18th edition Start-Up AwardsXXI

Enter the new edition of the Start-Up AwardsXXI now.

Enter now 

What are the Start-Up AwardsXXI?

They are the boost your company needs to reach new goals. We want to reward talent and the ability to innovate in order to transform our environment. We are looking for start-ups with infinite potential, like yours, that want to grow and create a real impact.

The Start-Up AwardsXXI are an initiative driven by CaixaBank through DayOne with the collaboration of Enisa in Spain and Banco BPI in Portugal.

Who can participate?

The Start-Up AwardsXXI are aimed at technological and digital companies in Spain and Portugal that stand out for their ability to innovate and their high growth potential. We want your company to be part of future change and that’s why when you submit your entry you will be competing in two award categories. Want to know if your start-up meets the requirements?

Awards categories

The Start-up AwardsXXI offer you much more than just recognition: they empower you to develop your infinite potential. Connect with leaders in the entrepreneurial ecosystem and access key tools for your company to grow and evolve without limits.

If your start-up is one of the winners, you will receive cash prizes, visibility, valuable connections and international training at the world’s leading innovation hubs, such as MIT in Boston. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to collaborate with the CaixaBank Group in an initiative aimed at bringing the entrepreneurial ecosystem closer to the bank’s various business areas.

This is your chance to take off and explore your infinite potential!

1

Regional Award

Presented to the best company in each region, regardless of the sector it belongs to. All candidates from Spain and Portugal compete according to the location of their registered office. Upon entry, participants will automatically be placed in this category.

2

18th Anniversary Awards

18 years boosting infinite potential! This year we are celebrating big with special awards for those who are, step by step, changing the world. We know that building a better future starts today and that’s why we are looking for those who inspire us to imagine a future full of possibilities.

The awards for the 18th edition are the following:

SOCIAL IMPACT

SOCIAL IMPACT

Awarded to the company with the most positive influence on society.

SUSTAINABILITY

SUSTAINABILITY

Awarded to the most sustainable company based on ESG criteria (Environmental, Social, and Governance).

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION

DISRUPTIVE INNOVATION

Awarded to the company with the most disruptive technological innovation project.

SCALABILITY

SCALABILITY

Awarded to the company with the greatest growth potential and global impact.

AGRO BOOST

AGRO BOOST

Awarded to the company that transforms the agri-food industry by incorporating technological innovation in its production.

FINTECH

FINTECH

Awarded to the company committed to transforming the financial and insurance sector.

And much more!

Collaboration with CaixaBank

During the 18th edition, through the Start-Up AwardsXXI, candidate companies, past Alumni winners and DayOne clients will have the opportunity to present their solutions to collaborate with the CaixaBank Group on some of the bank’s business and innovation challenges.

Rewarding your talent:

CASH
PRIZE

INTERNATIONAL
TRAINING
PROGRAMME

SUPPORT IN
INNOVATION

ALUMNIXXI COMMUNITY
INVESTORS DAY

COLLABORATION
WITH CAIXABANK

Long-standing awards

Eighteen years ago, we came up with this idea to help innovative individuals to make their dreams come true by providing equal opportunities throughout Spain. To date, we have helped more than 525 companies to grow thanks to the Start-Up AwardsXXI.

18

editions

More than 9,1M

awarded

More than 525

winning companies

Calendar for the18th edition

Follow this unique edition of the Start-Up AwardsXXI and keep up to speed with each of the stages.

Application stage

23 October to 12 December

Project assessment

16 December to 31 January

Juries and award ceremonies (Regional category)

February to May

Juries and award ceremonies (18th anniversary category)

3 June

International training

June - July

Spread the word
about the Start-Up AwardsXXI

Spread the word about the Start-Up AwardsXXI

Help the entrepreneurs around you redefine their limits by discovering their infinite potential! Click on the button to download our campaign materials and help us by spreading the word. You can also recommend start-ups to us!

Download the kit
Winners of previous editions

Winners of previous editions

Do you want to know which start-ups have received the award for being the most innovative company, for having the greatest growth potential in each region and for presenting the best solutions to the challenges posed?

Meet them

The Start-Up AwardsXXIin first person

Amaia Rodríguez CEO OF GRAVITY WAVE
TERRITORIAL WINNER OF THE VALENCIAN COMMUNITY AND WINNER OF THE IMAGIN CHALLENGE "PLANET OF TOMORROW" PEXXI23

Winning the Start-Up AwardsXXI is a recognition that we are doing things right and that there is another way to do things. This is the message Julen and I always convey: creating a social enterprise where the purpose is to clean plastic from the ocean and building a business model around it.

Ricard Guillem CEO OF CAFLER
WINNER OF THE DAYONE CHALLENGE “ECONOMY OF TOMORROW” PEXXI23

The network of contacts is incredible, and all the exposure we are receiving from entrepreneurs, universities, and professors makes this program exceptional for reinforcing many concepts that, in our day-to-day work, we cannot always dedicate time to.

Sara Toledano CEO OF SYCAI MEDICAL
PEXXI22 WINNER FOR CATALONIA

As well as the contacts created by the Start-Up AwardsXXI and its repercussions, the events and training programmes, as well as the community of winners, are a great help to entrepreneurs and show us how to consolidate our vision and think strategically so that we can guide the company.

Fermín Carmona CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF HOTELVERSE
PEXXI22 WINNER FOR THE BALEARIC ISLANDS AND OF THE VIVEXXI AWARD

For Hotelverse, being recognised by the Start-Up AwardsXXI is the drive we need to continue marking milestones in the industry. We are very proud to receive this award which recognises our value proposal and strong growth perspectives.

Maria Fernanda Gonzalez CEO & Founder of FREGATA SPACE
PEXXI21 WINNER FOR CATALONIA AND PLANETAXXI

I believe that the Start-Up AwardsXXI are an excellent example of healthy competition, in which talent and effort are rewarded, the choices of the judging panels are transparent and there is no self-interest or ideologies. I feel extremely honoured to have taken part and won because the award is perfectly in line with our values as a company. The award is important to us as it vouches for our project. 

Andreu Climent CEO of CORIFY CARE
PEXXI21 WINNER FOR MADRID AND SILVERXXI

Winning the Start-Up AwardsXXI has been a highly enriching experience from every aspect as Corify is now at a more advanced stage, meaning that it has been able to take and use fully the opportunities that this award brings. It has been a learning experience for all of the team from preparing the questionnaire to helping to prepare the pitches and the different presentations. And, above all, the Moonshot training has been a wake-up call to ascend to the next level.

Sónia Ferreira CEO of BestHealth4U
PEXXI20 winner for Norte e Centro (Portugal)

This award helped to put BestHealth4U on the map, fostering contact with the market, both for the business itself, through potential clients and investors, and in terms of collaboration with R & D institutions and hospitals. As founding CEO, my visibility and credibility increased as far as institutions and investors were concerned, as did my nominations for a number of awards.

Carlos Uraga CEO & Co-founder of Nantek
Winner of the PEXXI19 Impact Tech award

My experience of the Start-Up AwardsXXI has been extremely fulfilling. As entrepreneurs with very different profiles whose paths do not usually cross, we have been able to learn a lot from each other. What’s more, we’ve had the chance to get to know in depth the ecosystem of Estonia, the country with the most Unicorn companies per capita.

María González CEO & Co-founder of Tucuvi
PEXXI20 winner for Madrid and WellbeingXXI

I would highlight two aspects of participating in Start-Up AwardsXXI. On the one hand, spending time with other entrepreneurs is always very enriching. And, on the other hand, getting to know first hand how business ventures are evolving in other countries. The immersion in Estonia, a country that is considerably more digitised than Spain, gave me another perspective of how to do things and plan in the long term.

Miguel Silva-Constenla CEO & Co-Founder of AllRead Machine Learning Technologies
PEXXI20 winner for Catalonia and DeeptechXXI

What I most value about the Start-Up AwardsXXI is the enormous visibility that it gives us in terms of investors, public entities and clients. It has given us great visibility on a national scale and has confirmed that what we are doing at AllRead has a real future.

DayOne is a service created by CaixaBank to support young companies that are rapidly evolving on a worldwide scale whilst carrying out activities that add value using their own funds.

In addition, learn about the reports and publications on the entrepreneurial ecosystem published by DayOne at DayOne Observatory.

Media

Access to all the contents (presentations, round tables, interviews) of the Day One Innovation Summit and the territorial delivery acts of the Start-Up AwardsXXI:

Featured videos 17th edition

Interviews with the 17th edition winners

DayOne Innovation Summits 17th edition

@EmprendeXXI_ 25/01/2024 17:02

¿Cómo construir comunidad en torno a startups 🦄? Vuelve a escuchar el capítulo X de nuestro podcast 🎙️#PremiosEmprendeXXI con @Alex_Ferreiro (@CaixaBank #Dayone) y grandes protagonistas del ecosistema. ¡Dale al ▶️ ! 👉  goo.su/g5K4V

@EmprendeXXI_ 25/01/2024 12:54

📈Hacer crecer tu negocio no es una labor sencilla. Desde este post del blog de #DayOne te contamos cómo podemos conseguir de la mano de la innovación abierta que nuestra startup se convierta en una scaleup. ¡Échale un vistazo! 👉n9.cl/13yp7

@EmprendeXXI_ 23/01/2024 17:03

¿Cómo puede la #IAGenerativa🤖 transformar el escenario actual de las #startups y las #scaleups? Te damos la respuesta en el blog de @DayOne ➡️goo.su/pscV3Aq

@EmprendeXXI_ 23/01/2024 10:02

El CEO de @genially_es, @JuanGenially sabe la importancia de la perseverancia para poder cumplir tus metas profesionales y convertirte en un #Referente4Tomorrow. Nos lo explica desde el blog de #DayOne goo.su/UyHJ

@EmprendeXXI_ 22/01/2024 16:29

🔜 Continuamos con las sesiones de contenido para las #startups de esta 17ª ed. de #PremiosEmprendeXXI. Este miércoles @vpalmerbcn y @brasses_co nos dan las claves para preparar un pitch de 3 minutos para comités y jurados. Os contaremos todos los detalles en el blog de #DayOne

@EmprendeXXI_ 22/01/2024 11:17

Los #PremiosEmprendeXXI son mucho más que un premio económico 💰. Conoce todo lo que podrán conseguir las #startups ganadoras de esta 17 edición #innovacion ➡️goo.su/rafMMj

@EmprendeXXI_ 19/01/2024 12:09

👉Desde el blog de #DayOne te contamos los detalles de la primera sesión de contenido impartida por #DayOne, @enisa y @UpBizor sobre financiación no dilutiva para startups para las startups de la 17ª edición de #PremiosEmprendeXXI ➡️n9.cl/7ysh6

@EmprendeXXI_ 19/01/2024 10:04

🗣️Conseguir perfiles profesionales que te acompañen en todo el camino de tu #startup puede llegar a ser una tarea dura y complicada. Para que ese talento no decida abandonarte te dejamos desde el blog de #DayOne estas claves fundamentales👉 n9.cl/z7xbz

@EmprendeXXI_ 18/01/2024 11:58

🎙️¿Estás en pleno proceso de búsqueda de financiación internacional? El capítulo 6 de nuestro podcast @vpalmerbcn (@caixabank #DayOne); @MartaAntunezBCN (@WayraEs) y Candance Saffery (#BiaPower) nos explican las claves más importantes goo.su/RqXW1

@EmprendeXXI_ 18/01/2024 09:56

🗣️Gonzalo Sáenz, director de @caixabank #DayOne #Madrid nos habla en esta entrevista sobre la importancia de la Comunidad AlumniXXI como actor clave dentro del ecosistema innovador.
Follow @EmprendeXXI_

FAQs

How are the winners chosen?

The first stage reviews the eligibility of the candidacies. The candidacies that do not meet the terms and conditions or which have not presented the required documentation are ruled out from the process.

Later, all the candidacies are scored. All the evaluators have evaluation tables that specify the criteria to be assessed and the scores to be assigned based on said criteria. The candidacies are reviewed by several evaluators. Once the candidacies have been evaluated, rankings are created by category of challenges and these are sent to the different selection bodies.

Each award has an independent selection process. This means that 50 technical committees and juries are convened to choose the more than 30 winners of the edition. This phase requires the candidates to present and defend their application in person before the committee or jury either in person or virtual.

Who is on the juries?

The different Technical Committees and the juries are formed by members of the innovation ecosystem: investors (venture capital funds and business angels), successful entrepreneurs, prestigious businessmen, previous award winners, representatives from universities and business schools, business accelerators, organising and collaborating entities in the different territories, and representatives of the granting entities.

How are the winning companies notified?

Between the months of February and May 2025, summits and regional territorial delivery events are held. The closing ceremony, where the awards phase of the 18th anniversary will take place, will be held in June 2025. All dates will be published on the website of the Start-Up AwardsXXI.

Do the Awards cover other costs?

The organisation covers the travel costs to Barcelona for one representative of each finalist company of the phase Start-Up AwardsXXI Challenges Award called by the sector committees and juries. The costs for the other trips associated with the territorial awards are to be covered by the participants.

CaixaBank Group Partners
Imagin Agrobank CaixaBank Banca Privada CaixaBank Negocios CaixaBank Empresas CaixaBank Séniors MicroBank CaixaBank Dualiza Payments and Consumer VidaCaixa CaixaBank TECH CaixaBank Banca Sostenible CaixaBank Hotels & Tourism CaixaBank Real Estate & Homes
Regional organisers / Collaborators