Madrid is becoming a reference in the commitment to innovation, experiencing a significant transformation in the European technological landscape, consolidating itself as a top-level digital innovation center. «The Spanish capital has attracted investments worth 7,940 million eurosrepresenting 67.5% of foreign investment in Spain during the first half of 2024,” highlights Carmen Martos, director of the Impact and Drive Innovation Hub at EAE Business School Madrid. Likewise, Madrid is positioning itself as a technological hub “thanks to its vibrant ecosystem of startups, consolidated companies and government actors,” he adds.
Félix Marín Andrés, responsible for Development and Technology Transfer at Imdea Energía, highlights several factors when talking about Madrid as pole of attraction of the technology sector. On the one hand, the existence of an important research network made up of the Imdea Institutes, the CSIC centers, the CIEMAT, the public universities and some of the private universities that carry out research.
It also talks about the support for technology-based entrepreneurship from entities such as the Madri+d Knowledge Foundation, business accelerators and incubators, and the aforementioned research network. In addition, “the high qualification of many of the region’s young people” and “regional competitive support and financing programs such as innovation hubs, industrial doctorates or innovation checks” have an influence. Companies in the technology sector that are committed to settling in the region find “a dynamic and perfectly ‘oiled’ innovative ecosystem that includes large, medium, small and startup companies along with business incubators, research centers and universities with extensive experience.” of fruitful collaboration between the various entities,” highlights Félix Marín Andrés.
Andrés Haddad, CEO of TheCUBE, highlights the unique combination of advantages to consolidate the region as a technological hub. “Its strategic location, high-quality infrastructure and a diverse ecosystem that integrates startups, corporations, universities and innovation centers,” he emphasizes. In addition, “the region offers an exceptional quality of life, which attracts and retains global talent, along with public and private initiatives that promote entrepreneurship and digitalization,” he adds. Added to this is his role as natural bridge between Europe and Latin America“which gives it a unique competitive advantage by facilitating cultural, economic and technological connections that drive opportunities for collaboration and expansion in both markets,” he clarifies.
The region combines an exceptional quality of life with a highly competitive business environment, consolidating itself as a magnet for qualified talent and investment. «Madrid benefits from a dynamic market that not only drives the growth of new technological initiatives, but also has key players such as TheCUBE, who have the capacity and experience to carry them out successfully, turning ideas into innovative and scalable solutions» , indicates Andrés Haddad. TheCUBE is specialized in corporate venture building, collaborating with large corporations to launch startups that take advantage of their unique assets and capabilities, generating new lines of business and accessing new markets through creativity and technology. “This approach not only drives the creation of new technological businesses, but also reinforces Madrid’s position as a global innovation hub,” highlights the CEO.
They collaborate with large international and national corporations that are leaders in sectors such as energy, mobility, insurance, consumption and construction, as well as with the startups we create, which are developing transformative solutions in their respective industries. This hybrid approach generates a unique ecosystem, “where experience, execution capacity and an innovative vision converge, driving transformation and leadership in multiple sectors,” he points out.
Borja Marinas, CEO of Patio Campus, also highlights a “strategic location, infrastructure, a dynamic ecosystem that favors collaboration between companies, institutions and entrepreneurial talent” and affirms that public-private initiatives that “generate and support a innovation environment. In addition to the aforementioned quality of life and its multiculturalism, what stands out is “the strong commitment to the issue of sustainability that reinforces Madrid as a reference hub.”
Another aspect that stands out is “the reduction of bureaucratic obstacles, legal certainty and tax incentives so that these companies can establish themselves here and can invest without the risk of having problems with public administrations.” Patio Campus emerged in 2023 at the initiative of eight large corporations where “startups, public and academic institutions, corporations and entrepreneurial talent collaborate,” explains Marinas. Furthermore, “we create spaces where ideas and projects converge, we attract talent and develop programs of all kinds, both incubation and acceleration that promote networking that serve as a catalyst for innovative solutions that benefit everyone,” he adds.
Among the initiatives launched, ‘Madrid Abierto’ stands out, in which, together with the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Employment of the Community of Madrid, the generation of ideas and services is promoted that help guarantee the succession of traditional and family businesses, promoting the generation of employment and wealth in the community itself, an initiative with an integrative and listening vocation to co-create with all citizens. There is also ‘Circular Economy’, a cross-sector initiative “in which for the first time seven large companies have come together to seek common solutions around the circular economy and join forces in the transformation of the challenges that they all face in their chain. of value.
Entrepreneurial region
The South Summit Entrepreneurship Map 2024 shows that Madrid stands out with 64% of serial entrepreneurs or those who have founded more than one startup, which is 3% more than the national average. According to this study, Madrid entrepreneurs are highly qualified, 82% have master’s degrees and the main industries they choose to carry out their activity are software development, technology applied to finance and health. Since June 2019, nearly 2,000 business projects have been promoted in the Madrid Emprende business incubator network, made up of six centers and the Madrid Food Innovation Hub, specialized in agri-food technology. The City Council has the One Stop Shop for Entrepreneurs to provide free support and advice and has launched the Madrid Emprende investment forums, to help companies in their search for financing.
Ángel Niño, delegate councilor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the Madrid City Council, recognizes that in a business fabric like that of Spain, made up of SMEs, “taking care of the small businessman and the entrepreneur is essential. This means that a large part of our services are satisfied by them and a good part of the innovation is also generated by small business owners.
He believes that innovation and ideas must be given wings so that later “we can all be nourished by them,” he adds. Remember that hundreds of startups are accelerated or incubated each year only in the 13 centers that the Madrid City Council has dedicated to supporting entrepreneurship and innovation. “This translates into a very important source of job creation, talent acquisition and outstanding value in the economy,” he points out.
From the Impact and Drive Innovation Hub of EAE Business School Madrid they point out that the Madrid ecosystem currently has more than 3,000 startups which employ approximately 40,000 people. The region has positioned itself as the second European hub in terms of exits exceeding 100 million euros. Strategic investments are made and “the region has attracted significant investments from technology giants. Microsoft is developing its first cloud region in Madrid with an investment of 2.1 billion euroswhile Google Cloud has established a significant presence with an investment of 650 million euros,” the director of this center, Carmen Martos, gives as examples. In addition, international connectivity “has been strengthened thanks to critical infrastructure such as the Grace Hopper cable, which connects Madrid with the United States and the United Kingdom.”
Foreign investment
The investment that comes to Madrid to promote its technological hub comes from many parts of the world. For example, “the Mexican multinational in the cement sector Cemex, which has had plants in Spain for years, has just been awarded the ‘Net Zero Industries Award’ at COP 29 in Azerbaijan for having developed a Clinker, the base component of cement that requires about 1,500 ºC for its production, using exclusively solar energy, without burning any type of fuel, at the IMDEA Energía facilities in Móstoles (Madrid)”, they highlight from IMDEA Energy.
From EAE Business School they indicate that to attract investment Madrid competes with cities such as Amsterdam and Frankfurt, which are key nodes for data infrastructures; and Dublin, where large technology companies such as Google and Facebook have a presence. «However, Madrid has competitive advantages, such as lower operating costs and better quality of life compared to Nordic or central European cities,” highlights Carmen Martos.
Félix Marín Andrés assures that for this entire innovative ecosystem to continue bearing fruit, it is decisive “the proper functioning of each of the entities that make it up and enhance collaboration between them and with other entities around the world that are leading in their respective fields.” fields.
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