HackTown, Latin America’s leading innovation and technology festival, has announced the opening of registrations for its global startup program, HackTown for Startups. The eighth edition of the event is scheduled from August 1-4, 2024, in Santa Rita do Sapucai, Brazil, and aims to attract over 500 startups. Located just over 100 miles from São Paulo, HackTown is set to outpace its previous iterations in both scale and impact.
Last year’s edition featured more than 300 carefully vetted startups and 50 top-tier investors, alongside a dynamic trade show that attracted over 6,000 qualified attendees daily. This not only fortified HackTown’s role as a crucial networking and business hub but also drew in major global brands such as Google, Unilever, and Amazon, alongside prominent Brazilian and international startups.
Dubbed the South by Southwest (SXSW) of Latin America, HackTown not only emulates but also draws significant inspiration from the renowned Austin, TX event, adapting its essence to the vibrant Latin American innovation landscape.
Event organizer Marcos David emphasized HackTown’s dedication to enhancing access for startups, especially those from underrepresented regions. “Our aim is to level the playing field for startups across all geographies,” he stated, underlining the festival’s inclusive ethos.
The 2024 HackTown festival is set to broaden the scope of the Hello World trade show, further enhancing its role as a vital platform for startups to showcase their innovations to potential clients and investors. Additionally, the festival will continue to offer Pitch Sessions and introduce Corporate Speed Dating, providing startups with unparalleled direct access to executives from top global corporations.
Alongside these key features, HackTown will provide abundant networking opportunities through events such as meetups, happy hours, and Startup Talks. In these sessions, startups will participate in programming panels alongside investors and industry experts.
A new initiative this year is Hack the Hack, an open innovation program dedicated to startups that can enhance event experiences with their solutions, offer activations for partners, or improve the local community. Each of these elements is designed to foster learning and connections, further solidifying HackTown’s status as an essential event for emerging companies.
Startups looking to seize this opportunity can register at HackTown for Startups, where more information about the event and its offerings is available.