This trade fair, organized within the framework of the Mobile World Congress 2021, is a great opportunity for ICT companies to establish contacts and obtain funding

The Four Years From Now (4YFN) trade fair, organized within the framework of the Mobile World Congress 2021, was held in Barcelona between June 28 and July 1 with the aim to generate synergies between international agents and companies, 18 of which came from Andalusia.
The 2021 edition of 4YFN focused on technological entrepreneurship, highlighting opportunities for the ICT industry in the areas of connectivity, cybersecurity, cloud computing, mobile authentication, 5G and block chain technology, amongst many others.
Andalusian companies participating in this event were selected mostly by Extenda, although winning companies at the ‘Startup Andalucía Roadshow’ also participated.
Companies shared an exhibition stand in which they presented their product and service portfolio to both international investors and agents. Furthermore, they had the chance to establish business contacts. With the aim to foster the visibility and reach of these companies, an Elevator Pitch with Andalusian startups was organized to allow them to present their business models to international investors so as to attract foreign investment.
Extenda highlights the quality of innovation proposals presented by Andalusia's ICT industry, in which Malaga plays a key role as a driver of foreign direct investment and technological funds for the region. In that sense, Extenda considers technology a key factor of business network development, especially when the focus is to add value through R&D processes.

PARTICIPATING COMPANIES

As for the value of this event, Emily Cebrián, leader within the startup Froged said that “after participating in this event for the first time, we can say that things went very well in terms of contacts with potential customers, partners and investors. Generally speaking, this was a very positive experience, partly due to the excellent support from Extenda”.
Froged, headquartered in Malaga, was one of 18 companies at the Four Years From Now (4FYN) trade fair, with the remaining startups being Atrebo, MyHixel, Scoobic Urban Mobility, Tales Technology, Wuolah and Zyrkia from Seville; ActivaCar, Newralers, Novatecnic and Owo Games from Malaga; AR Vision LimnoPharma and Mox from Granada; Robonity and Wilapp from Almeria, Healthy Blue Bits from Cadiz and NosoloSoftware from Cordoba.

FOUR YEARS FROM NOW: CONNECTING STARTUPS

Four Years From Now is the main event for emergent companies (startups) held in Spain. Organized within the framework of Mobile World Capital Barcelona and under the slogan “Connecting Startups”, this event focuses on providing startups with the opportunity to network with entrepreneurs, investors, companies and public institutions. Furthermore, exhibiting startups present themselves to a potential audience of 20,000 attendees and have the opportunity to boost their knowledge, network and business opportunities. In this edition, 4YFN was held in the same venue that Mobile World Congress, thus increasing startup exposure to larger audiences.

EXPORTS OF ANDALUSIAN ICT INDUSTRY

Exports of the Andalusian Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) industry reached €162 million in the first four months of 2021, accounting for a 44% growth compared to the same period in 2020. The main destinations of Andalusia’s ICT industry were France, followed by the USA, Germany, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
As for the most exported products of this Andalusian industry, the main one was telecommunication devices, followed by accuracy and measurement equipment for scientific usage, hardware IT, industrial electronics and electronic components.