The new economy, at least as far as its term is concerned, has little new. The expression was coined in the 1990s to describe the evolution towards an economy based on knowledge and information. The emergence of new technologies and globalization promoted what was already presented then as a paradigm shift in the way of producing and also consuming. Adapted to new advances and embracing new commitments, the idea of ??the new economy is still as valid as it was 30 years ago. The battle of the new economy is being won by China, which already invests more in R&D than the US and allocates enormous resources to knowledge. In this panorama, Europe, as a whole, and Spain, in particular, have to step on the accelerator to avoid missing the train of the future. The levers to make the leap are identified. It is therefore time to take action.
This was the unanimous opinion of the experts who participated in the Dialogues in La Vanguardia forum held a few days before Barcelona, ??with the celebration of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), created by the Free Trade Zone Consortium, becomes new in the world center of the new economy. The unique event, which will bring together the main actors and companies that will revolutionize the economy in the coming years, will be held from October 2 to 5 at the DFactory, one of the most unique and disruptive technological buildings in Europe. The BNEW, born in the 2020 pandemic, will encompass seven themes in this fourth edition: proptech, digital industry, mobility, sustainability, talent, health and experience.
Chaired by Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State in the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium (CZFB), the debate table included the participation of Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB; Jordi Valls, Deputy Mayor of Economy, Finance, Economic Promotion and Tourism of Barcelona City Council; Félix J. García, director of R&D at Bleecker, a spin-off of the University of Murcia specialized in computer vision and artificial intelligence; Antonio Sánchez, CEO of AsorCAD, a company specialized in the implementation of 3D technology; Jaume Rey, co-founder and general manager of Nexiona, which aspires to be the European leader of industry 4.0 in data management; José Ballester, territorial director of BBVA in Catalonia, and María Teresa Ruiz Costal, head of European Funds and Sustainability of Business Banking at Ibercaja.
“Talking about a new economy is talking about the future. And the BNEW is an open window to that future,” said Navarro, to which the general director of the Consortium added that the purpose of the event, which has a “television, fresh and disruptive staging,” is to connect sectors “to generate business opportunities”. One of the levers of BNEW, Sorigué continued, is precisely that, to connect, collaborate and not compete. “It’s a paradigm shift,” she said. Collaboration between all economic agents, from companies, whether public or private, to financial entities, through universities and the public sector, is precisely one of the levers of the new economy that, in the case of Spain, It doesn’t always happen. “The only way a society can move forward is in an environment of collaboration,” said Valls. Sorigué was more forceful, predicting that companies that are not willing to work in a coordinated and open manner “have their days numbered.”
Innovation is the cornerstone of the new economy, since companies that do not have the capacity to innovate technologically, make a new product or improve an existing one, are doomed to failure. At this point, all the speakers agreed that Spain has a lot to improve. “A great effort must be made in innovation,” said the CEO of AsorCAD, while Sorigué lamented the lack of investment in innovation and development in the budgets of many companies. “It’s been a long time since others invented it,” Sánchez added. For Rey, unlike the American one, the Spanish one “is a risk-averse society” and that negatively impacts “innovation and entrepreneurship.”
“Why is it so difficult for us to innovate? Because it scares us a lot,” she argued. Ruiz expressed himself in similar terms, who stressed that, culturally, Spain is not a country that has promoted innovation and, since it has no borders, he advocated using and taking advantage of the advances that come from other latitudes. The BBVA representative fully supported the idea of ??deepening technological innovation, but warned that, “in this unprecedented disruptive wave” that we are in, it is also about “growing in a sustainable and inclusive way so that no one is left behind.” ”. The other great challenge that the new economy in Spain must overcome is the transfer of knowledge from academia to companies. “There is a lot of knowledge, but the challenge is to encapsulate it so that it can add value and become a business,” said Sánchez, in a reflection very similar to that made by Valls: “We need the academy to convert its knowledge into an entrepreneurial attitude and into business”. For his part, Bleecker’s R&D director demanded that companies take the step and rely on the transfer of knowledge so that advances reach the market. In this sense, García regretted that teaching and research are taken into account in the professional career of a university professor, but not transfer. “We will have to make a change in dynamics, let’s also prioritize transfer, this way we will get many teachers to consider making patents, creating spin-offs, licensing technology,” he argued.
At MIT, Sorigué recalled, this transfer is mandatory for professors. In this scenario, training is basic, not only from the university or vocational training, but also from the companies themselves. The problem, Valls highlighted, is finding workers. As an example, he explained that Germany has difficulty filling 900,000 jobs and, in Spain, it is also difficult to find cybersecurity professionals. The Bleecker manager regretted the little weight given to companies when designing studies, “so that in the end plans, bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees are generated, more academic than thinking about generating useful talent for companies. ”. García also demanded that the design and launch times for new titles be shortened, while the co-founder of Nexiona regretted that entrepreneurship is not motivated in the training plans. The only way to advance as a society – reflected the deputy mayor of Barcelona City Council – is through collaboration between the university, the private sector and also the public sector, “which should not replace, but lead.” And, although the new economy is everyone’s business, including consumers, the speakers pointed to the State, which according to Valls since the 2008 crisis has had “a new role”, as the most responsible for the policies that must promote the policies necessary to activate the shift levers. “And it is not easy, because the State does not like risk,” he warned. Sánchez asked that these policies be promoted in a coordinated manner at each of the levels of administration, national, regional and local, “and not make policies that overlap with each other.”
Another fundamental actor in the new economy, and which had two representatives at the expert table, is the financial system, as a channeler of resources and investment into the system. “The role of the financial system is always critical, but in the new economy it is clearly essential, because it has a lot to finance, although our role as an entity goes beyond providing this financing. Our goal is to help our clients in their transformation towards a more digital, sustainable and inclusive future and turn this transformation into a tangible opportunity for growth,” highlighted the territorial director of BBVA in Catalonia. “Apart from regulatory aspects, our role has changed, not only to see what we finance or where we channel our clients’ savings, but because we have the obligation to provide advice to all those who need this transformation,” declared the Ibercaja representative. . Advice, they both agreed, “of quality and very qualified.” They also agreed that financial entities, thanks to their knowledge of the productive fabric and their capillarity, can reach the “last SME and the last town.” Not all companies were aware of the role that European Next Generation funds were to play in our economy when they are precisely a lever for its transformation.
The message is not reaching SMEs, and Spain is a country of SMEs, reflected the Ibercaja representative. These funds emerge as the opportunity to promote digitalization, sustainability, ecological transition and, transversally, equality and social inclusion. “It is an injection of money with a series of conditions that seek to create the foundations of this new economy,” argued Ruíz, also pointing out the role of financial entities in getting this message to every corner and to all companies.
At this point, Valls called for an improvement in the ability to attract risk capital. “To develop powerful innovation ecosystems we urgently need venture capital to grow significantly,” he noted, but not before recognizing that in Europe there is no culture regarding this investment instrument. Valls’ reflection had the support of the rest of the attendees. And although China, “the class bully” in Rey’s words, is ahead in the race and the challenge of changing the foundations of the economy “is huge,” the speakers were optimistic about the future because the potential exists and You just need to activate the levers.
