Wayra seeks new start-ups for its Spanish and Latin American academies

Wayra, Telefónica’s international network of digital start-up fast trackers,  announced today the opening of a new global call for projects aimed at finding innovative new business proposals.

Until February 15, entrepreneurs whose projects are still at an early stage of development and involve a significant degree of technological content shall be able to apply, via http://www.wayra.co/apply, for a place at one of the 5 academies involved in this process: Madrid and Barcelona in Europe, and Bogota, Buenos Aires and Santiago de Chile in Latin America.

What all the businesses fast tracked by Wayra have in common is making the most of the advantages provided by the Internet and new technologies to innovate regardless of the sector or industry in which they are developed.

After successfully negotiating an exhaustive selection process during which several experts in evaluating each country’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and Telefónica’s local enterprises review every business plan submitted, those judged the best can then go on to participate in the full fast tracking programme that provides them with funding, dedicated mentors, training and specialised consultancy services, a work space for their team at the Wayra Academy and potential access to the businesses of the Telefónica Group.

Almost four years after its launch, Wayra’s portfolio consists of over 435 companies grouped into more than 20 digital industries. Of these, 80 are working alongside Telefónica on different initiatives. The funds Telefónica has channelled into these start-ups exceed 25 million dollars, while the companies involved have sourced over 85 million dollars of third-party investment (spread between public and private funding and angel investors). The estimated value of all these portfolio companies already exceeds 680 million dollars.

Wayra is part of Telefónica Open Future, the global open innovation programme of the Telefónica Group and its public and private partners set up to seek out and develop new talent and to find the innovative products and services that will take it to the top of their industries within the new digital environment.