At Santander, we are committed to entrepreneurship as one of the main drivers of societal change. Among the initiatives we support is Santander X 100, an exclusive community of the most prominent startups and scaleups from Santander X, which, for the first time, brought together over 60 companies from 8 countries at Web Summit celebrated in Lisbon.

One of the largest technology, innovation and entrepreneurship events in the world, Web Summit in Lisbon, hosted an impressive stand for Santander X, Banco Santander's global entrepreneurship initiative. The event, held in the Portugal's capital, received over 70,000 attendees from over 160 countries. Santander X, helps startups, micro-entrepreneurs and SMEs to receive training and connects them with the resources they need to grow.

Web Summit in Lisbon marked the launch of Santander X 100, the exclusive entrepreneurship community part of Santander X, aimed at high-impact ventures with great potential. The Santander X initiative supports enterprises at different stages of their lifecycle or growth, through various programmes, awards and challenges such as ‘Explorer’ (a programme to turn ideas into projects and solutions), ‘Prepare to Launch (to support startups looking to enter the market). In addition it organizes global challenges such as the Santander X Global Challenge | Countdown to Zero (supporting startups that are furthering the race to achieve zero carbon emissions) or the Santander X Global Challenge | Food for the Future (backing innovation in food technology and generating socioeconomic impact), which award the most innovative startups and scaleups in their fields.

The Santander X 100 community aims to support the most promising startups and scaleups participating in Santander X programmes, awards and challenges, and connects them with mentors, training, capital, clients, talent and other valuable resources for them to keep prospering.. 

Santander X 100's more than 60 startups and scaleups gathered for the first time at Web Summit in Lisbon. The startups and scaleups received detailed information on what being part of this community means for them and what they can expect from it in the near future.

The Santander X 100 meeting served as an opportunity to take stock of the fact that the combined talent in the community is an asset that each startup can use to meet its goals faster. Over the two days, attendees enjoyed talks, such as the one with Nicolas Randall, a professor and storytelling consultant, who shared theoretical and practical training on how powerful stories can be in consolidating an impactful brand image. Furthermore, they listened to advice from Gerod Carfantan, partner and chief operating officer of Sente Ventures, about strategies for attracting investors.

On the second day, the focus was on networking. Amongst other activities, all members of Santander X took part in a pitch competition, a dynamic way of sharing their projects with other members.. The winners of the competition were the startups and scaleups Breeze Technologies, Agrotoken and XCapit. All of these have been past winners of various Santander X challenges. As an award for the pitch competition, these companies received an invitation to attend the next edition of Web Summit, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in May 2023.

Ths first meeting of the best Santander X enterprises was attended by Ricardo Lopes, board member of the Portugal bank; Blanca Sagastume, vice-president of Santander Universities, Open Innovation and Blockchain; and Diego Calascibetta, global head of Entrepreneurship and Open Innovation at Santander Universities.

For Diego, "being part of Santander X 100 is a great opportunity to gain access to customers and investors, which can mean a significant qualitative leap towards achieving objectives. This community also provides access to a talent-packed, diverse network of enterprises that brings huge value to each company".

At Banco Santander, we are strongly committed to progress and inclusive, sustainable growth. We take a pioneering and consolidated approach to education, entrepreneurship and employment, which we have been putting into practice for over 25 years through Santander Universities, setting us apart from other financial institutions around the world.

Since its launch, the bank has donated over €2.1 billion and supported over 790,000 students, professionals and entrepreneurial projects through agreements with around 1000 universities and institutions in 15 countries.