Concept 10 years ago in Spain starting up It was identified as a corporate exotic imported from North American markets. Today, it is on the lips of our country and represents a preferred investment niche for large groups who see the business patterns of the future in these emerging companies. South Summit, along with IE University, leads the way decade charting development start-ups in the national ecosystemand thus find the keys that indicate the strengths and weaknesses of what is clearly the present and future of an economy on the edge of innovation.
The founder of South Summit, María Benjumea, emphasized at the beginning of the presentation Business Map 2023 the big question that the new technological shifts are pushing us to: “what does it mean to be human?”, emphasizing that this digital dawn in which we are already immersed must leave us at the center of the equation. That is why the motto of the 2023 edition is “Human by design”. Leaving aside the virulent anglicization that is beginning to infect every bit of everything to do with the technological and business universe, the aphorism, while not very original, serves as a reminder to understand that business patterns must configure ethical perspectives that put human welfare first.
Now that we enter the specific data of the study, the General Director of Innovation at IE University, Salvador Aragón, presented a report that sheds light on the handicaps that drag on the territory start-ups Spanish for ten years, as well as early hope for the sustainable maturity of the national business sphere.
Through the lesson, Aragón emphasized that “business in Spain is a conscious entity that appeals to complexity, because complexity is understood with complexity, and this creates new ideas. A somewhat convoluted way to stand out the creative capacity and technological depth that Spanish entrepreneurs are able to delve into.
Turning now to the study’s findings, a dramatic lack of diversity in the Spanish business ecosystem stands out. We continue earlier huge gender gap, only 20% of Spanish entrepreneurs are women. An example, another of many, of the need for inclusion perspectives and a review of gender roles in the business community. Despite the headline, it’s not all bad news. Although the gender gap is high, it is being considered a positive development regarding the mixed nature of groups of entrepreneurs, as well as its encouraging youth (33 years old on average). Teams that also reduce the number of participants, which encourages the search for synergies with others start-ups, especially in terms of organizational possibilities. A fact highlighted by Aragón as unique, considering the growing trend towards the emergence of companies with more organizational than creative goals, suggesting that this new business biosphere serves each other with increasing capacity and success.
But diversity is not the only unresolved issue. We need to improve, a lot, in aspects such as patent production, which only reach 15% start-ups and that puts us well below North America and several points behind Europe, as well as in the use of old technologies, so called heritage. Spain still depends on a technological corpus that is on the verge of obsolescence compared to other states, which limits its cash flows and performance expectations. The demands for improvement, which are growing in parallel with the search for more public funding, which, although it crossed the 7% mark for the first time this year, is a long way from still equaling the 44% of own-source funding, by far the most widespread in our country
During the presentation of the South Summit study, its founder and the CEO of Innovation at IE University naturally wanted to draw attention to the growing maturity start-ups Spanish. In just four years, they went from an average age of 2.20 years to 3.12 years. Quite an achievement, considering that what is being sought in Spain is to strengthen the continuity of talent and avoid the quick sale of potentially solvent companies to members of the business community in foreign countries.
The intervention of the Secretary of State for Digitization and Artificial Intelligence Carme Artigas delved into this aspect, who wanted to praise the surprising development of Spain in terms of start-ups; also their presence the increasing occurrence of unicorn societies, almost non-existent in our country until recently. “Spain,” asserted the Secretary, “has all phases of growth at her disposal. There are more than 10,000 of them start-ups consolidated. And while there is still a gender gap due to multifactorial risks, including motherhood, the focus is on addressing these differences.”
Both the Minister of Economy, Finance and Employment of the Community of Madrid, Rocío Albert, and the Deputy Mayor of Madrid, Inmaculada Sanz, insisted that a thriving investment garden that is currently the capital city. A space where legal certainty and administrative background, as well as the increasing attention it receives from abroad, only encourages its focus on experience, instead of just making products. According to both positions, Madrid is a very strong attraction for emerging talents.
South Summit once again claims to be at the forefront of Spanish business. Paving the way, handing over the keys and creating a meeting space where it’s easy to innovate, and glimpses of the tools to do so. Its study together with IE University, albeit with a distinct DNA aimed at starting the interests of both entities, can clarify the obstacles that the organization has to face. start-ups Spanish companies, if they want to continue to develop and demonstrate that they are not only a value of national growth and development, but of international order. Because According to all the speakers at the meeting, the future of business worldwide does not lie only in its economic profitability.
As Benjumea began by clarifying, the future lies primarily in the profitability for human beings that companies are able to provide. And in that reducing differences between people and improving the quality of life The key to an unlimited business horizon is found. Now even the new ones will be able to start-ups keep it in mind?