We open the series of interviews with the people who make up the universe IncubAzul. This time it is with the special delegate of the State for the Free Zone, Fran González. The Free Zone It is the creative entity, promoter of the initiative. And this is key in your short-term strategy.
How does an entity like the Free Trade Zone bet on an incubator like Incubazul?
We are an entity dedicated to promotion of economic and business development in the province of Cadiz. It makes perfect sense that we could count on a business accelerator as a way to promote talent and economic development. With this we also want to bet on business diversification and promote entrepreneurial initiative. It was probably the key that we lacked in the Free Trade Zone to make a real commitment to economic development 360.
Why in blue economy?
In the National Entrepreneurship Strategy has been identified to blue economy as one of the tractor sectors: those that are going to drive the economy and are going to configure the society that we want to have. And it is that the ecological transition is a social, moral and intergenerational obligation. The activity generated from the blue economy accounts for 4 percent of Spanish GDP; the 10, in Andalusia. But it is estimated that with stimulus measures it could reach 15 or more. It is, therefore, a priority issue to deal with for the future of the community and of Spain. It made perfect sense that in a city and a province like Cádiz, with its coast and its connection to the sea, development would continue to be based on it. This has been done throughout its history, but from a conservationist, responsible perspective and to give back everything it has given us.
What benefits do you expect to reap from the incubator?
The only benefit that we hope to reap from the incubator is to lay the foundations in a real and effective way so that the production model in the province is changed, so that talent and initiatives emerge and ideas are generated and developed that can contribute to economic development and society of the province. Entrepreneurship is a real tool for change and transformation and we are sponsoring it from Incubazul.
What would you highlight as differentiating elements with other initiatives?
Incubazul has two fundamental pillars that make it different: it has financing of European Funds through the Pluriregional Operational Program of Spain 2014-2020, as part of the transformation that is to be achieved for Spain. And the other differentiating leg is that we have Telefónica as an ally in the accelerator. We are using the methodology of Telefónica Open Future and its personalized and à la carte acceleration model to offer a truly differentiating and grounded day-to-day service to companies that decide to be part of the Incubazul universe. This public-private partnership and the validation of the accompanying method is really a key element for the development and success of the initiative.
This High Technology Incubator project for the promotion and encouragement of innovation and technology transfer to micro-SMEs in the Blue Economy sector In Andalucia “[BlueEcoIncuba x Lo
