The Association of Professional and Business Women of Málaga awards the Victoria Award to the president of Grupo Starlite and the 2026 Malagueña Woman distinction to the activist from the Ciudad Jardín district.
The Association of Professional and Business Women of Málaga (Amupema) awarded the Victoria Award on Thursday to businesswoman Sandra García-Sanjuán, executive president of Grupo Starlite, and the 2026 Malagueña Woman distinction to activist Mercedes García Paine, known as Nena Paine. The ceremony took place at La Pérgola del Mediterráneo, following the Netwoman Andalucía 2026 meeting, as reported by Diario Sur.
The president of Amupema, María del Mar Solís, presented both recognitions at the fourteenth edition of these awards. Solís stated that "success is not the result of coincidence" and reminded everyone that "luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." The first deputy mayor of the Málaga City Council and spokesperson for the government team, Carmen Casero, noted: "We are all proud as women from Málaga that you exist. Because success is the result of being there, working tirelessly, and making visible so many things that you do."
The territorial delegate in Málaga from the Ministry of Employment, Business and Self-Employment and Artificial Intelligence, Digital Development and Public Administration, Carmen Sánchez Sierra, declared that "Málaga is an economic powerhouse" and highlighted that it is "the province with the highest growth of women-owned businesses and women entrepreneurs. We are forging a strong and resilient productive fabric." The executive vice president of the Confederation of Businessmen of Málaga, Natalia Sánchez Romero, praised Amupema's work to "support women entrepreneurs, giving them visibility with these awards, accompanying, listening, and opening opportunities, and doing it with vision and courage."
The Victoria Award 2026 was awarded to Sandra García-Sanjuán Machado, a graduate in Information Sciences from San Pablo CEU University in Madrid and executive president and co-founder of Grupo Starlite, an international entertainment corporation known for the concerts, festivals, and events it holds in Marbella and Madrid. The board of directors of Amupema valued her business trajectory and the social impact of her philanthropic actions, channelled through the Starlite Foundation, Children in Joy, and I Want Work Foundation. Since the foundation of the Starlite Occidente festival in Marbella in 2012, she has transformed the old stone quarry of the city into an economic and tourist engine that generates hundreds of millions of euros annually and attracts more than 350,000 people per edition.
García-Sanjuán reflected on the effort required to start and maintain a project: "It is an enormous effort, and each one, in their own way, is a sleepless night, it is fighting, it is motivation, a matter of DNA, of wanting to give back to society, and it is not easy." "Blessed difficulties that give us the opportunity to rise to the next level," concluded the businesswoman, who encouraged attendees "to combat fear, the greatest pandemic of this century."
For her part, Nena Paine was chosen as the 2026 Malagueña Woman for her commitment and activism, particularly linked to the Málaga district of Ciudad Jardín, where she has created and directs organisations related to volunteering and inclusion. A graduate in Journalism with a Master's in Sports Management, she is the founder and president of the Nena Paine Association, dedicated to educational support for children at risk of social exclusion, and manages the Pilar Galera grocery store, which supplies food and essential products to vulnerable families. She also collaborates on inclusion projects such as the Jaime Alonso Foundation.
After dedicating the award to her family, especially to her mother, who passed away in 2012 and was the seed of the association that bears her name, García Paine launched a reflection: "We can all do a little more to contribute to society because there are many people suffering unnecessarily. And we must do it for social justice, not out of charity."
The Netwoman Andalucía 2026 meeting, during which the distinctions were awarded, brought together around a hundred businesswomen from across the autonomous community. The event, now in its fourth edition as the only regional in-person event that groups businesses founded by women, is sponsored by the municipal network of incubators Promálaga and Unicaja Banco, with the collaboration of Pinturas Andalucía, and included presentations and discussion panels to promote the professional growth of businesswomen.
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