- The event will bring together public representatives, experts, and women-led projects in a key gathering for the social economy.
- If you would like to attend the workshop, you can register for free by clicking here.
Valencia, 9 July 2025. On Tuesday, 15 July 2025, the Finnova Foundation will hold the in-person workshop “Sembrando Iniciativa: Workshop on Entrepreneurship and Social Economy” in Valencia. The event will take place at the Banco Sabadell Hub Empresa (C/ Justicià, 2–4, Valencia), from 10:30 to 14:00 (CEST), and will also be livestreamed. This initiative is part of the national project Sembrando Iniciativa, funded by Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan through the Next Generation EU funds, and aligned with the Strategic Project for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) for the Social Economy and the Care Sector.
With the full programme now confirmed, the event will feature institutional representatives, social economy experts, and women-led projects, with the aim of promoting women’s leadership, sustainable entrepreneurship, and social inclusion, particularly for migrant women and those in vulnerable situations.
Official agenda of the workshop: talks, training sessions and inspiring experiences
The institutional opening will be conducted by Asunción Quinzá Alegre, Deputy Minister of Equality and Diversity of the Generalitat Valenciana, together with Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Finnova Foundation. This introductory segment will not only mark the beginning of the workshop but will also provide context for its objectives and lines of action, with special attention to the launch of the Social Economy Startup Europe Awards – Women’s Challenges, an initiative promoted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Economy aimed at fostering and highlighting projects led by women in areas such as the green and blue economy, sustainable tourism, the circular economy, and renewable energies.
Next, Dr. Zahoor Ahmed, Ambassador of Pakistan to Spain and Andorra, will deliver a speech aimed at highlighting the role of international cooperation, cultural diversity, and entrepreneurship as tools for integration between migrant and local communities. Following this, Dr. Malik Hammad Ahmad will address the protection of migrant women’s rights and education for peace, offering a practical perspective on inclusion opportunities from an intercultural approach. Additionally, Juanma Revuelta will take the floor again to present innovative solutions within the framework of the PERTE for Industrialization of Social Housing and Job Creation for Women, emphasizing how these policies can help tackle the housing crisis from a gender and employability perspective.
After a break for networking and coffee, the day will continue with a practical session on projects and tools for entrepreneurship, designed to provide participants with concrete and applicable mechanisms to start impactful ventures. Lola Bordás, Marketing Director of the Finnova Foundation, will lead a session on digital marketing strategies focused on self-employment, with a special emphasis on female entrepreneurship within the social economy. Next, Salvador Ibáñez, a lawyer specializing in the Second Chance Law, will offer training centered on the legal resources available to women entrepreneurs facing over-indebtedness, aiming to facilitate their professional reactivation through purpose-driven economic models.
This will be followed by a presentation from Pilar de Llamas, an expert in the circular economy, who will lead a hands-on workshop on entrepreneurial models in the textile sector with a sustainable and inclusive approach, using the practical case of the Next Textile project. To close the session, Juan Carlos Sanchis, President of Keiretsu Forum in the Valencian Community and Murcia, will conduct an interactive training on financial mentoring, covering key strategies to access investment, successfully pitch proposals, and strengthen the economic sustainability of entrepreneurial initiatives.
The final session of the day, focused on solutions within the social fabric, will be dedicated to presenting real best practices led by young people and women, as well as innovation initiatives with both local and international scope that demonstrate the potential of entrepreneurship with social impact. Two students from the team “The Leaders of Tomorrow,” winners of the natural disasters challenge at Technovation Girls CV 2025, will share the development of their app Klowly, a digital solution designed to improve the emotional health of children with chronic illnesses. Following this, Angélica Gómez will present Womanation, a movement focused on increasing the visibility and connection of women leaders across diverse sectors.
Within this training block, Pablo de la Cuadra will present a practical session on the Digital Generation Program for SME Executives, an initiative designed to help small and medium-sized business leaders immediately apply tools related to artificial intelligence, automation, and digital strategy in their own companies. Through real cases and activities adapted to the SME environment, his presentation will provide key insights for initiating digital transformation processes from an accessible, practical, and results-oriented perspective.
Next, Milton Restrepo, CEO of Ibagué Limpia, will present the challenges of the Ibagué Startup Europe Awards in a talk highlighting the connection between Valencia, as European Green Capital, and the Colombian city of Ibagué. This collaboration seeks to strengthen the link between sustainability, entrepreneurship, and international cooperation through the Startup Europe Awards model.
As a prelude to the institutional closing, Paula Llobet, Councilor for Tourism, Innovation, and Investment Attraction of the Valencia City Council, will officially launch the call for the “Valencia Tourism Accelerathon.” This is a public innovation initiative (P+I) based on a challenge-driven competition methodology aimed at promoting technology transfer and public-private collaboration. Its goal is to foster sustainable and decentralized tourism with a positive impact on the city’s less visible neighborhoods, encouraging innovative solutions that generate real transformation from a local level.
Finally, the day will conclude with closing remarks by Paula Llobet and Juanma Revuelta, who will bring this practical workshop to a close, focused on promoting female entrepreneurship and the social economy.
Participation in the workshop is free, with prior registration required. The registration form is available on the Eventbrite platform at the following link.
Sembrando Iniciativa: Empowering women’s entrepreneurship and the social economy with impact
Sembrando Iniciativa is a national initiative led by the Finnova Foundation, running from October 2023 to December 2025, with a total budget of €65,400. Its main objective is to promote women’s entrepreneurship in the context of the social economy, with a special focus on young women in socially, economically, or geographically vulnerable situations. Through training activities, mentoring spaces, and the promotion of best practices, the project aims to strengthen the role of women as change agents in the transition towards a more just, inclusive, and sustainable economy.
About the Finnova Foundation
The Finnova Foundation is a European foundation based in Brussels, dedicated to promoting innovation, entrepreneurship, and European funding as key tools to address major social, environmental, and economic challenges. It supports public and private entities in accessing EU programmes such as Horizon Europe, LIFE, Interreg or Erasmus+, facilitating the creation of consortia, the development of projects, and the transfer of best practices.
With extensive experience in European project communication, startup acceleration, and EU funding training, Finnova acts as a bridge between innovative ideas and the European Union’s funding opportunities. For more information, visit www.finnova.eu.