Founders, investors flock to Malta for EU-Startups Summit

Malta’s first time hosting the EU-Startups Summit has come to a successful end, having attracted some 2,000 participants to build connections while being introduced to the various entities making up Malta’s startup ecosystem.

Hosted on 9th and 10th May, the summit showcased some of Europe’s most promising startups and provided opportunities to learn from successful European entrepreneurs. The EU-Startups Summit is the annual flagship event of EU-Startups.com – a leading online magazine with a focus on startups in Europe.

Over 2,000 founders, startup enthusiasts, corporates, angel investors, VCs, and media representatives from across Europe attended the event, which aims to be a key meeting point for aspiring entrepreneurs and investors looking to establish international tech companies.

The EU-Startup Summit featured fireside chats, keynote addresses from leading figures, as well as a pitch competition Participants could also attend talks and workshops by around 80 speakers, including unicorn founders, CEOs, and successful investors from around the world.

The main sponsor of the event was Malta Enterprise, which has been at the forefront of the drive to make Malta Europe’s most startup-friendly nation, establishing itself as a point of reference for local and international start-ups establishing a presence in Malta and providing up to €1.5 million in assistance to the most innovative firms.

Malta Enterprise is also working on a National Startup Framework

The agency’s chief marketing officer, Anthony David Gatt, said the presence of so many Government entities shows that the entire public service is working together to deliver a message about the opportunities Malta offers to startups, whether they are local or foreign ones looking to grow or transfer part of their operations here.

Among the state entities exhibiting at the event were the recently launched Malta Venture Capital Fund, Tech.MT, Gaming Malta, Residency Malta, INDIS and the Malta Digital Innovation Authority.

Opening the event, Prime Minister Robert Abela said the Government is committed to the sustainable growth of Malta’s economy, arguing that this requires investment in the local startup ecosystem to ensure that growth is driven by innovation and quality.

He pointed out that just a few weeks ago, Malta was ranked by the Europe Start Nations Alliance as the fourth most ideal destination for startups among 21 EU countries.

The Prime Minister added that work is ongoing to make Malta even more welcoming to startups. Efforts here include the improvement of laws to recognise the vulnerability of start-ups, fiscal measures and the reduction of bureaucratic processes for start-ups operating from Malta.