The Madrid City Council has launched a new edition of the Madrid Emprende Investment Forum , a well-established event for startups and innovative companies seeking private capital to grow. With this 13th edition, the council reinforces its commitment to the capital's entrepreneurial ecosystem and to fostering direct connections between high-potential projects and specialized funding, as well as initiatives such as the Emprendedoras Award (Women Entrepreneurs Award ).
Through the General Directorate of Entrepreneurship, Madrid Emprende , the program is now accepting applications from interested companies for the opportunity to be selected to present their projects to a network of investors. The initiative is designed for companies in their expansion phase that have already taken their first steps in the market and are now seeking additional financial support.
What is the 13th Madrid Emprende Investment Forum and who is it aimed at?
The 13th Madrid Emprende Investment Forum is part of the free entrepreneurship support services offered by the Madrid City Council. Its main function is to serve as a meeting point between innovative startups and SMEs and private investors interested in backing newly created projects with real growth potential.
This initiative is aimed primarily at Madrid-based companies linked to the network of municipal business incubators and other city council entrepreneurship and innovation spaces, although other projects that meet the requirements are also eligible. The forums are held regularly, usually twice a year, and this new call for applications marks the thirteenth edition since the program's inception.
The event is designed for companies that have already moved beyond the initial stages, meaning projects with a defined product or service, initial market validation , and potential customers . The forum is not limited to a specific sector, but prioritizes proposals with high innovative and scalable potential, especially in the technology and digital fields.
According to the City Council, these types of meetings have become a key lever for channeling non-bank financing towards the local entrepreneurial fabric, making it easier for projects to advance in seed investment rounds or early series without depending solely on traditional credit.
Deadlines and registration process: how to submit your application
Companies interested in participating in the 13th Madrid Emprende Investment Forum have a limited time to register. The City Council has set April 17th as the deadline for applications to be submitted via an online form specifically created for this event.
In their application, companies must submit their investment proposal and provide essential information about their project: business model, team, funding needs, intended use of funds, and key traction metrics. This documentation will serve as the basis for the Madrid Emprende technical team to evaluate each application.
Once the deadline has passed, the proposals received will be analyzed and a filtering process will be carried out to select ten finalist projects . These companies will then have the opportunity to present their initiative to a panel of investors at the event to be held in the spring.
The final presentation to investors is scheduled for May 27th at the Cibeles Palace , one of the city's most iconic institutional buildings. On that day, the selected teams will have a limited time to present their investment pitch and answer questions from the audience.
Requirements to participate: what startups must meet
To qualify for a place at the forum, companies must demonstrate a certain level of maturity. These are not projects in the idea stage, but rather startups that have already made progress in developing their proposals and have begun engaging with the real market.
Among the basic requirements defined by the City Council, several key points stand out that must be met to enter the selection process:
- Having a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) developed and operational, which allows validating market interest.
- Having initial traction metrics, whether in the form of users, customers, initial revenue, or other relevant indicators.
- Having a founding team committed full-time with the project, thus showing a clear and sustained dedication.
- Seeking a funding round starting at 100.000 euroswith a well-structured investment approach.
These requirements aim to ensure that projects participating in the forum are well-positioned to effectively leverage contact with investors . The combination of a developed product, initial market data, and a committed team is considered by the program to be the minimum requirement for generating interest among potential funders.
Furthermore, although participation is not limited to a single sector, the organization usually places special value on companies that possess a differentiating technological or innovative component , as these tend to offer greater opportunities for scalability and rapid growth.
Support before, during and after the forum
The selected companies will not only have the opportunity to present their projects on the day of the event , but will also benefit from a specific preparation program leading up to it. Madrid Emprende offers the finalists various support resources to optimize their experience at the forum.
On one hand, mentoring is offered to help structure the investment pitch , defining the key message, the company's history, essential figures, and the value proposition in a clear and compelling way for investors. This preparatory work is crucial to making the most of the limited time available for presentations.
In addition, companies will receive support in networking with the investor network that regularly attends these events. Beyond the public presentations, the forum facilitates one-on-one conversations, meetings, and follow-up interactions that can lead to investment agreements.
The program also includes follow-up support after the event, assisting startups in the negotiation phases that follow. These conversations often continue for months, culminating in closed funding rounds.
With this comprehensive approach, the forum seeks to go beyond a simple presentation session and become a real starting point for investment operations , making it easier for companies to arrive prepared and for investors to find well-developed projects with solid information.
Cumulative impact of the Madrid Emprende Investment Forums
Since the first edition of these forums was held in September 2019 , the Madrid City Council has been consolidating the format as part of its strategy to promote entrepreneurship. Twelve previous forums have already been organized , resulting in a significant number of submitted projects and channeled investment.
To date, 117 companies have participated in the various calls for proposals of the Madrid Emprende Investment Forum. According to data compiled by the city council, these companies have raised more than six million euros in private capital , a figure that reflects the interest that Madrid-based projects generate among the investment community.
Municipal authorities clarify that the actual volume of capital mobilized could be higher, as many investment operations are protracted and the final terms of the rounds are not always made public. In any case, the available information shows a positive trend and a growing use of this channel as an alternative to bank financing.
With these results, the Madrid Emprende Investment Forums have established themselves as a strategic tool for boosting the growth of innovative startups and SMEs in the city. The City Council highlights their particular usefulness for companies housed in municipal business incubators and other entrepreneurship centers run by the council.
The new call for the 13th forum seeks to continue this trajectory and further nurture an ecosystem in which projects, investors and public institutions cooperate to generate economic activity and high value-added employment in Madrid.
Madrid Emprende: services and support for the entrepreneurial ecosystem
The forum's program falls within the broader work of Madrid Emprende , the City Council's General Directorate of Entrepreneurship, which is part of the Department of Economy, Innovation, and Finance. Its mission is to promote the creation of new businesses and foster the growth of existing ones, with a particular focus on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Among its resources is a network of seven business incubators located throughout different districts of the city. These spaces offer offices, common areas, and flexible workspaces, as well as support, training, and advisory services for the projects located there. In many cases, they also include free coworking spaces for entrepreneurs in the very early stages of their businesses.
Another key element is the Single Window for Entrepreneurs (VUE) , a service that centralizes in one place the information and advice needed by people who want to start a business. Through the VUE, legal support is offered, assistance in developing business plans, guidance on administrative procedures, information on grants and subsidies , and guidance in finding suitable sources of financing for each project.
Over its two decades of operation, Madrid Emprende has accumulated extensive experience supporting business initiatives of very different types. According to municipal data, more than 262.000 consultations have been provided to entrepreneurs and companies, which gives an idea of the scale of the work carried out.
Within this ecosystem of services, the Madrid Emprende Investment Forum is positioned as a specific complement to the private capital search phase , linking the previous work of maturing projects with the acquisition of financial resources that allow the business to scale.
The City Council's view on the role of the forum
The councillor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Ángel Niño , has repeatedly emphasized the importance of having spaces where businesses and investors can meet in a structured way. In his words, the objective of these forums is to facilitate access to financing for business projects with potential and, at the same time, offer investors real opportunities to invest in growing companies.
Niño emphasizes that, through Madrid Emprende, the City Council offers comprehensive support to entrepreneurs , from the initial ideation and company formation phases to more advanced stages, such as fundraising and internationalization. The forum focuses on this latter stage, when companies need external resources to consolidate their position and expand.
The city council emphasizes that these types of initiatives not only benefit the participating startups but also contribute to generating economic activity and employment in the city of Madrid . Each investment round closed within the framework of the forum can translate into new hires, the development of new products, or the opening of new markets, with a multiplier effect on the surrounding area.
The program's continuity since 2019 and the growing strength of its community of regular investors indicate that the format has become a fixture on the Madrid entrepreneurial ecosystem's event calendar. For companies that fit the desired profile, the 13th edition represents a concrete opportunity to gain visibility and advance their funding process.
With the opening of registration for the 13th Madrid Emprende Investment Forum, Madrid reinforces its position as one of the most active entrepreneurship hubs in the country, combining public infrastructure, advisory services and specific programs connecting with private capital so that innovative startups and SMEs can take the leap they need.
