In February, 55,000 mobile industry people and 3,000 companies gathered in Barcelona for the newly named Mobile World Congress (MWC) (previously 3GSM). MWC remains the most significant wireless conference in the world by some margin, where companies are able to take advantage of the presence of all major players in the global mobile industry in one place.

3i and our portfolio were once again based at the Hotel Catalonia Ramblas for the week of the conference. We hosted one main party on Tuesday 12 February 2008 with over 400 high quality guests attending. We also hosted two informal drinks receptions and held a number of pre-planned meetings at both the hotel and the congress with a variety of new and existing contacts.

Our Digital Media Team were also on site to promote 3i’s microsite which was also available in mobix (viewable from mobile phones/PDA). Daily blogs were completed by investors and our portfolio companies to comment on the day’s activities and areas of interest at the congress. 

As a result of the 3i's attendance at the show, the team generated several new leads and forged new relationships.