The MWC and 4YFN return!

From February 28 to March 3, 2022, the Mobile World Congress and Four Years From Now return to Barcelona. The MWC is the global benchmark event in the mobile phone sector and has been held in Barcelona since 2006. The most successful edition was held in 2019, with 109,000 attendees and 2,400 exhibiting companies, generating an economic impact of 473 million euros and 13,000 temporary jobs in our city. The 2020 edition was canceled due to the impact of the pandemic, and only about 20,000 people, mostly locals, attended the 2021 edition in person, with little significant economic impact. It is surprising the difficulty faced by such a powerful sector as mobile telephony, which bases its success on the use of the Internet for all types of activities, in developing technology that facilitates the online celebration of fairs and congresses, allowing the number of attendees to multiply and improving user experience. Despite various online platforms having been developed for large events, the MWC still depends on in-person attendance. This is an element for reflection. This year, the organization expects to recover a significant part of the activity with an attendance of between 40,000 and 60,000 people and to once again generate a significant impact on Barcelona’s economy. MWC 2022 will focus on 5G connectivity, the Internet of Things, cloud computing, and virtual reality. Exhibiting companies include Meta, Google, Samsung, and Telefónica, among others. For its part, 4YFN is the meeting point for the technological entrepreneurial ecosystem. This year marks its eighth edition, and it has evolved from being the MWC’s little sibling to having its own distinct identity. Attending 4YFN allows entrepreneurs to connect with other startups, investors, and large companies, and to catch up on the latest technological innovations, their application in different sectors, and to learn about the most disruptive business models. This year’s 4YFN program highlights the following activities:

• The Digital Health & Wellness Summit, which will showcase the application of the latest technological advancements in a sector, health and wellness, marked by a post-COVID context.
• The Fintech programme, which will present new applications of cryptocurrencies and technology to facilitate accessibility, use, and security of financial services.
• The Frontier Tech programme, to discover how technology can help reinvent different industries and address their challenges.
• The Edtech programme, aimed at demonstrating how technology is already revolutionizing the world of education, in school, university, and corporate settings.
• The Investors programme, where entrepreneurs can connect with business angels and venture capital funds seeking new startups with potential to invest their resources.
• The Community club, where entrepreneurs can verify the potential of technology to generate networks and communities worldwide.
• The Diversity4Tech, which will show how technology helps generate impact in society and accelerate change.
• The SportsTech programme, which will highlight the impact of technology in revolutionizing the sports sector.

4YFN is definitely a great opportunity for entrepreneurs, technological or not, to connect with the world’s largest and most dynamic entrepreneurial community, learn how different sectors will evolve thanks to the application of the latest technological innovations and disruptive business models, and rethink what they do, to continue being able to affirm: “I am what I want to be.”