Spain promotes the leadership of technological entrepreneurship in Europe
18/10/2023
Spain has presided today in León, within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the third annual meeting of the European Alliance of Startups (ESNA – European Startup Nation Alliance), in which he was one of the main initiators of a political declaration on a European approach to the startups and Scaleups. Almost all of the member countries of the Convention have acceded to the Declaration. ESNA, to which more will be added in the coming days.
Spain has presided today in León, within the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union, the third annual meeting of the European Alliance of Startups (ESNA – European Startup Nation Alliance), in which he has been one of the main initiators of a political declaration on a European approach to startups and scaleups. Almost all the member countries of the ESNA have joined the declaration, and they will join more in the coming days.
The third meeting of the ESNA, chaired by the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, Carme Artigas, took place in León, prior to the important Informal Meeting of Ministers of Telecommunications of the European Union to be held next Monday and Tuesday in the city of Castilla-Leon.
With the holding of this meeting and the signing of the declaration Spain gives a determined boost to the EU’s global leadership in technological entrepreneurship, with the aim of supporting the ecosystem of innovative companies and inviting the European Commission to create a European Strategy on Innovation. startups and Scaleups during his next term of office.
Declaration of the European Alliance of Startups
Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain are currently members of the Alliance. Malta and Slovakia are due to join in the near future.
At the meeting of the Alliance, key players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as ENISA, were also present.
One of the most relevant milestones of the session, is the approval and publication of the declaration “An EU approach to startups and scaleups”, a text that reflects the importance of emerging companies in the European business ecosystem and emphasises the idea of the need to launch a European Strategy for Sustainable Development. startups and Scaleups and promote harmonised coordination in Europe on entrepreneurship, investment and talent.
The Member States present at the event have adhered to the declaration, with the aim of continuing to work collaboratively to build an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurial guarantees in Europe that, in addition, increases the competitiveness of European startups, positioning them at the level of emerging companies from other geographical areas.
The text “An EU approach to startups and scaleups”, exposes the relevance of startups and scaleups in Europe and includes the following as main ideas;
The main ideas contained in the statement of intent are as follows:
Gender gap and funding
In addition, the statement highlights the importance of the potential of the EU Technology Entrepreneurs Strategy to address the gender gap, in relation to:
The text also recognises that funding remains a challenge for entrepreneurs and suggests strengthening initiatives such as the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI), promoted by the European Investment Fund – EIF. To this end, it is proposed to encourage the debate in order to find new solutions in this area, such as increasing synergies and cross-border collaboration between national venture capital funds for scaleups in the growth phase.
Finally, the declaration establishes the relevance of the ESNA to ensure that Member States make synchronous progress in the design and implementation of best practices in technological entrepreneurship and innovation within the framework of national competences.
Spain, at the forefront of Europe in technological entrepreneurship
Spain, in addition to chairing the meeting of the alliance on the occasion of the rotating presidency of the European Council, has been one of the main driving states of this text.
In fact, the declaration is in line with other measures to support entrepreneurship implemented by Spain, included in the roadmap of the Digital Spain Agenda, such as the approval of the Startup Act in 2022, which includes important tax incentives, elimination of bureaucratic obstacles and flexibility of procedures to encourage the creation and investment in technology-based start-ups (startups).
Among others, the Fund also stands out Next Tech o the promotion of female entrepreneurship through the line of funding for digital entrepreneurs launched with ENISA. Through this initiative, more than 160 projects have already been funded for more