South Summit brings together unicorns and investment funds in Brussels to strengthen connections within the European ecosystem

South Summit will launch a new edition the ‘Scaleup Series’ on 13 February in Brussels. This series of events, co-organised with IE University, is designed to Strengthen connections among leading European scaleup entrepreneurs and founders create a space to share best practices, trends and insights, and delve into business, investment and economic growth opportunities for entrepreneurial projects in Europe.

The first event of this new edition of the 'Scaleup Series' will take place at the Comet Louise venue in Brussels, starting at 5:30 p.m., with an institutional welcome by Nacho Mateo, CEO of South Summit, and Juan José Güemes, Vice President of IE University and President of the IE Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Followinng the opening, investors, founders of successful scaleups and experts from the European entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as Olivier Mertens, founder of We Love Founders; Robin Wauters, founder of Profundo and member of the European Startup Network; Yannick Oswald, partner at Mangrove Capital Partners; and Stijn Christiaens, co-founder and Chief Data Citizen of Collibra, among many others. During the scheduled sessions, the speakers will share success stories, experiences and lessons learned along their journeys,  which have established as international leaders in their respective sectors.

Among the highlights of the 'Scaleup Series' event in Brussels is the session 'Fueling the Fire: Later Stage Investment Opportunities in Belgium and Spain', which will analyse late-stage investment opportunities in both countries. Additionally, the event will explore the importance of strategic partnerships for scaling startups, and there feature panels on intellectual protection as a key ally in international expansion.

The event will conclude with a networking cocktail, providing attendees with the opportunity to establish valuable connections and share key insights.

The 'Scaleup Series' will continue its European journey after its stop in the Belgian capital, with events scheduled in Milan (February 20), London (February 27), Oslo (March 19) and Berlin (date to be announced). This second edition of the 'Scaleup Series' aims to replicate the success of the 2024 initiative, during which South Summit visited five major European economic capitals: London, Milan, Paris, Munich and Lisbon. These events brought together key players from the European ecosystem to strengthen relationships and connections between across the region.

You can check out the full agenda for the Scaleup Series here.

About South Summit

South Summit is the global platform that brings together all the actors in the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem to promote the development of business opportunities among all of them. Its main event is South Summit Madrid, co-organized by IE University, which has seen more than 42,500 startups pass through its thirteen previous editions, while its Startup Competition, from which 8 unicorns have been born, has resulted in more than 1,000 finalist startups, with a survival rate of 90% and $17,000 billion in investment raised.

The 13th edition of South Summit Madrid brought together more than 18,000 attendees from 133 countries between June 5 and 7 of this year, including more than 6,500 entrepreneurs, more than 2,000 investors with an investment portfolio of more than $500 billion -$174,000 billion more than last year-,  and more than 6,000 representatives of corporations from around the world, in addition to 26 unicorns of great international renown. On the other hand, the 14th edition of South Summit Madrid will be held between June 4 and 6, 2025 at La Nave. The deadline to register for the Startup Competition is open until January 31, 2025.

After passing through Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Chile and Argentina, South Summit held its third edition in Brazil, also co-organized by IE University, last March of this year. This latest edition brought together more than 23,500 attendees from 55 different countries, including more than 3,000 startups and 900 investment funds, ready to support the best innovative ideas from around the world thanks to a portfolio of $213 billion. South Summit Brazil is already preparing its fourth edition, which will be between April 9 and 11, 2025.