Wayra

Group activity in shared meeting space at the Wayra Academy in London.

Wayra is a start-up accelerator which was started in Latin America and Spain in 2011 as an initiative of Telefónica's chief executive in Europe, José María Álvarez-Pallete.[1][2]

The start-up companies receive funding, office space and mentoring.[3] The manager of the Wayra Academy in London explained their business strategy, "It's not just about the ideas. We are using Wayra as a way of acquiring great talent for Telefónica."[2]

The first Wayra started in Colombia in mid 2011 and expanded to ten more countries that year.[4] In 2013, there were 14 Wayra academies in 12 countries in Europe and Latin America and Telefónica planned to support about 350 startups altogether.[5][2] In March 2015, Telefónica closed down the Wayra in Prague, as part of Telefónica's general exit from that market.[6] In 2015, Volo, which had been started at the Munich Wayra, was sold to Rocket Internet[7]

References

  1. ↑ Solon, Olivia (7 March 2012), "Telefónica invites UK startups to join accelerator programme Wayra", Wired
  2. 1 2 3 Michel Syrett, Marion Devine (2014), "6. Creating a talent eco-system", Managing Talent: Recruiting, Retaining and Getting the Most from Talented People, Profile Books, ISBN 9781847658104
  3. ↑ "Wayra UK selects new start-ups". The Blue. O2. 28 March 2013.
  4. ↑ Emma Jones (2013), 50 Ways to Find Funding for Your Business, Harriman House, p. 49, ISBN 9780857192905
  5. ↑ John Kennedy (25 July 2013). "Telefónica’s Wayra accelerator in Dublin reveals shortlist of start-ups for second intake". Silicon Republic.
  6. ↑ "Wayra CEE to end operations in March". Wayra CEE.
  7. ↑ "Rocket Internet Acquires Restaurant Delivery Service Volo". Techcrunch.
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