Technology is evolving faster than ever. Trends such as advanced robotics, cloud computing, big data, smart grids, and Artificial Intelligence are radically changing the business landscape, reshaping the nature of our economy, and changing the boundaries of what is possible and what is not. Such technologies bring enormous challenges to society, in terms of job-creation, security and sustainability. But they also provide powerful opportunities to governments and enterprises that, if correctly used, could help us reach unprecedented levels of prosperity.

With the aim of facilitating that process, IE and its Center for the Government of Change launched in 2018 the first GovTech Venture Program in Europe, a cutting-edge, highly competitive program designed to support the identification and development of start-ups and companies that are using new technologies to help governments and enterprises that work with public institutions in tackling some of the most pressing problems of our age.

Our team of experts analyzed dozens of candidates from several different countries and selected 6 finalists, based on their originality, financial viability, and ability to have a positive impact on major social challenges such us climate change, growing physical and digital insecurity, the rise in inequality, and social vulnerability among others.

We them invited those start-ups to come to Madrid, where they received professional training, meet experts, and had the chance to pitch their projects to a selected audience composed of investors, government officials, business pioneers, academics, and representatives of key industries. By the end of the event, the City Council of Madrid announced that it will be supporting and adopting for testing the technologies of the six finalists.

The day was a vibrant intellectual encounter, and a great opportunity for those interested in using new technologies to help the private and the public sectors to create a fairer, more secure, and prosperous world for everyone. If you belong to this group, stay tuned for the next GovTech Venture Program at the CGC.

AGENDA

16:00 Opening Session

Vicente Montes - Director, Rafael del Pino Foundation

Juan José Güemes - Chairman, IE Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Center

Manuel Muñiz - Provost, IE University

16:30 Startup competition

18:00 Coffee Break

18:30 Can new technologies save democracy?

Helen Margetts - Director, Oxford Internet Institute

Pere Vallés - CEO, Scytl

Tanya Filer - Head of GovTech Initiative, Cambridge University

Ozren Jungic - Policy Analyst, Government of Canada

Diego Rubio - Executive Director, IE Center for the Governance of Change

19:30 Closing ceremony and winner announcement