PRESS RELEASE                                                     July 11, 2024 

The second edition of The Gap in Between, the meeting for tackling society’s systemic challenges, comes to Valencia on October 8

• It will be held in La Marina de Valencia following a first edition which saw over a thousand attendees, including startups, corporates, investors, governments and civil society.
• Organized by Social Nest Foundation, The Gap in Between is the platform where diverse stakeholders come together to address society’s systemic challenges. This involves driving change at various levels and evolving together to forge pathways toward positive transformation.
  
• Thanks to this showcase, last year’s winning startups have, taken together, raised over two million euros in funding.

Valencia, July 11, 2024.  The Gap in Between, the annual meeting that brings diverse actors in the impact ecosystem together from around the world to address the most pressing social and environmental challenges, has confirmed it will be holding its second edition at La Marina de Valencia next October 8.

Organized by Social Nest Foundation, the global platform for investors and entrepreneurs with social and environmental impact initiatives, The Gap in Between will be a meeting and connecting point for co-creating innovative solutions, fostering collaboration among purpose-driven organizations and harnessing the power of everyone to change the world.

Some of the most notable goals of the meeting are to foster a mindset of systemic thinking that will enable decision-makers to understand their roles, to catalyze goal-driven collaboration and to harness the power of everyone in creating the most innovative and effective business solutions. This means driving change at various levels and evolving together to forge pathways toward positive transformation.

For two days, nearly a thousand attendees will get to take part in a program featuring plenary sessions, panels, workshops, visits to the local ecosystem, pitches and networking sessions, plus many other activities.

A variety of sessions during which the different systemic challenges facing society will be discussed in depth. Among the most notable are: accessible, nutritious and sustainable food systems, social inclusion and equity beyond business and energy transition and sustainable cities. Also to be addressed will be the possibilities for a circular business strategy and a change in the financial system for the common good.

To this end, some of the world’s leading experts will share their views on how we can come together to meet these challenges. Some of the major speakers to have already confirmed participation in the meeting include: Linn-Cecilie Linnemann, former CEO of Katapult; Adam Kybird, fund manager of Triodos Food Transition Europe Fund; Ivo Degn, CEO and co-founder of Climate Farmers, and Margarita Albors, president and founder of Social Nest Foundation, among many others.  Other major entities in the international impact ecosystem have also confirmed participation in the event, some of which are: Fundación ONCE, Elea, Regenerate Asset Management and the National Renewable Energy Centre of Spain (CENER). Representatives from these organizations will actively contribute on various panels and presentations during the meeting.

Startup Challenge, a showcase for launching business

Another highlight of this second edition of The Gap in Between will be finding out the best entrepreneurial project aimed at social and environmental impact. In its first edition, the award went to Bcome, a pioneering startup in the application of intelligent methodologies for global sustainability management, which has tracked, measured and evaluated over 1 million products on the market. In honor of this, Bcome received 10,000 euros in prizewinnings, as well as the chance to connect with top-tier investors to scale its business.

Thanks to this showcase, the five winners of the first edition have together raised over two million euros in financing. The other winners were: Cocircular, which won the Climate Action Award; Naria, which received the Social Inclusion Award; the startup Ailin, which took the award for Purposeful Technology, and the startup Nat4bio, which won in Sustainable Food Systems.

According to Margarita Albors, president and founder of Social Nest Foundation, “all the economic actors, from large corporations to entrepreneurs, must be part of the solutions to the social problems and challenges of the planet. The best way to achieve this is by sparking collaboration among the parties at meetings such as The Gap in Between.”

The Gap in Between has the institutional support of the Diputación de Valencia and Valencia City Council, through València Innovation Capital, as well as Caixa Popular, Fundación ONCE, Zubi Group, Unicef, Iberia, BigBan, Wayra, First Drop, Innsomnia, Startup Valencia, Valencia Digital Summit, Connected Mobility Hub, Innova y Acción, EIT Food, GoHub Ventures and Foro Nesi.