DEEP Startup Ecosystem Conference 2025 - Nature-based Economy

• Guillermo López & José Antonio Fuertes, Councillors, Aranda City Council
• Cristina Ferrer, Head of Communications, NBSCLIMATE
• Thomas Kösters, Co-Founder & CEO, DEEP Ecosystems
• Raúl Antón, People Analytics Lead, Automattic

• Valentina Forrer, President, European Startup Initiative

• Facilitator: Jesus Iglesias, CEO, NBSCLIMATE
• Stéfanie De Buck, Green Jobs Specialist, FAO
• Raúl Sánchez, Head of Natural Resources and Climate Area, CARTIF
• Claudia Zapattini, Technical Specialist, CONAMA
• Noa Simón, Scientific Director, BeeLife European Beekeeping

• Facilitator: Jesus Iglesias, NBSCLIMATE
• Amy Allan, Associate, Green Finance Institute
• David Álvarez, CEO & Founder, ECOACSA
• Francisco Purroy, Director, Land Life Iberia

• Facilitator: Sara Peláez, NBSCLIMATE 
• Luis Marcos Naveira, Head of Green Office, University of Burgos
• Basilio Rodríguez, Enterprise officer, Rewilding Spain
• Gema Gomez, Executive Director, Slow Fashion Next
• Fernando Rubio, Head of Innovation & Tech Transfer, CESEFOR

2-1: Co-design of a regional Nature-based Solution with the key stakeholders

• Lead facilitator: Claudia Sánchez, NBSCLIMATE
• Co-facilitator: Nacho Martín Andrés, Head of Credit Development, Wilderway

2-2: Co-develop a business model, financial mix, and EU consortium of partners to fund Nature-based Solutions across Europe

• Lead facilitator: Harald Eisenhauer, Co-Founder & Head of Platform, DEEP Ecosystems
• Co-facilitator: María Recio, Postdoctoral researcher, IHCantabria
• Co-facilitator: Nora Szeles, CEO, TokePortal

• Facilitator: Irene Morell, NBSCLIMATE
• Andrés Alcántara, Corporate Department, IUCN-Med
• Khaoula Behi, CEO, Maarifa for Transition
• Johan Jörgensen, Founder & partner, Sweden Foodtech

Co-hosted round tables for professional ecosystem leaders to share domain knowledge and best practices:

1-1: How to attract, train and retain professional talent in rural areas

• Lead facilitator: Ana Bartolomé, NBSCLIMATE
• Co-facilitator: Shivam Dhawan, Founder, GetBoarded
• Co-facilitator: David de Jong, Community Weaver & Founder, Cobana

1-2: How to build support ecosystems for business development, innovation and funding

• Lead facilitator: Thais Glod, CEO, Innobound; EU Climate Pact ambassador
• Co-facilitator: Jesus Iglesias, CEO, NBSCLIMATE; EU Climate Pact ambassador

Closing remarks

• Harald Eisenhauer, Co-Founder & Head of Platform, DEEP Ecosystems

• Cameron Price, Convenor, EcoLaunch
• Hélène Mariette, CEO, Vivinnov
• Andreas Stefanidis, President, Academy of Entrepreneurship

Thomas Koesters – DEEP Ecosystems

Thomas is building ecosystems in Europe since more than 8 years. He has set up and run numerous international startup programs, including for Microsoft Ventures in Germany and has invested with EIT Digital in pre-seed stage in 20 countries in CEE and Southern Europe. Thomas is Co-Founder and Managing Director of DEEP Ecosystems, a global community and support organization for startup ecosystems. DEEP puts entrepreneurs in the driver-seat to create world-class startup ecosystems in their home regions and democratize innovation worldwide.                                                                                                        

Takhmina Lolakova – DEEP Ecosystems

Project manager at DEEP Ecosystems. Ecosystem and community expert with 5+ years experience. Background with international organizations and system change. As per her academic background, Takhmina has a Joint European Erasmus+ Masters in Comparative Local Development by Corvinus University of Budapest, University of Ljubljana, University of Regensburg and University of Trento; a Masters in Economic Governance and Development by the OSCE Academy in Bishkek, and a Bachelors in International and Business Law by the American University of Central Asia (AUCA).

Harald Eisenhauer – DEEP Ecosystems

Co-Founder & Head of Accelerator at DEEP Ecosystems. DEEP empowers startup ecosystems to solve the biggest challenges of our times, because the future of the tech ecosystem is transnational, driven by entrepreneurs and their communities. DEEP helps grow and connect ecosystems through its DEEP Startup Ecosystem Accelerator (DEEPSEA), and its bi-annual DEEP Startup Ecosystem Conference. Its work is backed by data-driven insights on startup ecosystems through its open Startup Heatmap Europe data platform and Report.                      

Jesus Iglesias – NBSCLIMATE

Jesus is a social entrepreneur. Since 2009 he catalyzes social innovation processes for climate resilience and social equity. He has been appointed a EU Climate Pact Ambassador, and a EU project evaluator; and is a regular contributor to El País and elDiario.es. Also, he has obtained the Professional Certificates in the IUCN Global Standard for NbS, IUCN Finance for Nature, and ILO-UNEP-IUCN Decent Work through NbS. He is an engineer, with a MsC in Space & Earth Sciences, and a MsC in Sustainable Development. He actively participates in the MED NbS Cluster, Climate Reality or 350.org.

Claudia Sanchez– NBSCLIMATE

Claudia is an architect by the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Valladolid (Etsava), with enabling master and Erasmus + stay in L’école Nationale Supérieure d’Echitecture de Bretagne (Ensab) of Rennes (France). Her passion and vocation for Nature-based Solutions have led her to develop her end-of-studies project on “city and biodiversity”, and more recently obtain a Master’s degree in urban ecology and green infrastructure by UNIR (La Rioja).                                                                                                   

Cristina Ferrer – NBSCLIMATE

Cristina is an expert in communication, digital marketing and involving key actors in collaborative projects. She has managed the social media of multiple companies, mostly located in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.She has been Deputy Director of Communications of a large Spanish company with more than 1,000 workers, 4 brands, 12 commercial delegations and 10 factories; where she worked both nationally and internationally, providing support to France, Algeria, Arabia and South America.                                                                                                                 

Sara Pelaez  – NBSCLIMATE

Sara is a biologist from the University of Salamanca with a Master’s in Ecosystem Restoration and a PhD in Soil Biodiversity and Ecosystem Restoration from the University of Limerick in Ireland. She is an EU project evaluator with extensive international experience. She has published several scientific papers and participated in EU projects at the Joint Research Center of the European Commission in Italy, the NGO SPEA (Portuguese Society for the Study of Birds), and the Global Nature Foundation in Spain. She has collaborated with IUCN, FAO, and is an active member of the Society for Ecological Restoration (SER) and has experience in public speaking at conferences and policy briefing meetings in Brussels.

Ana Bartolome – NBSCLIMATE

Ana María is an economist from the University of Valladolid and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration and Management from ICADE. Since 2024 she has also held a PhD in Agri-Food and Biosystems Science and Engineering from the University of Valladolid. She has extensive experience in the management of European projects, as well as in rural development (more than 16 years), both in the region of Ribera de Duero, where she is from, and in that of Cerrato Palentino. From 2020 to 2022 she worked as a researcher at the University of Valladolid in Nature-Based Solutions, focusing on Urban Agriculture, the subject of her thesis.

Irene Morell – NBSCLIMATE

Irene is a biologist specializing in Marine Biology and Coastal Systems, with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management. She has more than 15 years of experience on environmental management and climate change adaptation, with a strong focus on the Mediterranean Region, as part of organizations such as IUCN-Med, MedPAN, BLUESEEDS and ENI CBC MED, managing various regional programmes contributing to the adaptation of the region to the different environmental challenges it faces. She is also a member of IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management NbS Thematic Group.                           

Stéfanie De Buck – UN FAO 

Stéfanie De Buck is a Green Jobs Specialist at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), with extensive experience in rural development, sustainability, and innovation in agrifood systems across Europe and the Global South. She joined FAO in 2017, working at the liaison office in Spain, where she supported the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the agriculture and food sector. Since 2021, she has been working in the implementation of the Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment project in Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, and Zimbabwe. This initiative focuses on locally tailored innovations and nature-based solutions to strengthen rural economies while creating economic opportunities for young people through entrepreneurship and wage employment programmes. Ms. De Buck holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology, as well as a master’s degree in political science from the Free University of Belgium. Additionally, she holds a Master of Science in Sustainable Project Management in the Agrifood Business from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and University College Cork, Ireland.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

Andres Alcantara – IUCN-Med 

Within IUCN-Med, Andres coordinates Mediterranean cooperation projects at the EU and international level. He was a member of the executive committee of the World Conservation Congress held in Spain in 2008, is a recipient of the Andalusian J. Research Award on Economics for being one of the authors of Malaga’s Green Pact, and its Local Agenda 21. Moreover, he led the efforts for the Declaration of the Intercontinental Biosphere Reserve of the Mediterranean area, and the conservation and governance of the Alboran Sea. He has been part of the European Environment Office and the Mediterranean Information Office. He was the director of the Conference on Finance for Mediterranean Protected Areas in coordination with the Biodiversity Foundation, as well as the Advanced Seminar on Management of Mediterranean Protected Areas and Local Development. On top of all, he has taken part in outlining strategic and environmental management plans for the Mediterranean basin. And also, he is a regular contributor to various media like El País, Quercus or Canal Sur.  

Raúl Sánchez – CARTIF 

Since June 2005, he has been working at the CARTIF Foundation, currently as Director of the Natural Resources and Climate Area, specifically in the field of Nature-based Solutions. He is the Coordinator of the URBAN GreenUP project (H2020-SCC02-URBAN GREEN-UP: New methodology for the renaturalization of cities through Nature-based Solutions). Raúl is a specialist in urban ecology to apply this experience in the development of natural solutions in cities (green roofs and facades, smart soils, urban farms, green corridors, improved landscape connectivity, actions against erosion and improved well-being with NbS). His work contributes to bringing nature back to cities by improving their habitability, and to the achievement of SDG 3: Good health and well-being; SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities; SDG 13: Responsible consumption and production; SDG 13: Climate action; SDG 15: Life on land.                                          

Luis Marcos Naveira – University of Burgos

Doctor, professor and director of the Green Office of the University of Burgos (UBUVerde). Although born in Bilbao, he is of Burgos origin and has lived in Burgos since his earliest childhood. He studied Chemistry and received his PhD in Chemical Sciences in 1996 with the thesis “Geochemical processes in the groundwater of the tertiary and quaternary aquifers of the Arlanzón river basin (Burgos)”, supervised by Dr. Fermín Villarroya Gil. Currently, he is a professor of chemistry at the University of Burgos and a researcher in the field of Environmental Chemistry, where he has published nearly a hundred scientific papers in conferences and specialized journals.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Claudia Zapattini – CONAMA Foundation

She holds a degree in Business Administration, with a Master’s in Strategies and Technologies for Development and another in the Integrated Water Cycle. She has additional training in Water Governance and Integrity, Human Rights, Sustainable Development and Public Policies. She has worked in internal control, strategic planning, public policies and international development. She has also collaborated with international organizations, NGOs and multilateral banks as a specialist in public policies and governance in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector and led multi-stakeholder collaboration platforms, developed communication campaigns and created spaces and instruments for strategic decision-making. 

Basilio Rodríguez – Rewilding Spain

Basilio is a Technical Forest Engineer from the Polytechnic University of Madrid and has been working in rural development programs for almost 20 years. He has worked in development cooperation in sectors related to forest management, fair trade, organic farming and renewable energy in Latin America, Asia and Africa. In Spain, he has carried out numerous forest management plans for public and private forests, has collaborated in sustainable forest certification programs and is very involved in the development of the resin sector through training, research and consulting.                                                                                                                                                   

Pancho Purroy – Land Life 

Director of Land Life in Spain and Portugal, Pancho is dedicated to tackling the climate emergency. Coming from a family of biologists, his passion for ecology and nature conservation is deeply ingrained in his DNA. His mission is to restore degraded lands by planting native mixed forests, creating a green belt to protect the Iberian Peninsula and restore biodiversity through his projects.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

David de Jong – Cobana 

David is a pilot, community weaver, and founder of Cobana, a co-living and working hub inspired by Transylvania’s wild beauty. With a background in human factors and complexity science, he explores how diversity fosters effective collaboration. At Cobana, he curates residencies and gatherings for change-makers, leveraging the TeamFlow Alignment method to uncover synergies and enhance project impact. Dedicated to rural ecosystem development, he creates networks that blend global and local voices, promoting regeneration and sustainable living.       

Nacho Martín Andrés – Wilderway 

Forest engineer and program manager with 8 years of international experience in environmental restoration projects, the Voluntary Carbon Market and the emerging Nature Credit market. Currently, Nacho leads a team of ecologists working to develop private funded rewilding initiatives across Europe at Wilderway. Wilderway enables the large scale restoration of European landscapes by bringing together landowners, buyers and restoration projects in line with the Rewilding principles, and by delivering high quality carbon and nature credits. 

Thais Glod – INNOBOUND 

Thais is a researcher with a background in engineering and a passion for how innovation and green technologies can make the world a better place. She has mentored more than 100 Greentech, CleanTech, Agrotech and ClimaTech initiatives, participating as a speaker in various acceleration programs of the EU. She has extensive knowledge of the Spanish and European entrepreneurship ecosystem. She is the founder of INNOBOUND, an open innovation agency that promotes solutions that support rural and peri-urban areas in their green and climate transition. Currently, she leads Rural ClimAccelerator Iberian, the First Climate Acceleration for Rural Areas of the Iberian Peninsula, an collaborative initiative between Innobound and Climate-KIC. She is a Business Innovation Coach at the EU EIC Accelerator, an EU Climate Pact ambassador, part of the Guide of Women Leaders in Innovative Entrepreneurship, Ambassador of Mission Valencia 2030, and has been recognised as a Transformative Leader of Innovation in Latin America.

Maria Recio – IHCantabria 

María Recio has a degree in Biology from the University of Oviedo and a PhD from the University of Cantabria. She completed her PhD studies at the University of Chile, within the International Mobility Program “Pablo Neruda”. She is a Senior Consultant at the IHCantabria with 15+ years experience, specialized in environmental management of littoral ecosystems. She has participated in several projects funded by European and international programs (LIFE, Horizon EU…), covering different topics such as: ecology of estuarine communities; climate change; ecosystem services; Nature-based solutions; and threats to conservation and littoral habitats restoration. She has published 12 SCI papers, four book chapters and different articles. In addition, she has participated in different educational programs.

Khaoula Behi – Future Islands 

Khaoula is the Managing Founder of Future Islands, which plays a pivotal role in reshaping the landscape of entrepreneurship and fostering a culture of innovation in Tunisia. She has further extended her impact by establishing a Berlin-based platform dedicated to sustainable and inclusive solutions for communities facing crises, harnessing the power of traditional knowledge and ancestral practices. With a diverse professional background, she has served as an innovation consultant in both Africa and the EU. Her primary areas of focus encompass social innovation, purpose-driven entrepreneurship, and community resilience. Additionally, she is actively exploring crowdfunding to support innovation in northern Africa.

Gema Gomez – Slow Fashion Next

Provocative thinker & Speaker, CEO & Founder at Slow Fashion Next. Sustainable, Circular and Regenerative Fashion. Business Ecosystem Facilitator. Together much better. Gema is the soul of Slow Fashion Next, a platform with the purpose of transforming the fashion sector into one that is exciting for everyone, from the producers of the material to the consumers, including entrepreneurs and companies. SFN has been organizing the annual Sustainable Fashion Day in Madrid for 12+ years, a major gathering of changemakers all throughout the value chain of the fashion industry in Spain and Europe.  Creativity is a passion for her. Giving shape to new things, adding ideas, creating something new, beautiful and different, from a garment when she was a designer to a business model or a positive vision of the world. Creativity is always present in her life.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Noa Simón – BeeLife

Noa is a veterinarian with a PhD in ecotoxicology. She works as Scientific Director for the European Beekeeping Association, BeeLife, to protect pollinating insects from environmental hazards. After 16 years of living abroad, she has returned to her hometown of Aranda de Duero to launch several projects.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

Fernando Rubio – CESEFOR

Environmental sector professional with more than 20 years of experience. I have alternated between public and private sector in the field of consulting and training, as well as research and business development lines in the field of green economy. He has been part of Incubaeco, an eco-entrepreneurship program and El Hueco, a center for social innovation in rural areas. He is co-founder of Megara Energía, a renewable, social and local energy cooperative, and co-promoter of Unión Renovables. He has worked for the Provincial Energy Service of the Provincial Council of Soria, and the Society for the Development of Burgos (SODEBUR). He is currently Bioeconomy project coordinator at Cesefor Foundation.                                                                                                                      

Johan Jörgensen – Sweden Foodtech

Johan Jorgensen is the founder of Sweden FoodTech and as such he coaches nations, cities, big corps and entrepreneurs regarding strategic business-building in the transforming food sector. Sweden Foodtech is the leading think tank for the future of food in the Nordics and is focused on building and developing new insights around the ongoing transformation of the global food sector. Besides insights, Sweden Foodtech engages in concrete projects in order to enhance knowledge and build value. Each year we co-produce the bitestockholm.com international meeting spot for the future of food, in 2025 it happens Sep 29-30.  We do all this by:  Implementing activations and experiences – unless you can experience the future it is very hard to change your mental images of what food is and what it can do for you. Co-creating opportunities and solutions with our vast international network of change-makers; entrepreneurs, scientists, chefs, policymakers, NGOs, innovators and other thought-leaders. Together with leading international thinkers we provide science based insights on today’s situation and the forces shaping the future. Bring your company to us, or us to your company, lets co- engage together.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

David Álvarez García – Ecoacsa

David is an environmental professional with over 20 years of experience, whose passion is promoting innovative projects and collaboration with the aim of facilitating the integration of natural capital in organizations, promoting the valuation of ecosystem services and developing new environmental markets to ensure that the environment is everyone’s business. He founded Ecoacsa in 2012. As CEO, he participates in numerous international panels and working groups: Chairman of the ISO Committee Advisory Group for the development of the ISO/TC 331 standard on biodiversity; Chairman of the Biodiversity Committee of the Spanish Association for Standardization; Member of the Biodiversity Credit Alliance and the Business for Positive Biodiversity Club; Co-coordinator of the Natural Capital Working Group of the Spanish Green Growth Group; Director of the Natural Capital Factory, the Spanish hub of the Capitals Coalition. Also, he participates in EU projects; and has provides training in academic programs at leading educational institutions, business associations and the private sector.    

Fernando Iglesias – El Majuelo del Abuelo

Fernando is an ‘Arandino’ who has lived in the vineyard since he was a child, studied a degree in Environmental Sciences for his love of nature and a Master’s in Oenology, to create his small sustainable ecosystem and maintain the family tradition and his passion for wine. He has worked in Brunello de Montalcino (Italy), Abadía Retuerta, Codorníu, Villa María (New Zealand), and in Canada, among other places. In 2014 he embarked on recovering El Majuelo del Abuelo, a very old vineyard, which he acquired as part of his grandfather’s inheritance, and he is putting back into production through pruning and meticulous care, and protecting it from the surrounding wild fauna. He started making wine in his grandfather’s adobe corral while working for other wineries. Demonstrating great passion and making delicious wines, he is now planting more vineyards and converting everything to organic.                               

Amy Allan – Green Finance Institute

Amy is an International Nature Associate at the Green Finance Institute, where she focuses on scaling high-integrity revenue models and financial mechanisms to mobilise private capital for nature protection and restoration. With a background in international development and sustainable food systems, she is committed to co-developing innovative solutions that address nature degradation while tackling poverty and food system challenges. She holds a BSc in Global Resource Systems from the University of British Columbia, an MA in International Studies from Simon Fraser University, and an MSc in Development Economics from the London School of Economics.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Shivam Dhawan – GetBoarded

Shivam is a pioneering entrepreneur, speaker, and workshop facilitator with a deep focus on talent, HR, and education technology as well as the implications of emerging technologies in the space. As the founder of GetBoarded, he leads the development of innovative solutions for organizational design, talent planning, and human development. With a background in business systems analysis, Shivam is a recognized voice in HR innovation, participanting international conferences and workshops. Passionate about the intersection of technology and human potential, he builds transformative tools for talent and education ecosystems, driving the evolution of work and learning.

Nora Szeles – Tokeportal

Nora is the founder and CEO of Tokeportal. She has extensive and intensive experience in market, product & business development in finance&technology across capital markets. Also she has conducted research resulting in multiple publications like History of the Hungarian Stock Markets: tozsdesztori.hu, the Hungarian version of Taleb: The Black Swan, and 5 other books. She has extensive academic experience (both lecturing and writing) in Hungary and abroad, and posseses an MBA at Purdue, Honorary member & Lecturer at Corvinus University @Heller Farkas Advanced Studies in Finance and at MOME University of Applied Arts since 2013.

Andreas Stefanidis  – Academy of Entrepreneurship

Andreas is the president of the Academy of Entrepreneurship, non-profit organization which aims to create a healthier entrepreneurial environment on a national and European level. President of the historical Educational Association of Athens HFAISTOS, Co-Chair of Catalyst 2030 Greek Chapter and Global Board of Director of ENFA Greece and Certified Business Coach at BlueInvest. He holds a degree in Business Administration with Major in Management Accounting and Minor in Economics from the State University of New York at New Paltz (1994), having graduated with Magna Cum Laude honors. He has also been certified as a trainer of adult non-formal education and for designing and teaching online courses at Rutgers University. In 2008, he introduced the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Greece.                                                                                         

Hélène Mariette  – Vivinnov

Hélène has more than 20 years experience in business development. She has worked for corporations such as Hewlett-Packard. In 2019 she created Vivinnov, an impact startup studio that facilitates the growth of innovative startups and SMEs by supporting them in their search for financing and their business development in France and internationally. Hélène has supported more than 50 startups.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Valentina Forrer  – European Startup Initiative

Valentina serves as President of the European Startup Initiative, a consortium of academics from across Europe dedicated to advancing knowledge about entrepreneurial ecosystems through data-driven research. As a Postdoctoral Research Associate at Nottingham University Business School, Valentina’s research focuses on entrepreneurship and innovation, particularly student ventures, university incubators and accelerators, and entrepreneurship education. Her work bridges academic theory with practical applications in the European entrepreneurial landscape.