- The jury, chaired by professor and writer Leopoldo Abadía, awarded the first prize to Sergi García-Alsina (Barcelona, 51 years old) for his innovative ski boot project, which boasts a patent that increases comfort during sporting activity and its versatility as street footwear.
- Luisa María Botella (Madrid, 62) was awarded the second prize for an initiative to help patients with rare diseases, while third place went to Patrick de la Cueva (Alicante, 50) for a platform that markets "gastronomic treasures".
- These 3rd awards attracted 483 entrepreneurs, with an average age of 55, who submitted 207 initiatives.
Madrid's Loom Huertas was the venue for the prize ceremony for the 3rd +50 Emprende Awards. This is the most important entrepreneurship prize for older talent in Spain. The awards are an initiative of Generación SAVIA, the Endesa Foundation's project in collaboration with the máshumano Foundation to promote the talent of older people and entrepreneurship in this group, and the production company 02:59 Films.
During the morning, the ten finalists presented their projects and business ideas to a jury chaired by professor and writer Leopoldo Abadía and comprising professionals and experts in the field of entrepreneurship and business ideas. The awards attracted 483 entrepreneurs, with an average age of 55, who submitted 207 initiatives.
The winner of the 3rd Awards was Sergi García-Alsina, 51, from Barcelona. Together with his father Juan García-Alsina (83 and the driving force behind the project, Head Clinician at the Valle de Hebron and Bellvitge Hospitals in Barcelona), he has been awarded a European patent for a mechanism that improves the comfort of ski boots, providing a rigid solution through an exostructure that does not act by compression: NeuBoots. This product recently won an international competition for sports-related startups in the Occitania region of France.
The jury awarded second prize to Luisa María Botella, a 62-year-old researcher at CSIC from Madrid. Her project is a spin-off together with a team of researchers with the aim of contributing to comprehensive care for patients with rare diseases. She belongs to the European HHT Federation, which represents patients with rare vascular diseases in Spain.
The jury awarded third prize to Patrick de la Cueva, a 50-year-old businessman from Alicante who distributes "gastronomic treasures". The mission of his project, through his delacueva Fine Food digital platform, is to market
high quality food products from small artisanal producers with deep respect for their raw materials, processes and the environment. He aims to turn his brand into a benchmark for premium Spanish food products with a focus on the European market.
The jury also awarded two special mentions to María José Andrade (55, Seville) and Nuria Martínez (53, Madrid). Ms Andrade is the founder and director of Mujeres Valientes, an association and digital magazine that aims to build a community to inform and help female entrepreneurs from different areas and professions to exchange experiences and establish permanent professional and social collaboration. Ms Martínez is a lawyer and chair of the 3rd age in action movement, which focuses on ideas and initiatives to help senior citizens with a very transparent, ideology-free message. This movement has been established nationally, founded by a group of retired people who want to put their life, professional and work experiences - the fruits of their intensive study and work, and commitment and dedication - at the service of all of Spanish society.
During the ceremony, Gloria Juste, head of projects at the Endesa Foundation, said that the +50 Emprende Awards ceremony is "the ceremony of enthusiasm", as demonstrated by the large number of entries. She said that the 483 older entrepreneurs who entered "shatter stereotypes, which is something to be proud of because of their exceptional creativity". She encouraged everyone to continue their "life-long learning" and to commit to a "culture of effort".
An expert in entrepreneurship and director of the +50 Emprende Awards, Fernando Lallana said that this third round of the awards "once again demonstrates that entrepreneurship beyond the age of 50 is not an illusion and can be pursued confidently". He re-emphasised the commitment to older talent, with the aim of workers over 50 being able to extend their professional lives.
David Meca, recognised as the greatest international long-distance swimmer of all time, passed his example of self-improvement on to the attendees with an inspirational talk entitled "I'm not afraid of sharks". During his talk, Mr Meca said "there is nothing like setting yourself a challenge in life, setting a goal and getting up every morning with enthusiasm." Achieving your goal "is as good as any gold medal," he added. He said that his "escape" from Alcatraz prison by swimming to San Francisco helped him realise that the most dangerous sharks "are in our minds". He encouraged everyone attending the +50 Emprende Awards to participate and get involved in Generación SAVIA because "it's a great project about perseverance and enthusiasm".
The total value of the prizes was 30,000 euros. The winning project received a cash prize of 10,000 euros, second place got 5,000 euros, and third place received 3,000 euros. The three initiatives
were also given permanent spaces at LOOM, legal advice about protecting innovation, from Arrabe Integra, and on-line training in consolidating business plans from 50 Pro, valued at 12,000 euros.
The number of entries has been increasing since the +50 Emprende Awards were created in 2019. In the three rounds to date (2019, 2020 and 2021), 739 projects have been submitted by around 1,200 entrepreneurs.
The other finalist projects in this year's +50 Emprende Awards were:
ICIAR MARTÍN ARESTI (60, Oviedo). Developer of the Añino Regina Merina project, to produce and sell garments and footwear made from Merino wool from Extremadura. They are one hundred percent organic and minimise their carbon footprint, without using petroleum-based products or heavy minerals. They target people who are aware of the need to make a positive environmental impact through the consumption of textiles and footwear.
CURRO SOLANO (61, Cáceres). His project comprises a technology platform, www.comersano.eu, consisting of a website and app that encourage users to lead a healthy eating lifestyle, especially when out and about, with the support of a nutrition and dietetics team. It currently has 153 member establishments throughout the country. He won the eHealth, Bio/Pharma Tech category at the 2021 Startup Olé event.
FRANCESCA GARRIGUES (52, Segovia). Developer of a project that emerged during the pandemic called La Farm, based in La Granja de San Ildefonso, Segovia, with the aim of building a community by attracting new residents and visitors with exclusive accommodation, leisure and culture offers. The project was born with a wellness and health centre www.lafarmsanildefonso.com.
CELIA RIVERO (57, Sevilla). She swapped her long career as a senior executive to train in executive coaching, systemic coaching and psychology applied to image, driven by a desire to help improve the leadership of executives and the management of their teams. She created her project, www.celiarivero.com, for her customers to gain confidence and security in leadership through her own coaching method, called the CR Method. This led to her becoming co-author of her book "Conscious Leadership".
ÁLVARO RENGIFO (61, Madrid). Chairman of the AMREF Foundation, winner of the Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation 2018 and trustee of the Créate Foundation, one of the entities doing the most for entrepreneurship in Spain. He submitted a personal project to the +50 Emprende Awards: "My Biblio" which arose from a gap in the apps market. His challenge was to enable users to order and catalogue their physical books and know where they are located, and to manage private loans to the network generated by the app.
ANTONIO SÁNCHEZ (54, Badajoz). Entrepreneur by vocation and computer scientist by profession. His project is an emergency system that combines an app and a remote scanning system that sends location, medical and contact information in the event of an accident or incident, through a bracelet or a microchip for all types of helmets,
which is vital in the first hour after an accident. He has signed agreements with the 112 Emergency Service Centre in Extremadura and with PEMEA to interconnect with emergency service centres in the EU, aiming to extend it to more than 740 million Europeans.
CARLO CASTELLANO (55. Italian, resident in Barcelona). He has launched the Park4Dis® project, a platform that aims to identify parking spaces for disabled people, based on a European Recommendation. This is an idea that could improve the autonomy and inclusion of the more than 450,000 drivers in Spain and 5 million in Europe who hold an EU card for people with disabilities. Winner of the Talent Award for the Entrepreneur with Disabilities 2020.
PROFILE OF THE PROJECTS AT THE 3RD +50 EMPRENDE AWARDS
The projects presented at the 3rd +50 Emprende Awards were very diverse, with a host of initiatives linked to technology, with patents and utility models designed and registered by their developers. This 3rd edition attracted more projects focused on products rather than services, especially in sectors such as: trade (29%); manufacturing of items such as clothing, footwear and accessories (17 per cent); advisory services (14%); and arts-related services, such as painting, sculpture and crafts (11.3%).
The profile of the entrepreneurs taking part was very similar in terms of gender: 50.9% male and 49.1% female. 62% of the entrepreneurs were "nascent", that is, they are already taking the first steps in starting their projects.
About the +50 Emprende Awards
The +50 Emprende Awards were conceived by 02:59 Films, the audio-visual producer of the feature film "Abuelos" (Santiago Requejo, 2019), and are organised in collaboration with Generación SAVIA. These organisations share a conviction that a cultural change is necessary to overcome prejudice and age discrimination in the professional sphere. This is an issue that affects around one million people over the age of 50 who have prematurely lost their jobs. Our goal is to identify, promote and foster the talent of those aged over fifty through the most important entrepreneurship awards for older citizens in Spain.
About 02:59 Films
DOS CINCUENTA Y NUEVE S.L. is an audio-visual producer founded in 2010 with the mission of transmitting human values to society through audio-visual content. It was originally a producer specialised in the creation of viral videos for the Internet, with its videos reaching 200 million views on social networks. However, in 2018 it diversified its activity by developing and producing its first feature film, "Abuelos", which was released in October 2019. The production company currently combines the development of film projects with its advertising service for the creation of viral campaigns for the Internet.
About Generation SAVIA
Generación SAVIA, the ENDESA Foundation project in collaboration with the máshumano Foundation, has been promoting the employability of workers over the age of 50 for three years, providing solutions through training and networking initiatives, and promoting recognition of the value of these professionals, who suffer high rates of unemployment. SAVIA is a platform and community in which collaborative spaces are created and initiatives come together to create job opportunities for older professionals. It also offers human resources solutions for Spain's social and business fabric. 35,000 older professionals and 500 companies are registered with SAVIA. 180 entities also collaborate on the project.