After the storm comes the calm. The event that promised to bring together the global technological community, the Web Summit 2023, to take place in Lisbon was at risk when the person responsible for the organization made some comments about the conflict between Israel and Palestine/Hamas. The comments made several Tech heavyweights abandon ship, that is, canceling participation in the event with less than 30 days remaining.
The expectation of the other participants was to know how the organization would react, with some even considering a possible cancellation of the event (which was very unlikely).
The gift brought the answers and today the organization of Web Summit 2023 shared the numbers of those registered for the event: 70.236 participants from 153 countries. According to the event's official list, at least 58 participants are Angolans.
Participants will be at the Altice Arena, in Lisbon, for 3 days to discuss and debate ideas for the future. Between CEOs, startups, investors, media, policy makers and creatives, 1.180 meetings between investors and startups are scheduled, 70 masterclasses, 17 rounds of pitch competitions, 25 night events and Night Summit parties in Lisbon neighborhoods.
This year, the Web Summit organization expanded the event's total space by five percent, to approximately 215 square meters.
Opening of the event
As has been the rule, the event begins with the vision of the CEO of the Web Summit, in this case the new CEO, Katherine Maher, welcomed 11.000 people at the Altice Arena, on the opening night of the event on November 13th, focusing on the positive things that the event has brought over the years:
"Over the last decade, as the Web Summit has grown, we have brought together tens of thousands of people who have used this week in Lisbon as a springboard to do remarkable things – launch companies, find investors, reveal projects, promote a vision of the world that worth debating. As the new leader of this organization with an incredibly committed team, and as a longtime advocate of technology as a driving force for the good of humanity and society, the Web Summit will continue to be the most important place to bring together and connect people and foster critical conversations about technology, society and innovation".
Record number of participating Startups
A record number of 2608 startups from 93 countries will present their innovations and companies of the future over the next three days. These promising start-ups were selected from thousands of applicants and represent more than 30 different sectors. Representing Angola are Startups Media Touch and BaikaPay Investments.
Increase in the number of registered women
Another interesting statistic this year is that the event has 43% women participants, 38% of speakers are women – the biggest
percentage of female speakers ever. Women founders make up almost a third of all startup founders attending the Web Summit.
Media present
806 speakers from 50 countries will speak at the Web Summit throughout the event and 2129 media outlets from 69 countries will also be present, which MenosFios is representing Angola in this regard.
The event kicked off on November 13th and is scheduled to conclude on November 13th, 2023. The organization once again has the mission of proving that the Web Summit is one of the most acclaimed events in the technology community.
