The startups Sowify Global Solutions, El Deseo Artesano, and KoAir, winners of the “Impulso Emprendedor’” program promoted by Industria
The initiative, now in its 14th year, offers 64,000 euros in prizes and the support of mentor companies throughout the business acceleration process.
Sowify Global Solutions, El Deseo Artesano, and KoAir are the startups that received, respectively, prizes of 34,000, 20,000, and 10,000 euros, respectively, from the “Impulso Emprendedor” program, promoted by the Department of Industry and Ecological and Digital Business Transformation and managed by the public entity European Center for Business and Innovation of Navarra (CEIN).
The awards ceremony took place at CEIN’s headquarters in Noáin during “Demo Day,” which was attended by Garbiñe Basterra, Director General of Energy and Digital Transition, Business R&D&I, and Entrepreneurship. In her remarks, Basterra emphasized that these awards are a cause for celebration because they showcase the talent and capabilities of Navarran startups, each of which is backed by people who take risks and work every day to turn a vision into reality.
CEIN Managing Director Uxue Itoiz, for her part, emphasized that “ Impulso Emprendedor ” has received nearly 1,500 applications over its 14-year history and has supported a total of 107 projects and startups.
Caja Rural de Navarra, Cinfa, Corporación Mondragón, Grupo Enhol, Salinas de Navarra, MTorres, Viscofán, and Zabala Innovation Consulting are the companies that collaborate with the program as mentors and contribute not only the prize money but also their knowledge and experience. Over the years, these collaborating companies have contributed 888,000 euros in prize money.
Impulso Emprendedor, which provides innovative startups with growth potential a specialized business acceleration program, individual advice, and mentoring, has had six participating startups in this 14th edition.
Throughout the morning, the participating startups presented their progress in the program and their achievement of milestones to the jury—composed of the mentoring companies—which, after evaluating their progress, selected the three winners.
The Winners
The first prize, worth 34,000 euros, went to Sowify Global Solutions, an artificial intelligence platform for agriculture that helps farmers produce more efficiently, spend less, and make more accurate decisions.
The 20,000-euro prize went to El Deseo Artesano, a startup that specializes in the production of fresh pizza dough and vacuum-sealed artisanal pizzas.
For its part, the third prize, worth 10,000 euros, went to KoAir. It is an artificial intelligence-powered aviation communications simulator designed to help pilots and aviation students practice phraseology with confidence, from anywhere they choose and without relying on an instructor.
The winning startups will also have access to free office space at the CEIN Innovation Incubator for six months, as well as access to an equity-based loan of up to 100,000 euros from the public entity Sodena.
Also participating in this edition of “ Impulso Emprendedor ” were the startups Homvers (robotic systems for smart furniture), Koiote (which helps industrial companies improve their productivity and efficiency through digital solutions tailored to their processes), and Mirror Health (artificial intelligence and data engineering focused primarily on clinical trials in the healthcare sector).
