Spain drives technological entrepreneurship leadership in Europe

Almost all ESNA member countries have signed up to the declaration, with more to follow in the coming days.

The third ESNA meeting, chaired by the Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence of the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation, Carme Artigas, took place in León, prior to the important Informal EU Ministerial Meeting on Telecommunications to be held next Monday and Tuesday in the city of Castilla y León.

By holding this meeting and signing the declaration, Spain is giving a decisive 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 startups and scaleups during its next term of office.

Declaration of the European Startup Alliance

The Alliance currently includes Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain. Malta and Slovakia are expected to join in the near future.

The Alliance meeting was also attended by key players in the entrepreneurial ecosystem, such as ENISA.

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 startups in the European entrepreneurial ecosystem and emphasises the idea of the need to launch a European Strategy for startups and scaleups, and to promote harmonised coordination in Europe in terms of entrepreneurship, investment and talent.

The member states present at the event have adhered to the declaration, with the aim of continuing to work together to build an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem in Europe that also increases the competitiveness of European startups, placing them on a par with emerging companies in other geographical areas.

The text "An EU approach to startups and scaleups" sets out the relevance of startups and scaleups in Europe.

The main ideas set out in the declaration of intent are as follows:

• Startups and scaleups are central to Europe's economy and society of the future.
• The EU must continue to work on providing opportunities for European startups - from ideation to acceleration - to become globally competitive scaleups.
• The European Commission's push for an EU Strategy for startups and scaleups.
• The homogenisation of national support frameworks for technological entrepreneurship in the EU.
• Supporting the establishment and development of EU-wide regulatory sandboxes, including cross-border ones, to help entrepreneurs comply with digital regulation and foster innovation.
• The establishment of links with start-up ecosystems in relevant regions of the world, in particular in the context of the EU-Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) Digital Alliance.

Gender gap and financing

Furthermore, the statement highlights the importance of the potential of the EU Technology Entrepreneurship Strategy to address the gender gap, in relation to:

• Avoiding unconscious bias in accessing funding, and identifying and sharing good practices, e.g. by reviewing EU application forms and processes.
• Exploring the design of new public policies to introduce incentives to promote gender balance in start-ups and growth companies.

The text also recognises that funding remains a challenge for entrepreneurs, and suggests the strengthening of initiatives such as the European Tech Champions Initiative (ETCI), promoted by the European Investment Fund - EIF. To this end, it is proposed to stimulate the debate to find new solutions in this area, such as increasing synergies and cross-border collaboration between national venture capital funds targeting growth-stage scaleups.

Last, the declaration sets out the relevance of ESNA to ensure that member states move forward in synchrony in the design and implementation of best practices in technological entrepreneurship and innovation within the framework of national competences.

Spain, at the forefront of technological entrepreneurship in Europe

In addition to chairing the meeting of the alliance on the occasion of the rotating presidency of the European Council, Spain has been one of the main driving forces behind this text.

In fact, the declaration is in line with other measures in support of entrepreneurship implemented by Spain included in the roadmap of the Digital Spain Agenda, such as the approval of the Startups Law in 2022, which includes significant tax incentives, elimination of bureaucratic obstacles and the easing of procedures to encourage the creation of and investment in technology-based start-ups.

Other highlights include the Next Tech Fund and the promotion of female entrepreneurship through the line of financing for digital entrepreneurs launched with ENISA. Through this initiative, more than 160 projects have already been financed for more than €25 million.

Spain is at the forefront in Europe in promoting technological entrepreneurship and the technological modernisation of the economy thanks to pioneering reforms and initiatives to attract investment, talent and innovative entrepreneurship.

European Startup Nations Alliance - ESNA

The European Startup Nations Alliance (ESNA), currently comprising Austria, Bulgaria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Cyprus, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia and Spain, supports the 27 EU member states and Iceland which, having signed the EU Declaration on International Startup Standards in March 2021, are committed to ensuring that their startups have the best conditions to grow at all stages of their life cycle.

ESNA supports the efforts of these countries to become an "emerging nation". It will do so through the sharing of best practices established in the EU and technical support to countries to concretely implement the changes.

Non official translation