– By Vincent Neumann, Startups & Innovation Program Manager at Swissnex in Brazil

From April 15-18, the Web Summit returned to Rio de Janeiro for another incredible event, bringing together 30,000+ attendees, ~500 investors, 740+ journalists, 90+ countries, 170+ partners, and 970+ startups, including 12 Swiss tech-driven innovators looking to shape a sustainable tomorrow in areas such as health and climate.

For this unique opportunity, Swissnex has once again mobilized all resources to offer attractive packages for our stakeholder’s participation under the roof of the swisstech pavilion. With the support of our partners, we assisted them in meeting Latin America’s most prominent players and unlocking a new gigantic market.

This year, we welcomed 12 Swiss startups at our swisstech pavilion, which radiated to the event hall in its wooden and green structure, hinting towards our focus areas in the future of food, sustainability, and bioeconomy. The dynamic and welcoming atmosphere at our stand contributed to forming connections between our Swiss and Brazilian stakeholders. 

Over the 3 days, 15kg of Lindt chocolate was distributed, and a nice NeoGusto coffee to go with it, sponsored by Nestlé, was not missing either.

Within and outside of the stand, the team Switzerland, represented by the Swissnex in Brazil team, and delegates from the Swiss Business Hub, Swissnex in Boston, and the Swiss Consulate General in Rio de Janeiro, widened their network in their respective areas of interest and followed the newest trends and developments in the innovation and technology.

Some of these trends were showcased in our swisstech program, with captivating discussions about topics such as socio-biodiversity, the future of food, digital trust, and impact investing.

This year’s highlight was the densely packed pitch competition with back-to-back presentations of the innovative startup’s solutions, followed by a Swiss happy hour.

The Web Summit in a nutshell:

• 45 percent of women founders, the highest proportion at any Web Summit event
• 34,397 attendees joined from 102 countries 
• 1,066 startups from 42 countries were exhibited, representing 31 industries
• 844 members of the media attended Web Summit Rio, covering talks from 518 speakers
• 499 investors were at the event, with 175 partners – including IBM, Huawei, Salesforce, and more
• 47.5 percent of attendees and 39 percent of speakers were women

Through the swisstech pavilion, we could consolidate months of “connecting the dots” within only three days, facilitating valuable connections and partnerships on these 54m2 of Swiss innovation. For Swissnex as a global trend scout, the Web Summit has also provided a precious peak at the forefront of innovation trends, identifying and fortifying promising areas of cooperation and shaping our future efforts of creating bilateral projects with a sustainable impact.

Now, it is time to focus on the countless encounters and follow-ups to turn synergies and conversations into genuine partnerships and projects in research, education, and innovation.

We are already working on scaling our impact at the Web Summit Rio 2025. So, are you interested in being part of swisstech in Brazil? Get in touch!