4YFN: Connecting Start-ups at MWC Barcelona

03/02/2022

300+ speakers and BStartup Banco Sabadell back as platinum sponsor

3 February 2022, Barcelona: The GSMA's leading start-up and innovation platform, 4YFN (Four Years From Now), returns to the heart of MWC Barcelona for a second consecutive year. Located in Hall 6 of Fira Gran Via and now in its eighth edition, the event signifies the importance of the 4YFN community, bringing together start-ups, investors, institutions, corporations, and more.

The global start-up community is thriving, and we're excited to bring this positive momentum to Barcelona with 4YFN, where there is a vibrant and bustling local scene for innovation and technology, said Pere Duran, 4YFN Series Director. We're seeing an optimistic investment landscape right now, so there is real opportunity out there. By bringing the worlds of innovation and investment together, we are supporting an inclusive tech ecosystem, which can innovate, collaborate and inspire.

4YFN's presence at MWC Barcelona will support networking and learning opportunities for many diverse start-ups, enterprises, and investors, with more than 4 billion of potential investment available at this year's event.

This year, 4YFN will focus on four key themes:

Tech Humanism - looking at how innovation is influencing humanity and society;

Founders- where founders, funders, and experts share their insights and advice;

Funding & Corporate Venturing- where best practices in designing, implementing and executing programmes are shared; and

Creative Minds- where creative leaders explore the latest trends in culture and entertainment.

In addition to the new themes, curated programmes will spotlight start-ups and innovation in high growth verticals and strategic areas, including digital health, impact, frontier tech, fintech, sports, investors, communities, and Diversity4Tech. All these topics and more will are in the lineup of more than 300 speakers - including Sasha Michaud, the co-founder of Barcelona-based tech unicorn, Glovo - alongside:

Francesca Bria - President, Italian National Innovation Fund;

Judit Carrera - General Director, CCCB;

Gemma Gald n Clavell - Founder and CEO, Eticas Research and Consulting;

Zina Jarrahi - President, AMPT;

Ali Parsadoust - Founder, Babylon Health;

Zoe Peden - Principal, Ananda Impact Ventures;

David Siegel - CEO, Meetup;

Maximilian Tayenthal - Co-Founder, N26;

Teddy Zee - COO, MintNFT; and more

Over 500 international start-ups will exhibit their latest products at 4YFN, and over 200 will pitch at the 4YFN Discovery Area Pitching Stage, aiming to secure funding from leading funds, VCs, and CVCs to support the next phase of their journey.

The 4YFN Awards 2022

Part of the GSMA's Global Mobile Awards (GLOMO Awards), the 4YFN Awards aims to find the best digital start-ups from around the globe. This year's five finalists are Authena, Nax Solutions, IDUN Technologies, Citibeats, and ROYBI Roboi. Selected by a panel of industry experts and investors, who follow criteria such as impact, innovation, and scalability, these finalists will now have the opportunity to pitch their projects on stage, with the winners receiving a booth at 4YFN MWC Barcelona 2023.

Sponsors at 4YFN

4YFN is supported by platinum sponsor BStartup Banco Sabadell, host sponsors ACCI from the Government of Catalonia, Barcelona Activa (Barcelona City Council), ICEX / red.es from the Government of Spain, and Mobile World Capital Barcelona. The headline sponsors in 2022 are CaixaBank - dayOne, Esade and Wayra, Telef nica Innovation.

Join us at one of the world's most influential start-up events by registering here.

ENDS

About GSMA

The GSMA is a global organization unifying the mobile ecosystem to discover, develop and deliver innovation foundational to positive business environments and societal change. Our vision is to unlock the full power of connectivity so that people, industry, and society thrive. Representing mobile operators and organizations across the mobile ecosystem and adjacent industries, the GSMA delivers for its members across three broad pillars: Connectivity for Good, Industry Services and Solutions, and Outreach. This activity includes advancing policy, tackling today's biggest societal challenges, underpinning the technology and interoperability that make mobile work, and providing the world's largest platform to convene the mobile ecosystem at the MWC and M360 series of events.

We invite you to find out more at gsma.com.

About 4YFN

4YFN is the start-up event of the world's largest exhibition for the mobile industry, GSMA MWC. Our goal is to support start-ups, investors, and companies to connect and launch new business ventures together.

Media Contacts:

GSMA Press Office

pressoffice@gsma.com

Like what you read? Share.

LINK:	https://www.gsma.com/newsroom/press-release/4yfn-connecting-start-ups-...
	See more stories from gsma

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

18/03/2026

Net Insight Names Larissa GrnerMeeus CPO

Newly named chief product officer (CPO), Larissa G rner Meeus will return to Net Insight on May 4. Larissa G rner Meeus will become CPO of Net Insight on May 4...

18/03/2026

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026: Select Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAY

SVG Europe's The Football Summit 2026 explored how the sports broadcasting i...

18/03/2026

SVG's SportsTech@NABShow Blog Goes Live as Countdown to Vegas Heats Up

The 2026 NAB Show kicks off one month from today and SVG is once again set to cover the show from every angle. SVG's SportsTech@NAB Show Blog is now live - ...

18/03/2026

The Premiere of Dead Lover Showcases Grave Robbing and Sex With a Giant Finger

(L-R) The cast and crew of Dead Lover at The Ray Theater for its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Robin Marshall/Shutterstock for Sundan...

18/03/2026

Music Row Piano from Wiltone Productions

Yamaha C7 captured in Nashville Wiltone Productions have announced the release of Music Row Piano, a deeply sampled Yamaha C7 piano library that's been ...

18/03/2026

Techivation introduce T-Warmer Mk2

Bass-enhancement plug-in upgraded Along with a steady stream of new releases, Techivation have recently been revisiting some of the older plug-ins in their ...

18/03/2026

Tonal Balance Control 3 from iZotope

Mix-reference plug-in overhauled iZotope's powerful mix-referencing plug-in has just reached its third major version, and now boasts a new capture proce...

18/03/2026

Toontrack Transistor Organ EKX

Latest EZKeys 2 expansion arrives Toontrack's staggering collection of EZKeys 2 expansions has grown once again, and the latest instalment delivers a on...

18/03/2026

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture

Jess Ho explores the politics of food in new SBS Audio podcast For The Culture 18 March, 2026 Media releases New SBS Audio podcast For The Culture, hosted ...

18/03/2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz at NAB 2026

Future-ready broadcasts with ATSC 3.0 and enhanced services from Rohde & Schwarz...

18/03/2026

LCTWS 2026

London Calling - When The Industry Convened to Help Streaming Find its MoJo In this blog, Laura Rognoni reflects on key discussions from the Connected TV World...

18/03/2026

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations

SMPTE Unveils 2026 NAB Show Educational Presentations Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments SMPTE , the home of media professionals, technologists, a...

18/03/2026

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K

Auditel Ad Campaign Shot on Blackmagic PYXIS 12K Brie Clayton March 18, 2026 0 Comments LED wall virtual production blends 12K open gate acquisition w...

18/03/2026