- The new call for projects will be open until 5th October, with places available in 8 countries including Spain.
- In three years, Wayra has accelerated more than 340 technology companies in Latin America and Europe.

MADRID, 8th September 2014.- Wayra, Telefónica's international accelerator for startups, today announced the opening of a new global call for projects in order to seek new business proposals.

Up until 5th October, entrepreneurs with projects in early stages of development and a major technological component may apply through http://www.wayra.co/apply to gain a place at one of the academies offering places in this call for projects: Spain, Germany and the UK in Europe; and Argentina, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Venezuela in Latin America.

The projects that Wayra decides to accelerate have in common the fact that they use the advantages offered by the Internet and new technologies to innovate, regardless of the sector or industry in which they are undertaken. However, this call for projects will place a special emphasis on the selection of projects or companies that provide services for SMEs and companies (B2B) in some of the following areas:

  • Cloud services and solutions to manage and optimise their infrastructure
  • Services based on Machine-to-Machine (M2M) technology, including new devices that leverage mobility and connectivity
  • Cybersecurity and projects related to emergency networks and services

There will also be a focus on applications and services for the general public to improve the experience of communication between users and to enrich their digital environment by integrating their devices, home entertainment and family security and monitoring, among others.

After successfully passing an exhaustive selection process in which experts evaluate their characteristics and potential, the best projects will be able to participate in the acceleration programme. This will provide them with funding, training and expert advice, a workspace for their team at the Wayra academy and potential access to the businesses within the Telefónica Group. In addition, accelerated start-ups will be able to benefit from the network of entrepreneurs, investors and experts grouped around Telefónica Open Future, the programme that brings together the company's innovation and investment initiatives.

Three years after its launch, Wayra already has a portfolio of more than 340 companies in operation, grouped into more than 20 digital industries. The funds committed by Telefónica to start-ups accelerated by Wayra exceed €14.3 million euros, while investment by third parties (public, private and angel investor funds) exceeds €43 million.

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ABOUT WAYRA

Wayra is a Telefónica initiative whose main aim is to promote innovation and identify talent in Latin America and Europe in the fields of Internet and new Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). Its global project acceleration model helps entrepreneurs develop, providing them with technological tools, qualified mentors, a cutting edge working space and the financing required to accelerate their growth.

Already present in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Germany, Ireland, Mexico, Spain, the United Kingdom, Perú, Czech Republic and Venezuela, Wayra's calls for projects have received more than 23,000 applications from new digital businesses, making it one of the leading global platforms for identifying technological talent in the ICT world. Its academies in Bogotá, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Lima, Madrid, Barcelona, Caracas, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, Munich, London, Dublin and Prague, currently host more than 317 startups.

Wayra is part of Telefónica Open Future, an open innovation platform that integrates all Telefónica Group's investment vehicles and initiatives to foster entrepreneurship and innovation globally and that also includes alliances with external partners to increase the impact and reach of these initiatives worldwide.

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