The Línea Directa Foundation announces the XI Edition of the Entrepreneurs and Road Safety Award

• For the eleventh consecutive year, the aim of the award is to recognize those start-ups that contribute improvements in the field of mobility and accident reduction.
• Additionally, since the last edition, the award includes projects related to sustainable transport, connected mobility and 'Smart Cities', intelligent traffic management systems, IoT applied to mobility, or social awareness about the decarbonization of transport.
• From 1 February until 14 March, entrepreneurs who wish to participate can submit their projects through the Foundation's website or by email at premioemprendedores@trescom.es.
• Among all the projects submitted, a Committee of Experts will select the five finalists, who must defend their project before a prestigious jury made up of various personalities from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, business, and public administration.
• The winning project will receive 20,000 euros net of taxes, without "drag" or "co-investment", as well as specialized training, mentoring, and access to funding rounds.

Madrid, 20 January 2025.- According to the latest edition of the Startup Ecosystem Observatory by the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem is experiencing a recovery compared to the previous year. In 2024, investment in startups exceeded 3.1 billion euros, increasing by 36% compared to 2023, although still not reaching the levels of 2021. Additionally, investment rounds funded exclusively by international funds grew by 134% compared to 2023, while investment in early stages decreased.

The Línea Directa Foundation supports entrepreneurship in the field of road safety, always with the aim of encouraging the creation of projects in an area where only the joint effort of society can achieve the end of road deaths. For this reason, for 11 years, it has organized the Entrepreneurs and Road Safety Award, a unique competition in its genre that has already become a benchmark in its sector and has the support of Línea Directa Aseguradora, the Bankinter Innovation Foundation, and IESE Business School.

20,000 euros net of taxes for the best project

The award aims to recognize those solutions that bring improvements in the field of traffic and accident reduction. Since the last edition, it has been open to sustainable mobility to encourage projects that promote mobility solutions that favor traffic flow in urban and interurban areas, the use of clean transport, the reduction of congestion, the promotion of connected mobility and 'Smart Cities', intelligent traffic management systems, IoT applied to mobility, or social awareness of the benefits of transport decarbonization.

In this way, the competition offers entrepreneurs three different areas to apply: road safety and the fight against road deaths from a preventive perspective; the reduction of the consequences of a traffic accident; and, thirdly, the introduction of those projects that, due to their innovative nature, allow the creation of more rational, efficient, and sustainable forms of mobility, as well as promoting these issues in society.

All entrepreneurs with projects located and with a tax domicile in Spain with an already established business entity can participate in the Entrepreneurs and Road Safety Award. The deadline for submitting applications, which will take into account their differentiating value, innovative nature, organizational, technological, and economic viability, and potential success, will be open from 1 February to 14 March 2025. Registration can be done through a form available on the Línea Directa Foundation website or via email at premioemprendedores@trescom.es.

Among all the projects submitted, a Committee of Experts will select the five finalists, who must defend their project before a prestigious jury made up of various personalities from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, public administration, and business. Among these finalists, the winning startup will be chosen, which will receive 20,000 euros net of taxes, without "drag" or "co-investment", as well as training, mentoring, and access to funding rounds.

JURY XI ENTREPRENEURS AND ROAD SAFETY AWARD

• Francisco José Ruiz Boada, Deputy Director General of Mobility Management and Technology at the DGT.
• Clara Gutiérrez, Venture Partner at Aurica Capital.
• José María Casas, Academic Co-director of the IESE Business Angels Network.
• Mª Jesús Magro, General Director of the PONS Foundation.
• Marisol Menéndez, CEO Bilakatu and #WomenInTechSpain, and startup advisor.
• Juan Moreno Bau, General Director of the Bankinter Innovation Foundation.
• Carlos Rodríguez Ugarte, Finance Director of Línea Directa Aseguradora.
• Mar Garre, General Director of the Línea Directa Foundation.

Biel Glasses, winner of the last edition

The winner of the last edition of the Entrepreneurs and Road Safety Award was Biel Glasses. This Barcelona-based company designs, manufactures, and markets smart glasses that solve mobility problems and increase the autonomy of people with low vision (LV), combining AI and robotics to detect potential risks in their movements and mixed reality to indicate them in an accessible way.

In previous years, the winners were: Engidi, for its electronic devices that integrate into personal protective equipment to improve the safety of workers in high-risk environments; Livall Europe, for its smart helmets for scooters and bicycles with LED lighting; Evix, for its cervical airbag system integrated into bicycle helmets and also applicable to other types of road users; Trucksters, software that optimizes the management of professional drivers; Textia Innovative Solutions, a startup that created an easily foldable and portable child seat (SRI); Closca Design, for a bicycle helmet that reduces its volume by 50% to promote its use in urban areas; Help Flash, for its luminous device to avoid accidents in case of an accident; DriveSmart, an app that analyzes each driver's behavior to provide personalized advice; and Euraslog, thanks to an innovative child restraint system for bus seats.

All information about the Entrepreneurs and Road Safety Award and registrations can be found on the Línea Directa Foundation website and via email at premioemprendedores@trescom.es.