MWC Barcelona 2023 and the theme of Velocity

Mobile World Congress Barcelona is the large annual congregation for the connectivity and telecom ecosystem. For 2023 the GSMA chose the theme Velocity to emphasise speed of adoption and commercialisation of digital technologies. In a short interview ahead of the event, Lara Dewar, Chief Marketing Officer at GSMA, described how the show will frame conversations about how businesses can use technology to build resilience, improve efficiencies and accelerate relationships.

What those focus areas mean in practice

The EIC Pavilion at MWC and the participating companies

GSMA has an established start-up platform called 4YFN that runs alongside MWC. For 2023 the European Innovation Council organised an EIC Pavilion to showcase 20 promising deeptech SMEs and start-ups funded by the EIC. The pavilion is positioned as a target destination for European innovators seeking partners, customers and scaling support.

The list spans countries inside and outside EU membership and covers a broad set of technologies. The EIC emphasised that their preparatory workshop for the delegation covered practical trade fair readiness and market engagement.

What attendees could expect on the show floor

Dewar positioned MWC as a place to network, close deals and sample curated content. In 2023 the show planned zones and programmes intended to connect telecoms with adjacent industries, reflecting how connectivity now touches manufacturing, energy, logistics and more.

EIC International Trade Fairs Programme context

The EIC runs international trade fairs programmes with the explicit aim to help EIC awardees commercialise and internationalise. The programmes provide funding, coaching and matchmaking to increase the odds that participation in a major trade fair generates meaningful partnerships and sales leads. EIC initiatives have run across multiple editions and trade fairs including MWC, CES and BIO.

The programme publishes open calls and selects participants based on product readiness, internationalisation strategy and market fit. The EIC also highlights success stories from past participants who reported increased deals and sales after trade fair participation.

Practical implications and a cautious perspective

Trade fairs such as MWC are high signal events for visibility. Lara Dewar framed MWC as an unmatched opportunity for networking and lead generation. That said the transformation from conversations into revenue is not automatic. Exhibitors face real costs for travel, booth staff and follow-up. Small and medium sized firms need a clear plan to convert contacts, to protect intellectual property and to prioritise high value meetings.

Logistics and where to find the EIC Pavilion

MWC Barcelona 2023 took place at Fira Barcelona Gran Via from 27 February to 2 March 2023. The EIC Pavilion was located at Booth 8.1A20. The EIC and GSMA materials encouraged visitors to check the EIC Community platform and the EIC Overseas Trade Fairs Programme pages for related calls, guidance and future participation opportunities.

For innovation policy watchers the event demonstrated how supranational support and private convenors such as GSMA intersect to amplify European deeptech visibility. The combination of EIC funding and GSMA platforms can accelerate partner discovery. However bringing technology from demo to durable revenue streams requires sustained commercial focus long after the pavilion lights go down.