PwC: The socioeconomic contribution of South Summit in Madrid in 2024
04/23/2024South Summit
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PwC, a renowned global professional services firm, and South Summit, a leading platform connecting startups, investors, corporations, and public institutions worldwide, have collaborated closely to advance innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic advancement in Spain. Sharing a common goal of fostering sustainable growth and societal value, both entities have pooled their knowledge and resources to nurture the Spanish entrepreneurial landscape.
In continuation with their partnership, PwC and South Summit have unveiled their latest report, presenting the following findings:
Although the total investments volume has suffered a reduction in 2023, the entrepreneurial ecosystem value has kept a positive pace. Indeed, the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem value has increased by 5% in 2023 with respect to 2022.
The upcoming South Summit 2024 is expected to generate an economic impact of almost €35 million in the city of Madrid.
For every €1spent by South Summit on the event, €3.2will be generated in Madrid’s economic activity.
In terms of employment, the 2024 event will generate 3,011 equivalent jobs of monthly duration.
The investment raised by the Spanish finalist startups in 2023 was €597 million, leading to an increase in the Spanish economic activity of €1,044 million. In particular, the investment raised by finalist startups from Madrid in 2023 amounted €302 million, resulting in an impact of €481 million on Madrid’s economic activity (approximately 46% of Spain’s total contribution).
South Summit is a global platform that facilitates the connection between startups, investors, corporations, and public institutions, playing a critical role in attracting talent and advancing global economic growth. In addition, South Summit continues creating high-valued connections in a particular entrepreneurial context.
The entrepreneurial ecosystem
In 2023, the high interest rates, the unstable geopolitical situation and the banking vulnerabilities have pusheddown the global investment volume in startups, causing a global contraction of nearly 38% compared to the previous year.
In line with the European trend, Spain has experienced a reduction in the volume of investments in startups by 33% compared to the previous year, as well as a decrease in the number of transactions carried out. This reduction is smaller than the one registered in Europe. Much of this contraction is due to the lower number of megarounds, which decreased by 51% in 2023.
Despite this specific reduction in global investment volume, the value of the global entrepreneurial ecosystem has continued to grow due to the economic resilience, the increase in the ecosystem’s size and the technological improvements achieved recently.
Particularly, Spain presents a consolidated entrepreneurial ecosystem, exceeding $98,000 million in 2023 of entrepreneurial ecosystem value, which represents an increase of nearly 5% with respect to the previous year. Furthermore, it is important to highlight the implementation of the ‘Startup Law’ at the end of 2022, which has contributed to the promotion and entrepreneurial activity in Spain.
At the national level, Madrid and Barcelona remain as the main entrepreneurial ecosystems. Specifically, Madrid stays one of the key European hubs, raising € 775 million in investments in 2023 with a total of 128 transactions.
In 2024, South Summit will continue to contribute to Spanish society and its productive landscape through the following channels: economy and employment; image and reputation; and entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Impact on the economy and employment
The 13th South Summit edition is expected to yield an economic impact of almost €35 million in Madrid’s economy, where for every €1 directly spent at the event, South Summit will produce €3.2 of total impact in the economy of Madrid. Even though the global investment has decreased in 2023, South Summit continues to increase its contribution with an economic impact 25% higher than in the previous year.
In terms of employment, South Summit 2024 will make a total contribution to the local economy of 3,011 equivalent jobsof monthly duration, which is 37% more than in the previous edition. Additionally, 51% of attendees come from outside Madrid, making South Summit one of the most significant talent attraction points within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. As a matter of fact, 55% of the jobs created are due to the arrival of visitors from outside Madrid, further highlighting the global nature of South Summit.
Improvement of image and media coverage
South Summit benefits from robust media coverage, enhancing the image and reputation of the city of Madrid. In 2023 alone, the media impacts amounted to 2,045, including 128 international impacts. In terms of media economic value, the South Summit event achieved an equivalent of €8.5 million and reached an audience of 437 million. Additionally, beyond the immediate media impact generated during the event, South Summit continues to generate significant media attention throughout the year, with an increasing international impact as demonstrated by the 3,046 media impacts reached in the last edition of South Summit Brazil.
Contribution to the entrepreneurial ecosystem
South Summit has been established as one center of global talent attraction, reinforced by the 80% startups international participation in 2023. Nevertheless, the total accumulated investment by the Spanish startups’ finalist represents 73% of the investment received by all the finalist startups.
Indeed, the investment raised in 2023 by the Spanish finalist startups was €597 million, which has raised the Spanish economic impact up to €1,044 million. It is also important to emphasize the size of the startup’s finalist in South Summit competition, as they represent the 26% of the total investment volume in Spain in 2023.
Furthermore, Madrid stands as one of the main hubs of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Madrid, as 46% of the total contribution from Spanish finalist startups was generated by startups based in Madrid.
In conclusion, South Summit has established itself as one of the main global gatherings within the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. The increasing relevance of South Summit Brazil also has very positive effects for Spain, both in terms of the investment raised by Spanish startups participating in the event, and in strengthening Spain’s image as a hub of innovation and entrepreneurship.
AUTHOR: JORDI ESTEVE BARGUÉS, PARTNER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AREA OF ECONOMICS – STRATEGY OF PwC SPAIN
Jordi brings more than twenty years of professional experience in economic consultancy, specialized in the application of quantitative economic techniques to strategic projects.
With his extensive professional experience, he has prepared economic impact reports across a diverse range of sectors. Additionally, he has contributed to the development of impact studies for top Spanish corporations.
He holds a degree in Economics and a Master’s in Economics from CEMFI (Bank of Spain).
AUTHOR: ALBERTO TORNERO SUÁREZ,
PARTNER RESPONSIBLE FOR THE AREA OF HIGH GROWTH COMPANIES (SCALE UPS & OPEN INNOVATION) OF PWC SPAIN.
Alberto has been working for more than twelve years with Start Ups, Scale Ups and middle market + companies, collaborating on the strategies and needs related to their high growth rates.
Likewise, the area directed by Alberto is responsible for collaborating with large corporations and institutions in their innovation, investment and transformation strategies with Star Ups and Scale Ups.
For four years he was CEO and General Director of a Spanish industrial and technological business group.
Graduated in Law, MBA from ESADE, PDD from IESE and Masters in Law of technologies from ICADE, Alberto is a professor of data strategy, business transformation, data ownership, intellectual property and entrepreneurship at various business schools (Instituto de Empresa, ICADE, School of Industrial Organization, CEU).
