Startup Valencia and Estonia’s e-Residency Programme, in collaboration with the City Councils of Valencia and Tallinn, announce this global initiative at the 4YFN / MWC25 Barcelona event.
Startup Valencia and e-Residency, the Estonian government’s programme for global entrepreneurs, in collaboration with the City Councils of Valencia and Tallinn, have announced the launch of the ‘Valencia DANA Project’. This global initiative seeks startups with innovative solutions to mitigate the impact of natural disasters, such as the one that struck Valencia in October 2024.
The official presentation took place today at Valencia Innovation Capital’s booth at 4YFN25, the entrepreneurship event associated with MWC25 Barcelona.
The project aims to identify and support startups with disruptive solutions in areas such as emergency management, climate resilience, smart infrastructure, and urban sustainability. In a context of growing concern about the impact of climate change, the ‘Valencia DANA Project’ positions itself as a key platform for the creation and validation of technologies that can be applied in urban environments worldwide.
One of the key pillars of the initiative is the organisation of a high-impact hackathon, which will take place in Tallinn (Estonia) from 20 to 21 May, coinciding with Latitude59, one of the most influential technology conferences in Northern Europe. Over three days, startups, entrepreneurs, technology experts, and local authorities will work together to develop solutions that enable cities to anticipate and effectively respond to extreme weather events.
The winning startups of the hackathon will have the opportunity to implement their solutions in Valencia between June and October 2025, with the support of local institutions and the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. This testing period will allow for evaluating the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposals in a real environment, with the potential to scale applications globally. The project will select three finalist startups, each receiving financial support of €15,000 to test their innovative and technological solutions in Valencia’s sandbox, as well as covering travel and accommodation costs during visits to the city.
Additionally, the winning team will be able to present their project at the eighth edition of VDS, on 22 and 23 October. This international technology event, which since 2018 has brought together startups, corporations, and investors from around the world, will provide the winners with an exceptional platform to showcase their innovative solution before a global audience of more than 12,000 people from 120 countries.
“The technology sector has demonstrated its ability to innovate, collaborate, and offer transformative solutions in times of adversity,” says Nacho Mas, CEO of Startup Valencia and VDS. “With this initiative, we reinforce our commitment to innovation and sustainability, promoting the development of technological solutions that help cities adapt and respond to the challenges of climate change,” he explains.
For Paula Llobet, Councillor for Innovation, Tourism, and Investment Attraction at Valencia City Council, “this project is a unique opportunity to establish Valencia as a leader in innovation and sustainability.” “With our Valencia Innovation Capital strategy, we are betting on technology as a key tool to improve our cities’ resilience to climate change challenges,” she states.
Margot Roose, Vice Mayor of Tallinn, declares: “This collaboration showcases the power of cities coming together to tackle the urgent challenges posed by extreme weather events. By leveraging innovation and international cooperation, we can develop solutions that not only protect our urban environments but also set a global benchmark for resilience and disaster preparedness. Tallinn is proud to host this hackathon and contribute significantly to the future of urban emergency management.”
Liina Vahtras, Managing Director of e-Residency, states: “This hackathon represents the potential of borderless international cooperation. From Estonia, we open the doors of our digital nation to entrepreneurs from around the world to develop scalable solutions with a tangible impact on society, such as mitigating natural disasters caused by climate change. We are excited to see how these ideas will be conceived in Tallinn—one of Europe’s most dynamic startup ecosystems—take shape in Valencia, and find real-world applications in any urban environment on a global scale.”
Registrations for the ‘Valencia DANA Project’ are open from today until 30 April at programs.startupvalencia.org/valencia-dana-project
