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Barcelona, February 2, 2022. Wayra, the open innovation hub of Telefónica and 5G Barcelona, an initiative of Mobile World Capital Barcelona that works to position Barcelona as an innovative and open environment for the validation and adoption of 5G technologies and applications, have launched the 3rd call for applications for the acceleration program aimed at technology startups that are developing solutions that use or intend to use 5G technologies, such as NB-IoT, LTE-M, or 5G-NSA.
In this third edition of the 5G ScaleUp Program, four startups will be selected to participate in the acceleration program for 17 weeks. During this period, entrepreneurs will receive virtual training from mentors at Wayra and 5G Barcelona in areas such as finance, sales, marketing, investment, branding, commercial or pitching, also receiving support, access to investors, networking spaces and visibility within the 5G ecosystem. Jorge Blasco, entrepreneur and investor; Franc Carreras, founder of Consejo Digital and collaborator at ESADE; Katherine D’Amico, CEO of Swala Ventures and collaborator at ESADE; Ismael Barros, director of Soluble Studio; Mercè Tell, managing partner of Nekko Capital; and Roland Umlauft, CEO of Bolibol, will be some of these mentors. The selected startups will also have access to The Thinx 5G Barcelona lab, one of the most advanced and best-equipped 5G environments, with access to next-generation radio and specific 5G technologies, and specialized technical support to assist in testing each solution. The call for applications will select four startups with validated solutions from among all participants, seeking to incorporate 5G technologies into their technology roadmap. The market potential and scalability of the solution will also be assessed. Flash Park, Ebre Drone, Hop Ubiquitous, and Liip have been the four startups selected to participate in the previous edition of the 5G ScaleUp Program. The application period is now open on the website challenges.5gbarcelona.org until March 11.
About Wayra
Wayra is the entrepreneurial initiative that is part of Telefónica's Open Innovation program, the most global, technological, and connected in the world. It has seven Wayra Hubs, spaces in nine countries across Latin America and Europe through which it invests in and supports startups; Wayra X, a digital hub for investing in 100% digital startups; Wayra Builder, a corporate venture builder for creating innovative startups born from Telefónica's internal technology projects alongside other investors; and Wayra Next Trend, a window into digital innovation, showcasing trends and innovative applications. Furthermore, through the Wayra Activation Programme, it offers entrepreneurs exclusive and free access to new technologies through Telefónica's own platforms. More than 500 of the startups in which Telefónica has invested are part of its Open Innovation program, and more than 130 are doing business with the company. More information is available at www.wayra.com. About 5G Barcelona: 5G Barcelona is a public-private initiative working to position Barcelona and Catalonia as an innovative and open environment for the validation and adoption of 5G technologies and applications in a real-world setting. The initiative will create synergies within the 5G ecosystem and offer an experimental infrastructure to test, prototype, and implement new digital solutions. 5G Barcelona aims to stimulate and consolidate existing innovation in Barcelona and Catalonia, help attract foreign investment, boost new technology companies, and generate a complete industry around 5G technology. The initiative is driven by the Government of Catalonia, the Barcelona City Council, Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the i2CAT Foundation, CTTC, Atos, and the UPC.