José Miguel Bermúdez, co-founder and CEO of bound4blue, has won the Young Entrepreneur Award organised annually by AIJEC, the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Catalonia, which recognises him as the best young Catalan entrepreneur of the year. Bermúdez beat Sonia Castelló, CEO of Fil Katia, and Josep Dosta, founder and CEO of WOODYS.
With this award, AIJEC wanted to highlight the work of José Miguel Bermúdez at the head of bound4blue, a startup that develops automated wind-assisted propulsion systems and that allows all ship owners and shipping companies to reduce fuel costs and polluting emissions by up to 40%. The jury valued the accelerated business evolution that Bermúdez has achieved in just a decade since he created bound4blue, after seeing a report by Jacques Cousteau on television and raising a round of financing of 22.4 million euros. In this 31st edition of the Young Entrepreneur Award, the award for best young entrepreneur of the year has been sponsored by Fira de Barcelona.
Able Human Motion, Best Business Initiative Award
The Best Business Initiative Award of this edition has been for Able Human Motion. The UPC spin-off co-founded by Alfons Carnicero, Àlex Garcia and Josep Maria Font develops innovative robotic exoskeletons to improve the mobility and quality of life of people with disabilities, specifically people with paraplegia due to a spinal cord injury or for stroke survivors. Among other aspects, the jury has valued that in only 5 years the company is already in the commercialization phase of the ABLE Exoskeleton, the lightest, fastest to adjust and most accessible robotic exoskeleton for neurorehabilitation in the world.
The Best Business Initiative Award is supported by the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium. Able Human Motion has won this edition of the Young Entrepreneur Award at D-Sight, a spin-off of the Vall d’Hebron Hospital Research Institute in Barcelona (VHIR) that has developed the first drug in the form of eye drops for the early treatment of diabetic retinopathy, and at Venvirotech, a biotechnology company dedicated to the development of sustainable solutions and which is revolutionising the bioplastics industry through a unique technology that produces 100% organic and compostable bioplastic from waste materials.
AIJEC recognises the career of Antoni Pont Amenós
During the event, the Award for Best Professional Career was also presented to Antoni Pont Amenós, current honorary president of Borges International Group. AIJEC wanted to reward the business and life career of an entrepreneur, third generation at the head of the family business, and the commitment he made to internationalisation at a time when it was not so common.
The other awards of the night The Award for Social Entrepreneurship, an award supported by CaixaBank, was given to Showee, a company that has revolutionised the world of showers with an eco-intelligent shower that adapts to the level of disability of the user thanks to its intelligent software. Showee offers a personalised and autonomous shower that can be controlled remotely with a mobile phone, with the security of a warning in case the person showering falls.
The Young Entrepreneur Award for Business Linguistic Quality has been given to Entrearbres, a forestry and environmental engineering company dedicated to the creation and restoration of forest paths, land management and the location of vulnerable areas at risk of forest fires. In addition to focusing on sustainable and environmentally friendly projects, the company founded by Cristina Montserrat in Girona promotes Catalan as part of its identity.
The Future Business Award, which recognises the best entrepreneurial project developed by minors under 18 years of age and which has the support of the Princess of Girona Foundation, has gone to the TechGesture project of the high school students of the Salas Institute of Viladecans. The project, winner in Catalonia of the Junior Achievement competition, has created a software that transforms sign language into text.
The Young Entrepreneur Award has for the first time presented the Blue Entrepreneurship Award, an award that has gone to Anélidas, the marine environmental services company founded by Andrea Comaposada and which works for the recovery of posidonia in unprotected areas.
A full auditorium to celebrate in the Catalan young business community
The Young Entrepreneur Award ceremony brought together 250 people this Wednesday in the Auditorium & Gaudí Hall of La Pedrera in fully consolidated awards that annually seek to recognise the work of young Catalan entrepreneurs.
Ruben Sans Solsona, president of AIJEC, wanted to highlight the essential role of young entrepreneurs in today’s society and asked for collaboration from the administrations “so that entrepreneurship is seen as a driving force of social change, where sustainability is the norm and not the exception, and where young people can see in the company a real way to develop their talent and their life purpose.” For Sans Solsona, it is key that institutions understand the role played by entrepreneurs.
In his speech, the president of the Association of Young Entrepreneurs of Catalonia, emphasized the commitment of young entrepreneurs to sustainability and social responsibility, as demonstrated by the finalists of this edition of the Young Entrepreneur Award and wanted to remember that “every company we create, every job we generate, every innovation we introduce, is another stone in the construction of a better future.”
Finally, Ruben Sans Solsona wanted to remember those affected by the DANA that devastated the Valencian Community last week and highlighted the displays of support and solidarity that remind us that “it is in the darkest moments when the light of humanity shines brightest.”