José Miguel Bermúdez, Aijec's Young Entrepreneur of the Year for his innovative sails

The innovative sails of the company Bound4blue and its willingness to revolutionize maritime transport have earned entrepreneur José Miguel Bermúdez the Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award granted by the Associació de Joves Empresaris de Catalunya (Aijec). The co-founder and CEO of the startup collected the award at a gala in La Pedrera, which brought together 250 representatives from the business and entrepreneurial fields.

With this award, Aijec has recognized Bermúdez's work at the helm of the cleantech, whose wind-assisted propulsion systems allow for fuel savings and reduced emissions generated by maritime transport. The aerospace engineer collected the award after a jury evaluation that highlighted the company's trajectory in its decade of activity.

It all started with a documentary about Jacques Cousteau that inspired Bermúdez; since then, Bound4blue has evolved and grown, achieving milestones such as the financing round it closed a year ago after raising 22.4 million euros.

In this 31st edition of the Young Entrepreneur Award, Bermúdez prevailed over the CEO of Fil Katia, Sònia Castelló, and the founder and CEO of Woodys, Josep Dosta. Both entrepreneurs were finalists for their work at the head of their respective companies: Castelló, for transforming the yarn and wool company founded in 1951 by her grandmother into an international industry benchmark, and Dosta for having boosted his designer eyewear company and taking it to 75 countries through 15,000 points of sale.

Exoskeletons for mobility

The Award for Best Business Initiative recognized the UPC spin-off Able Human Motion. Co-founded by Alfons Carnicero, Àlex Garcia, and Josep Maria Font, the company develops 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 stroke survivors. Upon receiving the award, Garcia highlighted the company's mission and purpose: "To put the wheelchair in the background and for all of us to be able to see the world from the same height."

The company, which in only five years is already in the commercialization phase of its exoskeleton as the lightest and most accessible on the market worldwide, has prevailed over D-Sight, a spin-off of the Vall d'Hebron Hospital Research Institute (VHIR), which has developed the first drug in the form of eye drops for the early treatment of diabetic retinopathy, and Venvirotech, which is revolutionizing the bioplastics industry through a unique technology that produces organic and compostable bioplastic from waste materials.

Lessons from an award-winning career

The event has also served to recognize the career of Antoni Pont Amenós, with the Recognition for Best Professional Career. The current honorary president of Borges International Group, third generation at the head of the family business, has been recognized for his career also with a long applause from the attendees, among whom was the Minister of Business and Labor of the Generalitat, Miquel Sàmper.

At 90 years old and before young business leaders, Pont guaranteed that the most important thing about a company is talent: "What differentiates one company from another are not the machines, patents or factories; all that is easily acquired. What differentiates one company from another is talent." And he did not miss the opportunity to reiterate one of his maxims, learned from his father: "Even out of selfishness, one must be honest. Businessmen may have temptations but, in the long run, the straight path is the one that brings peace of mind." The honorary president of Borges, with an annual turnover of 800 million euros, launched another basic piece of advice for him: "You have to know yourself, and be true to yourself."

Entrepreneurship as a driver of social change

Both the winners and the finalists of this edition represent young Catalan entrepreneurs committed to sustainability and social responsibility, as defended by the president of Aijec, Ruben Sans. "Every company we create, every job we generate, every innovation we introduce, is another stone in the construction of a better future," he defended.

"With 23% of young people unemployed in Catalonia, entrepreneurship has become more than an option; it is a necessity and a responsibility," the president of Aijec has claimed. For this reason, he has asked administrations to strengthen collaboration so that "entrepreneurship is seen as a motor of social change, where sustainability is the norm and not the exception, and where young people can see in business a real way to develop their talent and life purpose."

Support for DANA victims

In a speech in which he praised the entrepreneurial spirit, Sans also praised society's response to the devastation and victims caused by DANA: "In the darkest moments, the light of humanity shines brightest." The president of the Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs Associations (Ceaje), Fermín Albaladejo, also remembered the DANA victims, praising the "silent help" of entrepreneurs to those affected by its consequences: "When we join forces and work together, we turn challenges into opportunities."

The commitment to sustainability and social responsibility of young entrepreneurs was also evident with the other professionals and projects that Aijec distinguished during the gala. The Social Entrepreneurship Recognition awarded the company Showee for its eco-intelligent shower, which adapts to the user's disability level through specific software. The company offers a personalized and autonomous shower that can be controlled remotely with a mobile phone, which also sends an alert if the user suffers a fall. Its CEO and founder, Èric Güell, who conceived the project due to his mother's and grandmother's illnesses, highlighted the importance of promoting projects with social impact to improve the quality of life "of people who have more difficulties."

The TechGesture project by high school students from Institut de Sales de Viladecans has received the Future Entrepreneur Recognition

The event has also reserved a prominent role for the entrepreneurs of the future who are beginning to make their way. The Recognition for Future Entrepreneur, an award that distinguishes the best entrepreneurial project developed by minors under 18, has awarded the TechGesture project by high school students from the Institut de Sales de Viladecans. The initiative, winner of the Junior Achievement competition in Catalonia, has created software that transforms sign language into text. The four students went on stage thanking for the award and the previous recognitions, which have represented an "exciting" process for them.

In addition, the event, in its 31st edition, featured a novelty: it has awarded for the first time the Recognition for Blue Entrepreneurship, a sector that is booming in Barcelona, partly driven by the America's Cup. This first edition of the award has gone to Anèl·lides, a marine environmental services company that works for the recovery of posidonia in unprotected areas. The founder, Andrea Comaposada, collected the award claiming "passion for the sea" and the need to take care of it.

Whether from the field of blue entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, technology or any of the multiple sectors of the Catalan economy, the role of business is crucial as an engine of Catalonia. This was defended by the Minister of Business, in a gala that has not only been a recognition for the award winners, but for the entire young Catalan business community. "We celebrate the bravery and courage of those who dare to undertake and those who innovate," highlighted the president of Aijec, who valued the work of the award winners and the business fabric: "Thank you for demonstrating that the Catalan entrepreneurial spirit is more alive than ever."