils Henning

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Casafari

Ander Michelena

General Partner | Acurio Ventures

José Manuel Villanueva, cofundador y co-CEO de 011h

José Manuel Villanueva

Co-founder & Co-CEO | 011h

12:00 - 12:25

Scaling as a Climate Startup: What later-stage investors look for and how they structure funding rounds (In English)

Cleantech technologies are ushering in a new era filled with both challenges and business opportunities for technology companies. According to Atomico, 27% of venture capital investment in Europe in 2023 will be directed towards climate tech startups, a figure that has tripled since 2021.

Santiago Muguruza, Head of Bilbao Vizcaya Investments, will moderate this panel featuring two investors in growth-stage climate companies: Jamie Gilbert, Principal at TPG Europe, and Bastien Gambini, Managing Partner at Klima (Alantra). The panel will address the main challenges faced by climate companies when scaling their businesses, as well as the preferences of investors specialized in scaleups when choosing which companies to back.

This session will be in English.

Santiago Muguruza

Head | Bilbao Vizcaya Investments

Jamie Gilbert

Principal | TPG Europe

Bastien Gambini

Managing Partner | Klima (Alantra)

12:25 - 13:00

Redefining personal and professional success: how is the life of an entrepreneur after exit? (In Spanish)

Achieving a successful exit is often seen as a major milestone for a scaleup and its founders. In Spain alone, 52 companies reached this milestone in 2023, while across Europe, 1,234 companies did the same, according to Dealroom data. But what comes next for the founder of a company after selling it? Dive back into entrepreneurship? Or start investing, become a mentor, or perhaps take a sabbatical to travel the world?

In this session, Ainhoa Campo Nieto, Managing Director VC Investments at Bilbao Vizcaya Investments, will moderate a discussion with entrepreneurs who will share their personal journeys before and after selling their startups. Speakers will include Enrique Linares from PlusPartner and Letgo, Xavier Pladellorens from Deporvillage and Pladecom Investments, Andrea Barber from RatedPower, and Javier Fondevila from Holded.

This session will be in Spanish.

Ainhoa Campo Nieto

Managing Director VC Investments | Bilbao Vizcaya Investments

Enrique Linares

Co-founder | Plus Partners

Xavier Pladellorens

Founder | Deporvillage & Pladecom Investments

Andrea Barber

Co-founder & CEO | RatedPower

Javier Fondevila, cofundador y co-CEO de Holded

Javier Fondevila

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Holded

13:00 - 13:30

Spain, a fast-growing ecosystem in Europe: keys to success and new opportunities (In Spanish)

Spain’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has undergone significant growth, establishing itself as a leading hub in Europe. In 2023, it surpassed a combined value of €100 billion for the first time, marking a 7% increase over the previous year. It’s also the second fastest-growing ecosystem in Europe, expanding at 2.7 times over the past five years, with only Norway ahead. Additionally, Spain ranked fourth in the number of funding rounds in 2023, with 764, according to the latest ‘The Spanish Tech Ecosystem Report‘.

In this session, Lucía Hojman, Head of Business Development at BBVA Spark in Spain, will lead a panel discussion exploring the factors behind Spain’s success and the future outlook for the country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. Panellists include Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA; Laura Urquizu, President and CEO of Red Points; Aquilino Peña, Co-founder & Managing Partner of Kibo Ventures; and Felipe Navío, Co-founder and co-CEO of Job&Talent.

This session will be in Spanish.

Carlos Torres Vila

Chair | BBVA

Lucía Hojman

Head of Business Development | BBVA Spark Spain

Laura Urquizu

President & CEO | Red Points

Felipe Navío

Co-founder & Co-CEO | Job&Talent

Aquilino Peña

Co-founder & Managing Partner | Kibo Ventures

13:30 - 13:50

Stage closing

Carlos Torres Vila, Chair of BBVA, and Roberto Albaladejo, Head of BBVA Spark, will bring to close BBVA Spark Summit, the meeting place for key entrepreneurs and investors, with which BBVA Spark continues to strengthen its position as the bank of the technology ecosystem.

Carlos Torres Vila

Chair | BBVA

Roberto Albaladejo

Head | BBVA Spark

13:50 - 16:00

Networking cocktail

THREE SPACES TO FOSTER CONNECTIONS

Main Stage

The core of the event where the main presentations and conversations take place: keynotes, fireside chats, interviews, round tables…

Networking space

A relaxed area to have conversations with other attendees around a coffee and with a reserved space to meet with guests at the event.

Mobile App

A unique space to find out the full agenda and list of speakers, contact other attendees at the event and schedule 1-2-1 meetings.

BBVA Spark Summit, the event that boosts the ecosystem