Telefónica Open Future launches competition to identify the innovative technological projects with the greatest potential in the world

• The first edition of the TOF Global Race is a competition which is open to innovative projects and startups that make use of new technologies from any corner of the globe.

• The winner will achieve international visibility and will be invited to 4YFN (Barcelona), one of the world's leading entrepreneurship forums, to present the winning startup in public.

Madrid, 20 December 2016. Telefónica Open Future has taken another stride forward in bringing together talent and international digital entrepreneurship through its launch of the first TOF Global Race, a virtual race that can be joined by innovative projects and startups from around the world which make use of new technologies. The goal is to identify and recognise the project or startup showing the greatest potential, reflected mainly by its ability to generate interest and enlist support, to give it international visibility. The person behind the project or startup will be awarded an invitation that includes travel, accommodation and admission to the 4YFN (4 Years From Now), one of the planet's leading entrepreneurial forums, that is being held in Barcelona between 27 February and 1 March 2017, where they will be publicly recognised as the winner of the TOF Global Race.

The TOF Global Race is aimed at projects that are taking their first steps: they have no income and less than 1,000 users. Entering the race is very simple: competitors have to register their proposals at www.openfuture.org/es/info/globalrace and get as much support as they can in the form of votes before 15 January. The proposals that receive the most votes will be included in a final shortlist and the winner will be selected from the shortlist by international experts from the Open Future network before 31 January.

Along the way, all the participating projects and startups will test their mobilisation abilities, making themselves known and opening the doors to support opportunities and acceleration by the global Open Future network. The procedure to enter the race is very fast, as it only requires a short description of the startup, an image of it and, if possible, the publication of an explanatory video. At that moment, the process to gain the greatest number of supporting votes possible begins.