Speech by President of the Government at closure of 2018 South Summit

Madrid

Thank you very much. Congratulations to all of you. Congratulations above all to the prizewinners. Congratulations as well to the presenter.

Innovation, but with music from the 1980s. I'm delighted, I was born in 1972, I'm no youngster. The truth is that I was looking forward a lot to being with you and congratulating all the winners, and as I said, the mayor as well, the President of the South Summit, María Benjumea, all the entrepreneurs I've been photographed with - I don't know how we've been able to fit them all into this small space. It's a pleasure to be here with this great creativity and surge of innovation and vitality that we can breathe and feel in this hall.

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to thank María for the invitation, congratulate her for the organisation and the success of this event. And I also wanted in this speech to begin by giving my thanks for something much more than this invitation. I'd like to thank you for your effort, your work, over all these years, to ensure that our country does not lose the pulse of the digital economy, which is fundamental and in my opinion the key to the future of our country.

With respect to the success of this initiative, I'd like to mention to you a revealing detail that occurred the other day: I was able to meet with the President of the Davos Forum during his visit a few days ago to Madrid, and at this meeting the president of this important global forum referred to the South Summit as the most important meeting of entrepreneurs and startups in the world. I didn't ask him, it wasn't at my urging: it was he himself who absolutely of his own initiative gave the example of the good work done at the South Summit.

And when you visit this forum - and as María recalled earlier in her presentation, this isn't the first time I've come here, I came as Leader of the Opposition, and now as President of the Government - you have the impression of seeing what the world of tomorrow will be like. That's the feeling aroused by your work. The work of so many entrepreneurs, as reflected in the prizes awarded today. Optimism, non-conformism, which I believe is very important in life, of course, in business and - why not - in politics, and in the cutting edge of the economy.

As President of the Government I'm proud to see so much talent together, your spirit of entrepreneurship, your ideas for changing the world for the better. Transforming these ideas into something tangible that can be of use for society as a whole is also, of course, a responsibility for a member of the Government of Spain; the responsibility of living up to - and this is something I want to stress in particular - living up to what is expected of the public institutions and being aware that we have a great deal to do in the area of public institutions. This year I have not had the chance to talk to many of you. Last year I was able to talk a little, and the feeling I've always had on those occasions is that politics and public institutions are seen, above all by people who are linked to startups, as something alien, an obstacle; and never as an ally, as an agent that cooperates towards the good performance, the good result of your adventures.

You have for many years called for changes that are needed to help you in your work; you have always been asking the government, at local, regional and of course central government level, to become involved, to be allies, instead of being an obstacle, as I mentioned before, that you viewed with suspicion, which I have also noted on many occasions when I've had the opportunity, as I said, to talk to you.

It is a task that forces us think, and I believe that politics has a lot to learn from it. Before the mayor said it, María said it as well, when they referred to all the political parties. Politics has to think in the medium term. Very often, we think a lot about the situation as it is, we think a lot about day-to-day issues. It appears that politics lives from day to day, but the challenges that we have ahead of us are so big, so enormous, that it is inevitable that we have to make use of our full-beam headlights, that we have to think in the medium term for the good of our country. We shouldn't only think of the Spain of tomorrow, of 2019 or 2020; we have to think of the Spain of the day after tomorrow and the day after that, and after that. And doing so we'll get to the next decade at least, as the political goal for action by the generation that right now is leading the political parties and public institutions, as you well know.

This task needs everyone to be on board. It needs you, as you are obviously at the cutting edge in what is a crucial time for the change in the model of production that our economy needs; an economy that has to be inclusive, as the mayor quite rightly said earlier. I believe that we have to learn something from this lost decade of economic crisis, and that is that there is a great deal of inequality in the world. There is a great deal of inequality in our country. And unfortunately, it's something that we have to address. And between all of us, we have to make this inclusive growth possible. And as María said earlier, it must also be a growth that is committed to gender equality between men and women.

I have been delighted to see women who are entrepreneurs here, ranging from the youngest to the oldest, and who are leaders in your sectors. And it must of course be inclusive growth: of gender equality, ecology and digital technology.

So as I said, it requires this effort from everyone, from all of you, from politics as a whole, to reach lasting agreements: agreements that require a broad consensus, not only between political parties, but also between institutions, in order to cross these borders and reconcile interests, which on many occasions appear to be opposed but that in reality are not so much. Not so much, because each and every one of the political parties of the institutions talk and believe in economic and social entrepreneurship.

This government - and this is something that I want to make you aware of myself - wants to listen, wants to listen in order to be able to act. I believe that politics, above all politics today, has much more to do with doing than with saying. So if we say things, they must be done, and that is our commitment as the Government of Spain.

I`ll give you a very concrete example of what I mean. The only way of knowing the professional qualifications that will be needed in the most immediate future is by giving a voice to those capable of knowing what the work of tomorrow will be like. You, more than anyone, are anticipating this future. So right now, this government has the intention, ambition and clear and firm determination to boost vocational training in our country; and when defining the new dual vocational training qualifications - and this is something that we have to push through between all tiers of government, as I said before - I believe it is important to know your ideas first hand. Spain needs to know what skills and what qualifications our country will need so that the ideas that are born of talent, your talent, those that are present here, can become a reality.

I believe that we have a wonderful network of public education. And what we have to do is to bring it into step with those of you who are going to transform and are already modernising Spain.

In this regard, the government wants to forge a direct link with you; establish a more flexible source of communication that is much more fluid, to ensure that the public administrations can live up to the talent that is being displayed or has been displayed here over the last three days. And in this respect, María announced something before in her speech, touched on it, but well, she challenged me, and I take up the challenge, María. This government would like to announce the following: I would like to announce an important commitment, to push through an Entrepreneurial Nation Strategy so that as startups you have the support that you need.

I would like to focus this speech on measures or specific lines of action to achieve these objectives that all of us here share.

First, we're going to make progress in a legal framework that recognises the special characteristics of startups and their specific legal nature. Often, when I've met with you, outside this forum as well, talking with some of the associations that are here today, this has been one of the most recurrent demands made on the political class as a whole: that the specific nature of startups should be recognised from a legal point of view. This line of action includes boosting tax incentives for investment in R&D+i in Corporate Income Tax, so that more big corporates see startups as innovation vehicles from the outside in.

We are also going to establish the transferability of tax credits generated in Corporate Income Tax for R&D+i activities to companies that participate in finance, projects and technology for startups. These are measures that we are going to include, I can tell you here, in the draft National Budget, on which the Government of Spain is working, and that we are going to submit on 15 October to Brussels at the EU capital.

So the government is working on reaching the broadest possible agreement, which will allow us to look to the future, guarantee stability, which I believe our country needs, in economic terms as well, to push through an agenda for change, for transformation, and also for entrepreneurship and the modernisation of our economy, as the Minister for Economy explained very well when she was with us here a few hours ago. That would be the first of the measures.

The second has to do with the conviction - and I believe that we can all agree on this - that steps must be taken to create a real connected network of accelerators and incubators.

I was in California a few days ago, in Los Angeles, and in fact I saw one of these incubators; and honestly I have to tell you it appeared extraordinary, of course. It was very closely linked to the technology of the green economy, the fight against climate change; the need to adapt to climate change. But as I was telling you, I honestly believe that we also have an extraordinarily powerful network of accelerators and incubators here, and what we have to do is improve this connectivity between them and also increase their number.

What we see in other places - and this is what you let me know when I had the chance to talk to you - is that the digital ecosystem is strongest where entrepreneurs operate - where you operate - as a community. In entrepreneurship, as in any facet of life, you have to face failure as a very real possibility. And that is why the ecosystem of the community is so valuable. What we are learning from you - and of course, here with the prizewinners we see it very clearly - is that together you can even revitalise the idea of failure itself. In Spain, it often appears that failure is something that is stigmatised; but in other societies, such as Anglo-Saxon societies, and in particular the United States, failure is even included in people's CVs as it is proof that they take risks, that they are trying to drive their projects forward. And if you fail, what you have to do is get up and continue on your path.

I believe that in this regard, you are an inspiring example for politics as well, showing that things must be done well, even if they do not work out well the first time.

Let me tell you that this is an extraordinary attitude, as I mentioned, for facing the future with hope. In this respect, I would like to say that we are going to strengthen this connectivity between incubators and also everything that has to do with the infrastructures of entrepreneurs and startups.

And thirdly, we are going to strengthen national and international meetings and forums that can strengthen contacts with investors in the talent that emerges from creativity, which is present here. Spain's commitment in this respect, María, is firm and clear with the South Summit; it will be decisive. Not only to maintain but to further boost the global scope of this event that will be held in Madrid.

This is the commitment of the Government of Spain. We are going to do everything to ensure that the South Summit is an even bigger global model of what entrepreneurship and startups are.

And it seems to me that the Mayor of Madrid was right when she said that with this sun, with this climate, there is no country that can compete with Spain and in particular with Madrid.

We have another great challenge ahead of us that I would like to mention, and that the Mayor of Madrid referred to: and that is the question of gender. I believe that this is very important. The Government of Spain also considers it very important to develop, attract and retain the talent of women. We are going to implement a number of programmes that foster unbiased hiring. The creation of diverse working environments and the promotion of careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics), as I believe you say in English, for women.

There are many women at this forum, increasingly more, fortunately, and that is why the example of those who are opening up a path, those of you who are opening up a path, is so important, isn't it? The example of Rebeca Minguela, Carmen Bermejo, Verónica Pascual, Izanami Martínez, Laura Gonzánez-Estefani or María Benjumea herself, to name only a few of the many success stories.

And I have to tell you that I identify very closely with Maria, having read some of what she has said over these recent years. She says she is a person who is passionate about and committed to Spain and to Europe. And I believe that today, more than ever, that phrase is of transcendental importance. María, I believe that we as part of Spanish society have to be very committed to Europe, because it is precisely in the European arena where we can respond to many of the challenges we have ahead of us as a 21st-Century society.

That is why, returning to the question of gender, you know that the Government of Spain is very committed. Last week I was at the General Assembly of the United Nations, and you wouldn't believe their acknowledgment of the fact that the composition of the Spanish Council of Ministers is 64%, where the parity rule is 60% of one gender and 40% of the other; it's 64%. This means that there are more female than male ministers in the Council of Ministers. And I believe that this has much to do with something that the Mayor of Madrid said. Spain changed on 8 March. Spain launched herself onto the streets precisely to claim something that appears a question of social justice; and that something is real equality between men and women. And in this respect I believe that it is essential that you, the entrepreneurs, should take up this issue and lead this call for gender equality.

And the figures are out there. I have been given the figures of the entrepreneurship map in 2018 that reveals an increase of four points from 18% to 22% in the level of female entrepreneurship. I believe that is great news.

Because little by little we are winning the battle; but there is still much to do. Your sector, my friends, is one that teaches us to look to the future from the window of innovation. And I ask you to show us, to show the country as a whole, tomorrow, the Spain of tomorrow, how to open wide the door of this innovation that is fundamental for guaranteeing the prosperity of our country. To demonstrate that your sector will never tolerate the perpetuation of the roles of yesterday. There must be no more glass ceilings.

You are the vanguard and the bastion of the Spain of the future; in fact, of the present rather than of the future. Standing now at the gates of the revolution, the digital revolution, I ask you to help society, society as a whole, to ensure that this transformation should be for everyone, should be inclusive, and that we do not abandon anyone. There must be no losers on this path. I believe that this is one of the great ideas that we should take from the area of social entrepreneurship, the startups, and of course the area of public institutions. There are many people who view all this technological and digital revolution with unease. You have to feel sympathy for them because they are people who have suffered from the crisis, who are suffering from precarious employment, and are well aware that they are immersed in a change that could endanger their jobs. What we have to transmit is something that María has said on many occasions in public, and that is that this world that is speeding up by the minute, by the second, is not a world of risks, but a world of opportunities. What we have to do is always be aware, above all, those of you who have success in your hands; never forget those people who need shelter, the support of people who are in the vanguard of society. I believe that this is also a challenge we have to share, in business and in the public sector; and you can of course count on the Government of Spain in this.

Spain is in a good starting position in the deployment of fixed and mobile connectivity. This is something that a person who is key player in the business world, the Chairman of Telefónica, always tells me at our meetings. I believe that we have to continue to make progress so that all Spanish citizens, regardless of where they live - and this is also another of the challenges that our country is facing, which is repopulation rather than depopulation - have access to affordable connectivity.

The public administrations must rise to the occasion, and we are going to do so, to provide our country with a powerful telecommunications network; to offer coverage of more than 30 megas for 100% of the people, strengthening the rollout of ultra-fast fixed broadband networks in rural and remote areas, and offer a clear commitment - as this government has done - to make our country a pioneer in the implementation of the new mobile 5G network, which allows the development of robotics, virtual reality, connected cars, artificial intelligence and something else that is also very important in my opinion: smart cities. I know that it's true there is still a long way to go, but I believe that this is precisely the incentive: there is a long way to go, we have to move along this path, and we have to do so with a good spirit.

I know that you are critical. And that it is in your critical spirit that your greatest strength lies. Because you do not take anything for granted, you do not conform, you reinvent every certainty and you do not give up. And this is not an easy path because there are many interests in play; but allow me in conclusion to ask you for your trust, and above all your collaboration. Because I guarantee that we share much of this spirit. We share much of the vision you have displayed here over these last three days. And together I hope that we can make also Spain a benchmark in startups.

Thank you very much.

(Transcript edited by the State Secretariat for Communication)

Non official translation