innovation

4YFN (4 Years From Now) celebrates its fifth anniversary this year, but remains as forward-thinking as its name suggests. The startup sibling of big brother Mobile World Capital connects investors, corporations and public-sector organizations with startups to develop new business between them. 

The program covers workshops, keynote speeches, networking, competitions, hackathons, pitching sessions and workshops, and this year adds emphasis on addressing ethical issues with and within tech. This includes the booth of Barcelona-based accelerator Ship2B, where the three winners of its Social Innovation Challenge will display digital products supporting mental health, physical disabilities and renewable energy.

4YFN will also make a contribution to closing the tech sector’s notorious gender gap at the Women4Tech startup corner, where six startups will showcase solutions that promote diverse and inclusive work environments in tech industry.