Green Innovation Forum: Salamanca as a meeting point for startups, researchers, and investors

The main trends and challenges in green biotechnology, foodtech, and the food industry will converge on April 21 in Salamanca with a new edition of the Green Innovation Forum, organized by AseBio in collaboration with the Salamanca City Council. This event will once again become a benchmark for the sector, analyzing innovations, business models, and collaboration opportunities that will shape the evolution of the food system in the coming years.

The event will kick off on April 20 with a reception at the Palacio de Fonseca, while on April 21 the main day will be held at the Salamanca Conference and Exhibition Center, bringing together industry experts, technology centers, startups, and specialized investors.

"For Salamanca, hosting the Green Innovation Forum is a recognition of our commitment to innovation, sustainability, and green biotechnology. It is a unique opportunity to show how our city combines tradition and scientific knowledge with a modern and competitive ecosystem, consolidating our national and international projection in the field of biotechnology," highlights Pedro Martínez, Councilor for Economic Promotion at the Salamanca City Council.

Salamanca was chosen as the venue for the Green Innovation Forum due to its consolidation as a technological and biosanitary hub of reference in southwestern Europe. This position stems from collaboration between universities, research centers, companies, and public administration; investment in high-quality infrastructure; and commitment to projects that promote sustainability and innovation. "Furthermore, Salamanca has successfully attracted and retained talent, creating an ecosystem where knowledge translates into employment and wealth opportunities," Martínez adds.

The Salamanca Tech brand underpins this strategy, which is based on an ecosystem in which "universities and research centers generate knowledge and talent; the business sector contributes experience, investment, and scalability; and public-private collaboration transforms innovative ideas into real projects with economic and social impact, consolidating Salamanca as a technological benchmark."

This commitment is reinforced through infrastructures such as ABIOINNOVA, the Biotechnology, Bioengineering, and Health Business Incubator. "ABIOINNOVA provides strategic resources for project development: fully equipped laboratories, coworking spaces, advanced services for financing, internationalization, expert advice, and connection with investors and markets," explains the Councilor for Economic Promotion. In this sense, he emphasizes that the Salamanca Tech ecosystem "allows access to other agents, research groups, centers, and companies in Salamanca. It is an ecosystem that enables startups and researchers to accelerate their ideas, validate projects, and generate impact in strategic sectors such as green biotechnology and health."

Salamanca, an Emerging Hub in Health Sciences in Spain

Salamanca is strengthening its position as one of Spain’s emerging hubs in health sciences. The current strategy focuses on areas such as personalized medicine, advanced therapies, rare disease research, and biotechnology applied to health. This is complemented by a commitment to digitizing healthcare processes and using artificial intelligence to improve diagnostics, treatments, and healthcare system efficiency. This initiative is carried out in collaboration with key local ecosystem players, such as the Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, the Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Salamanca, and the Universidad de Salamanca, among others.

In parallel, the City Council has promoted talent attraction and retention programs with grants of up to €510,000 per project. These initiatives aim to send a clear message to the scientific and business ecosystem: "Salamanca believes in talent and is willing to invest in it," Martínez explains. The goal is to attract top-tier researchers and teams, provide them with adequate conditions to carry out their work, and foster an environment where innovation can be consolidated in a viable, sustainable, and competitive manner.

High-Level Networking, Collaboration with Industry Leaders, and Access to Cutting-Edge Knowledge to Drive Open Innovation

The combination of Salamanca’s unique setting with the strength of the Green Innovation Forum offers a space for "high-level networking opportunities, collaboration with leading institutions and companies, access to cutting-edge knowledge, and the possibility to explore synergies in open innovation projects. Salamanca provides a conducive environment to combine learning, investment, and the development of strategic projects."

"The Green Innovation Forum is a platform that combines innovation, knowledge, and business opportunities in a benchmark setting like Salamanca. Participating in the GIF means being at the forefront of green biotechnology, building relationships with key industry players, and learning first-hand about the most innovative and sustainable projects in Spain and Europe," concludes Pedro Martínez.