The 2026 International Port Entrepreneurship Congress has opened its latest edition in Valencia, bringing together representatives of ports, startups, corporate logistics operators and investors from around the world in what has become an established international forum for maritime and port innovation and entrepreneurship.
Mar Chao, President of the Port Authority of Valencia, inaugurated the event alongside Antonio Torregrosa, Director General of Fundación Valenciaport, emphasising innovation as an essential requirement for continued growth, competitiveness, sustainability and resilience in the port sector.
Chao highlighted the Valenciaport Sandbox as a flagship applied innovation initiative, created to enable innovative solutions to be tested in a real-world port environment with the goal of making the journey from innovation to implementation faster, more efficient and more valuable for all parties involved.
Torregrosa highlighted the strong international interest from ports, major companies, investors and innovation leaders in participating in the event, describing it as evidence of a growing global community that sees open innovation as a key driver of the future of the maritime and logistics sectors.
Over the two-day programme, 20 startups are expected to present on stage, five have been selected to compete in the VDS pitch competition, others will showcase technologies in a new demonstration area at the City of Arts and Sciences lake, and 13 are participating in the PEIC Resilience Forum.
In total, more than 45 selected startups have gathered in Valencia to share their innovations with the international port community.
