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- "SOY Calidad", a technological development project aimed at helping companies in their ISO standard automation processes led by the Ana Cabezas (Valladolid), was the winning idea of the fourth awards, currently the most important awards for senior entrepreneurs in Spain.
- The jury, chaired by Leopoldo Abadía, professor and writer, awarded the second and third prizes to the projects "Salsas Quietud" by Julio Estalella (Seville), and "Singular Spain" by María Pérez (Madrid).
- The fourth awards attracted 281 senior entrepreneurs, with an average age of 54, who submitted 107 initiatives.
The award-giving ceremony of the +50 Emprende Awards was held at Endesa's headquarters in Madrid today. This is one of the most important events for senior entrepreneurs in Spain. The initiative was created by Generación SAVIA, a project in which Endesa Foundation and Máshumano Foundation have been driving senior talent and promoting senior entrepreneurship for over four years. The film production company 02:59 Films collaborated in the awards.
The ten shortlisted projects of this year's awards presented their projects and business ideas to a jury chaired by professionals and well-known experts in the field of entrepreneurship during the morning.
The event was attended by Leopoldo Abadía, President of the Jury of the +50 Emprende Awards, accompanied by Ignacio Jiménez, Director of Communication at Endesa; Beatriz Sánchez, Managing Director of Máshumano Foundation, and Carlos Sanz, Founding Partner of the film production company 02:59 Films, who presented the award-giving ceremony. Moreover, two non-profit projects that support social groups received honorary mention from Javier Blanco, Managing Director of the Endesa Foundation.
The number of entries has continued to grow since the creation of these awards in 2019. The four editions of these awards (2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022) have received 846 entries with projects from nearly 1,500 senior entrepreneurs. In particular, 281 entrepreneurs with an average age of 54 have submitted 107 initiatives to these awards.
The SOY Calidad project, led by Ana Cabezas (59 years old, Valladolid) was the winner of the fourth +50 Emprende Awards. Ten years ago, this entrepreneur immigrated to Peru and discovered the need to implement ISO standard automation mechanisms. She created the company with the aim of helping digitalise the quality standards and improve organisational efficiency.
"Sometimes, life is more than just what you dream. I wish to send a message of perseverance. One thing is for sure, that life is a roller coaster, that there are good and bad times, but it is important to move forward and look at the future with perspective", stated Ana Cabezas in her thank you speech.
Salsas Quietud, led by Julio Estalella (55 years old, Seville), received the second prize. Julio is a former manager of a multinational firm in the infrastructures sector who gave a radical turn to his professional career. The aim of his project was to launch a new type of hot sauce, made with Mediterranean products that add flavour and enhance the recipe, thanks to the use of vinegar and fragrant sherry wine.
Finally, the third prize was awarded to Singular Spain, led by María Pérez (52 years old, Madrid). Her project involves creating a travel agency that specialises in rural tourism with immersion routes through the most unknown parts of Spain, with the aim of giving visibility to local products and regions. The project also seeks to bring closer the cultural and natural heritage that is far from populated areas.
The jury also gave a special mention to Yolanda Lobo (50 years old, Oviedo) and Luis Castillo (62 years old, Madrid). Yolanda created the "Cincuenter" (Over 50s) movement, a social network for women over the age of 50, in which other women ambassadors are a source of inspiration and motivate and empower users. This social network is now all over Spain and aims to expand internationally. It was designed for women who wish to connect and share experiences.
Luis is the founder of the startup SeniorsLeading, which is developing innovative solutions to transform and add value to the Silver Economy. He has developed three lines of business aimed at consumers over 50: fintechs, digital transformation and silver tourism. In the field of finance, they have created a Silver Pay card, a new means of payment through which children and grandchildren receive discounts from the purchases and discounts the holders receive because of their age. In the tourism industry, one of the most important in Spain, they are developing SilverTur, a metasearch and service aggregator for travel booking services for tourists over 50.
Javier Blanco, Managing Director of the Endesa Foundation, highlighted that "these awards portray our aim, with SAVIA Generación's project, which seek to give visibility to the talent of senior professionals over the age of 50, and to focus on the importance of attracting and retaining senior talent in our organisations and in society as a whole". In addition, he highlighted that "this initiative is rolled out when we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Endesa Foundation and it encourages us to continue working with a clear purpose: contribute to social development by opening innovative paths to improve the lives of people, communities and their environments".
Moreover, Carlos Sanz, Founding Partner of film production company 02:59 Films stressed that this fourth event "shows that age, far from being an obstacle, is a strength for entrepreneurs, as demonstrated in different reports, such as the GEM report and others. The average age of the entrepreneur in Spain is already over 42 and the success rate is much higher than that of the average entrepreneur". These awards were created in 2019 when the film "Abuelos" was released; commitment to senior talent must be a shared responsibility”.
The +50 Emprende Awards will give a €10,000 cash prize to the winning project, a €5,000 cash prize to the second-best project and a €3,000 cash prize to the third-best project, which will help them start to roll out their entrepreneurship projects. In addition, €12,000 will be distributed among the winning initiatives in the form of advisory services.
The other shortlisted projects in the fourth +50 Emprende Awards were:
César Aguilar (51 years old, Madrid). This project is aimed at the Silver Economy and involves a technological app called Agnes Care for caring for the elderly at home, in day-care centres and in homes. The app aims to support relatives, managers and assistants, helping them at every stage, reinforcing communication and improving the care model for the elderly and their relatives.
Ana Atienza (52 years old, Madrid). Ana launched her project "The Sky Garden" after spotting an opportunity to improve the environment by covering roofs and buildings with plants. Her aim is to help reduce pollution in large cities, promoting energy savings and collaborating in the cultivation of organic products. This idea involves designing and implementing green roofs and urban gardens for companies with SDGs or people who want to help improve their cities.
Paloma Cava (50 years old, Barcelona). The idea behind Empath was born after Paloma's personal experience of the death of her mother. It aims to help and advise people at the end of their lives and their families, managing and resolving emotional, organisational, administrative and tax problems and procedures.
Manuel Lencero (56 years old, Alicante). Following a long career as an entrepreneur, his new project seeks to help depopulated areas of Spain, boosting economic activity in the Marina Baja region of Alicante through sustainable avocado farming. Bolulla Valley grows, manages and markets avocados, and is seeking to become a flagship initiative at the regional and national levels.
Carlos Piñeyroa (52 years old, Madrid). Working with Gustavo Vaquero, an IT specialist by profession but gardener by vocation, Gus&Flowers emerged to transform the world of flowers through a workshop for innovation in floral art, where they combine flowers with technology and sustainability, turning flowers into ceramics after they are sold, promoting the circular economy.
Daniel Sáenz (55 years old, Madrid). Former executive of the industrial sector in a multinational company, but with the soul of an entrepreneur. His project "Thumb Ray" involves the development of a portable electronic device that detects and interprets data and commands through a thimble with sensors and sensor rings in contact with the skin, based on bioimpedance analysis. This development will help people with functional diversity to manage electronic devices, and will become an upgraded version of virtual keyboards. The project has a European patent.
Miryan Wodnik (57 years old, Madrid). Ubuntumind was created to help anyone receive psychological therapy online. In Spain, five million people suffer from anxiety and depression. With Ubuntumind, they can receive therapy through this digital platform, benefiting from the flexibility of this format. Some of the profits will be reinvested to help people who cannot afford the service.
About the +50 Emprende Awards
The +50 Emprende Awards were conceived by 02:59 Films, the film production company 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 Generation SAVIA
Generación SAVIA, the Endesa Foundation project in collaboration with the Máshumano Foundation, has been promoting the employability of workers over 50 for over four years, providing solutions through training and networking activities and promoting recognition of the value of these professionals, who suffer high unemployment rates. SAVIA is a platform and community in which collaborative spaces are created and initiatives come together to create job opportunities for senior professionals. It also offers human resources solutions for Spain's social and business fabric. 40,000 senior professionals and 600 companies are registered with SAVIA. 190 entities also collaborate on 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 film production company specialising in the creation of viral videos for the Internet, with its videos reaching 200 million views on social media. 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.