Chema Alonso
Chief Data Officer, Telefonica.
Wayra, Telefónica’s international accelerator for startups, announced last week the opening of a new global call for projects in order to seek new business proposals. Up until 5th October, entrepreneurs with projects in early stages of development and a major technological component may apply here. to gain a place at one of the academies offering places in this call for projects: Spain, Germany and the UK in Europe; and Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Venezuela in Latin America.
The projects that Wayra decides to accelerate have in common the fact that they use the advantages offered by the Internet and new technologies to innovate, regardless of the sector or industry in which they are undertaken. However, this call for projects will place a special emphasis on the selection of projects or companies that provide services for SMEs and companies (B2B) in some of the following areas:
- Cloud services and solutions to manage and optimise their infrastructure.
- Services based on Machine-to-Machine (M2M) technology, including new devices that leverage mobility and connectivity.
- Cybersecurity and projects related to emergency networks and services.
There will also be a focus on applications and services for the general public to improve the experience of communication between users and to enrich their digital environment by integrating their devices, home entertainment and family security and monitoring, among others.
After successfully passing an exhaustive selection process in which experts evaluate their characteristics and potential, the best projects will be able to participate in the acceleration programme. This will provide them with funding, training and expert advice, a workspace for their team at the Wayra academy and potential access to the businesses within the Telefónica Group. In addition, accelerated start-ups will be able to benefit from the network of entrepreneurs, investors and experts grouped around Telefónica Open Future, the programme that brings together the company’s innovation and investment initiatives.
Three years after its launch, Wayra already has a portfolio of more than 340 companies in operation, grouped into more than 20 digital industries.
