- The +50 Emprende Awards are the leading competition for senior entrepreneurship in Spain. They are promoted by Generación SAVIA, the ENDESA Foundation project in partnership with the Máshumano Foundation, and the production company 02:59 Films.
- A total of 107 initiatives by 165 entrepreneurs aged 50 and over were presented in this fifth edition under the slogan "5 years of entrepreneurship together".
- The projects selected as finalists will be presented in the coming days to the members of the jury at an awards ceremony where the three winners of this edition will be selected, who are eligible for a total prize of €30,000, which will help them to roll out their entrepreneurship ideas.
The jury of the +50 Emprende Awards, the most important entrepreneurship call for senior talent in Spain, has selected the ten finalist projects of its fifth edition. Under the slogan "5 years of entrepreneurship together", a total of 165 entrepreneurs have been brought together, submitting a total of 107 initiatives. Over the next few days, the finalist projects will be presented to the jury, headed by Leopoldo Abadía and made up of experts and professionals from the entrepreneurship sector.
The +50 Emprende Awards are an initiative from Generación Savia, an Endesa Foundation project in partnership with the máshumano Foundation, and the production company 02:59 Films. With Generación SAVIA, these entities have been promoting senior talent and entrepreneurship among professionals over 50 years of age for five years.
These awards were created to support senior talent and make visible the entrepreneurial drive of professionals over 50 years of age. In addition, they are a key element of the work of the organisers in support of the necessary cultural change to tackle prejudice and age discrimination in the professional sphere, an issue that affects around 840,000 unemployed people over 50 years of age in our country. Their aim is to identify, promote and support the talent of this group and help them find alternative professional formulas and to implement their entrepreneurial ideas.
Among the projects presented in this V Edition, there are proposals from very diverse areas, such as health, art, the environment, the well-being of the elderly and, in general, connected to the social aspect of entrepreneurship.
58 % of the participants are men and 42% are women. Furthermore, 45% of the entrepreneurs are already taking the first steps to launch their projects, that is, they are "budding" entrepreneurs.
Elsa Novo de Miguel, head of projects at the Endesa Foundation, highlights the great capacity for innovation of the hundreds of entrepreneurs who submitted their projects to this fifth edition. "This is something that is reaffirmed year after year and that shows that the work we started in 2018 with Generación SAVIA is not only absolutely necessary, but also convinces us more and more every day that the contribution of senior talent and entrepreneurship is extremely beneficial for Spanish society as a whole. And that's something we can't afford to lose."
Fernando Lallana, Manager of the +50 Emprende Awards, emphasises "all the know-how and experience that the collective of workers over 50 years of age contributes to our country's social and business fabric. Once again, with this fifth edition, older people from throughout the country are showing that entrepreneurship has no age, that their ideas and projects break down barriers and prejudices and that it is never too late to start up a business".
The awards ceremony will take place on 22 May at an event to be held at Endesa's headquarters in Madrid. The winning project will receive a cash prize of €10,000, the second-placed project will get €5,000 and third place will receive €3,000. Furthermore, these three selected initiatives will be given permanent spaces in LOOM centres, legal advice about protecting innovation from Arrabe Integra, and on-line training in consolidating business plans from 50 Pro, worth €12,000.
The 10 finalist projects of the +50 Emprende awards and two special mentions
The ten finalist entrepreneurs are:
JUAN LUIS ALONSO (52 years old, Madrid). Based on the "Think Globally, Act Locally" concept, the ISIFARMER project makes urban agriculture possible, creating an environment where every individual contributes their talent to the cultivation of healthy food. It consists of a network of urban farmers who grow a wide range of high-quality plant products throughout the year.
RITA BARTOLOMÉ (57 years old, Aguilar de Campoo, Castilla y León). In 2023, she launched ECODEDAL, an online store that also sells in local stores. She herself produces around 500 bags a year using recycled materials and personalised designs. Her dream is to expand her business and be able to dedicate herself to fashion, generating local employment.
RAQUEL BETANZOS (58 years old, Huesca). She was a manager at the Pyrenees Wildlife Park. She has set up the Solutions for the Third Sector Rural Network, as a consultancy for the stimulation, professionalisation and strengthening in the region of rural associations in Aragon, where there are more than 4,000 of all kinds including tourism, cultural and livestock-related associations.
PABLO CLAVER (58 years old, Madrid). An entrepreneur in various sectors, he has launched the MüF (Museum of Happiness) in Madrid, an original space with more than 20 immersive experiences where you can experience "what happiness smells like and what it tastes like". Its objective is to create a unique environment and give the visitor the opportunity to know, with evidence and scientific rigor, what generates more happiness for human beings, in a fun and entertaining way.
DANIEL DÍAZ (51 years old, Madrid). An art professional, at the end of 2022 he launched the disruptive HANAMIARTE project, which rents out artworks to companies, organisations and individuals who wish to enjoy original works for a certain period of time. It has a collection of 600 works by such important authors as Tàpies, Barceló and Chillida.
ISIDRO FERNÁDEZ (57 years old, Alicante). Computer engineer and university professor, he has developed IRISBOT, a robot that is called by an application with the aim of accompanying visually impaired people in public spaces such as airports. It is currently in the prototyping phase and in the process of seeking funding.
MARÍA LEAL (55 years old, Valladolid). She has launched the PLENNIO project, offering services to companies so that their employees have their older dependants cared for. It adds the so-called "family care coordinator" to the service, who supervises and coordinates the daily needs of an older person at home.
RAMIRO LÓPEZ (68 years old, Albacete). He is the driving force behind MUNDIMED PLATINUM, a pioneering telemedicine company in Europe with technologically advanced services. It offers premium medical care 24 hours a day in 127 languages, from anywhere in the world, in less than 30 seconds immediately and without an appointment, by making a call or conducting a video consultation.
VALERY NARANJO (52 years old, Valencia). Researcher and university professor, she is interested in bringing technology and AI closer to medicine. It has developed a spin-off called ARTIKODE INTELLIGENCE with the support of the Polytechnic University of Valencia. It consists of cloud-based software for giant image analysis, which, among other things, accelerates and increases the accuracy of biopsy analysis for cancer detection.
FÉLIX SERRANO AND JAVIER SERRANO (52 years old, Castellón). These twin brothers have developed INFINITY SEAT, an implementable kit for office chairs, which turns a "static" chair into a "dynamic" one by facilitating the posture of the back in the movement of the seat and alleviating pain associated with sedentary work. It is currently in the final phase of prototyping.
Special Mentions
In this edition, the jury highlighted the work of two non-profit projects:
CARLOS JIMÉNEZ (62 years old, Gran Canaria). Their CHANGE MAKERS project is an association dedicated to promoting economic and social growth through community activators and the implementation of training, information and support initiatives for people who, in turn, help others. Ageism is one of the challenges they face, understanding that people who are perfectly capable, prepared and eager to work are discriminated against for reasons of age.
SILVIA MAZZOLI & CLAUDIA FERRARA (60 and 56 years old, Madrid). Italy/Argentina). These two entrepreneurs share an interest in entrepreneurship and innovation, and are co-founders of PUENTE EMPRENDEDOR, a project committed to promoting the Spanish-speaking entrepreneurial ecosystem. For a few months now, its mission has been to build an intergenerational bridge by facilitating a space where talent knows no age.
About Generation SAVIA
Generación SAVIA, the ENDESA Foundation and máshumano Foundation project, has been promoting the employability of workers over the age of 50 for six years, providing solutions through training and networking initiatives, and promoting recognition of the value of these professionals, who have a high rate of unemployment. Generación SAVIA is a platform and a community that creates collaborative spaces where initiatives come together to create job opportunities for senior professionals. A total of 45,000 senior professionals and 740 companies are registered with Generación SAVIA, and 200 entities collaborate with the project.
About 02:59 Films
DOS CINCUENTA Y NUEVE S.L. is a film production company founded in 2010 with the mission of transmitting human values to society through audiovisual content. It was originally a production company specialising in the creation of viral videos for the Internet, with its videos getting as many as 200 million views on the 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 Internet campaigns.