G20 leaders to convene Startup20 at Web Summit Rio

Web Summit is set to host a series of exclusive delegate meetings for the G20’s startup track, Startup20, at Web Summit Rio, taking place at Riocentro, Rio de Janeiro, from April 15-18, 2024. Delegates and world leaders will attend Startup20 to discuss promoting and fostering startup growth on an international level.

Startup20 was established at the 2023 G20 Summit in New Delhi, and seeks to form an open dialog with stakeholders in the startup and technology ecosystem, as well as with small and medium enterprises. Startup20 at Web Summit Rio will precede the annual G20 Summit, which will be held in Rio de Janeiro in November this year. 

“The conversations that take place and actions that arise from the Startup20 meetings at Web Summit Rio will encourage innovation and growth in startup ecosystems across the world, and will encourage collaboration between these ecosystems. As Web Summit aims to connect the people and ideas changing the world – while supporting and driving forward technology ecosystems of founders, startups and investors – we are honored to host the G20 leaders, and to act as catalysts for innovation and change,” said Artur Pereira, managing director for Portugal and Brazil at Web Summit.

Web Summit Rio 2024 will welcome more than 30,000 attendees, as well as 1,000-plus startups, 700-plus investors, 900-plus members of the media, 600-plus speakers and 210-plus partners. 

Grammy-winning Brazilian music icon Gilberto Gil will join Signal president Meredith Whittaker; Mike Brock, CEO of TBD at Block; QuintoAndar co-founder and CEO Gabriel Braga; Brazilian YouTuber KondZilla; Monica Long, president of US crypto exchange unicorn Ripple; Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes; state governor of Rio de Janeiro Claudio Castro; Brazilian minister of science, technology and innovation Luciana Santos; and more. The full list of speakers can be found here. 

IBM, J.P. Morgan, Huawei, Banco Itaú, Startup Portugal and Swissnex are among the global companies partnering at the event and showcasing on the event floor. 

Web Summit Rio also partners with a number of community partners at each event – organizations, companies and agencies that support and prioritize underrepresented people across the technology industry. 

Community partners at Web Summit Rio include Transfero Academy, which provides opportunities for those who want to build a career in software development; ID_BR (Instituto Identidades do Brasil), an organization dedicated to promoting racial diversity; Rede Mulher Empreendedora, which will be hosting a roundtable on creating inclusive and equitable environments for women in STEM; and Djassi Africa, which will be bringing 25 startups – with a focus on African and Black founders – to Web Summit Rio.

Web Summit Rio will have two new stages and three new tracks this year. Industry leaders and disruptors will gather to discuss crypto, DeFi, NFTs, the metaverse and more on the Web3 stage; the Machine track will shine a spotlight on autotech and robotics; and, on journalism track Fourth Estate, the world’s leading journalists will discuss the issues of today and what comes next. 

As part of Web Summit’s commitment to changing the gender ratio at its global events, Web Summit Rio operates a women in tech program. The women in tech ticket initiative for Web Summit Rio 2024 is sold out, and the Women in Tech Lounge, powered by Banco do Brasil, will have a full schedule of programming over the course of the event.

Live voice translation services – from English to Portuguese, and from Portuguese to English – will be available in the Web Summit Rio mobile app for all stage content across the event.