Announced the 20 startup finalists for The Gap In Between

Valencia, October 5, 2023. The Gap in Between, the annual meeting that brings together diverse impact ecosystem players from around the world to address the most pressing social and environmental challenges, has announced the 20 startup finalists to compete in the The Gap in Between Startup Challenge, a competition for promoting entrepreneurship with social and environmental impact.

The short list of startups chosen in a rigorous selection process from among over 370 submitted projects from 59 countries will get a chance to make their pitch on stage at The Gap in Between, to be held at La Marina de Valencia on the upcoming 24th and 25th of October. From out of all the shortlisted startups, the jury will choose one winning project based on how effectively these startups' solutions address the major challenges facing our society. The winning project will receive 10,000 Euros in prize-winnings.

Of all the shortlisted startups, 45% were founded and/or led by women, as compared to the 55% run by men. Additionally, 35% of the shortlisted participants come from abroad (Argentina, Ghana, Germany, USA, England, Colombia and Poland, in particular). In the two most notable areas, five operate in the health sector while four work in the environmental sector. Furthermore, SDG 13, "take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts" recurred most often among the finalists at 60%, followed by SDG 3, "ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages" at 50%.
In addition to the winning startup, four runners-up will also be selected. All of them will also get the opportunity to connect with first level investors to scale up their business.

The Gap In Between short list of startups is as follows:

Solum Photovoltaic: the Spanish company Solum transforms urban spaces into renewable energy sources.

Powerfultree: this Spanish startup focuses on making dual use of the land so agricultural production and electricity production can coexist alongside each other through photovoltaic installations.

DAC – DynamicAirCooling: this Polish company is developing a technology system that ensures a stable and constant temperature is kept evenly inside refrigerators to better preserve food and save on electricity and costs.

Orygen: its mission is to increase the number of carbon sequestration projects. To this end, this Spanish startup develops projects on the land to maximize natural resources and conserve the ecosystem.

Cocircular: This Spanish startup was founded with the mission of keeping waste from construction and other sectors from ending up in landfills. To achieve this, it provides value to developers, construction companies, architectural firms, engineering firms and institutions through its Circular Waste Management service.

Digüd: a Spanish digital activism platform that funds foundations and startups working on social issues. To do this, they have developed an application from Spain to raise and distribute funds.

Fanaverse: is an internet community that connects users with businesses and charitable organizations. The aim of this British startup is to provide users the chance to learn what, to whom and why they donate their money.

Kämpe: it helps companies attract, select and retain talented and motivated workers in impactful businesses. This Spanish startup works with its clients on orientation, employee integration and ensuring talent retention.

Ailin: focused on the health of its users, this Spain-based startup combines the scientific world with the experience of its medical team to offer a service that begins and ends with people as it seeks to prevent diseases and extend life.

Skalo: from Colombia, Skalo builds a team up around the student to customise and implement support strategies in the classroom and at home so they might reach their full potential.

Mindahead: This German start up has developed a method that makes it easy to monitor your cognitive health, better understand your own brain health and get support to improve it.

Agrocenta: this Ghana-based startup is an end-to-end digital financial services platform that creates value for rural farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa. The goal is to facilitate technological and financial integration in the underdeveloped world for those most in need.

FlyParrots: a US startup that provides cognitive assistance for people with physical impediments and their caregivers, while smoothing communication and revolutionizing healthcare by finding telecare solutions with AI tools.

BreadFree: a project that joins biotechnology and Artificial Intelligence to manufacture wheat flour that is suitable for celiacs. This Spanish startup uses sustainable technology in which waste from the agri-food industry is used to revolutionize gluten-free food.

Smallops: Spanish in origin, they find innovative solutions to climate change through nanotechnology. They produce carbon-encapsulated iron nanoparticles from olive residues by means of hydrothermal carbonization techniques.

Pack2Earth: a Spanish company that manufactures sustainable and recyclable materials to be included in the circular economy. By investing heavily in research, it has helped develop packaging that meets industry and environmental demands.

Nat4bio: for the purpose of reducing food waste worldwide, this Argentine project provides a complete synthetic solution for improving food preservation without having to resort to chemical products and contaminants.

Ibions: a Spanish online medical center that works with professionals to provide availability to each person or project for all the time they need, thanks to their online tools.

Foloou.me: this is a high-precision voice guidance system for people with special physical needs, especially blind people. This free application interprets a signal emitted through small devices to then transform it into voice prompts.

Bcome: founded in 2019, the Spain-based BCome is a pioneer in applying smart methodologies for managing global sustainability, with over 1 million products tracked, measured and evaluated in the market.

“We are very pleased with the response to this call for entries and the global reach it has had, thanks in large part to our ecosystem partners, who have helped spread the word. We are impressed by the innovative ways the participating startups are addressing social and environmental challenges through solutions in key areas such as climate change, food or diversity and social inclusion. We look forward to welcoming the 20 selected startups and helping them successfully accelerate their projects at The Gap in Between", said Margarita Albors, founder and president of Social Nest Foundation, the global platform for investors and entrepreneurs with social and environmental impact initiatives and organizer of the meeting.

Innovation and positive impact with the finest speakers

The Gap in Between is an annual meeting that brings together key global figures, including companies, startups, investors, international organizations, triple impact entrepreneurs and key influential leaders and decision makers. This meeting provides corporations a great opportunity to showcase their innovation and sustainability initiatives to the world, as well as setting the stage for collaboration among the ecosystem's major players to solve global problems with open and disruptive innovation methods.

To this end, The Gap In Between brings together some of the most important personalities in the field of innovation economy and sustainability. Nearly a thousand attendees are to take part in a program that will include the best inspirational sessions, spaces for networking and matchmaking between investors, corporations and entrepreneurs/startups, workshops, experiences from the local ecosystem, pitches and sessions to co-create the most disruptive solutions, among many other activities.

Some of the most notable, confirmed speakers include Valerie Mazon, CEO of Danone Communities; Filipe Almeida, president of Portugal Inovação Social; Leandro Sigman, director of Insud Pharma; Margarita Albors, president and founder of Social Nest Foundation, Linn-Cecilie Linnemann, CEO of Katapult Group, Nigel Kershaw, co-founder and director of The Big Exchange and Nyagoy Nyong'o, president of Twiga Girls' Foundation, among many others.

The Gap in Between is funded by the European Union-Next Generation EU and the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, and receives support from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism and the EOI, within the framework of the Spain Up Nation strategy, the Generalitat Valenciana through the Department of Innovation, Industry, Trade and Tourism, and the Valencia City Council, through its center for social and urban innovation, Las Naves.

The meeting also collaborates with major partners such as Caixa Popular, Fundación Once, Ashoka, DKV, Repsol, Danone, Ikea, 4YFN, Invest in Valencia, Zubi Group, Woodea, Hands-on Impact, and other representatives of various national and international corporations.