Aticco María de Molina hosts the first Madrid Tech City meeting after the start of the pandemic.

The private non-profit association Madrid Tech City, promoted by entrepreneurs from different branches of innovation and technology, brought together some of the most relevant players in the Madrid startup ecosystem on September 29 at Aticco María de Molina.

It was the first Madrid Tech City meeting after the start of the pandemic. The meeting aimed to discuss the situation of companies in this situation and how to find joint solutions to move forward, and was attended by Ángel Niño, Councilor for Innovation and Entrepreneurship of the Madrid City Council.

Niño analyzed how the current circumstances are affecting the development of startups and SMEs in the Madrid business ecosystem. He also commented that «Madrid must aspire to specialization, to become an Artificial Intelligence cluster».  That specialized cluster strategy is, in his opinion, vital for innovation to reach the capital. In addition, he explained that the city council is working on the implementation of a mobility sandbox that allows technology companies in that sector to establish themselves in the city to carry out their tests.

The councilor of Más Madrid Maysoun Douas, based on her experience in La Nave (the connection space for technological agents of the Madrid City Council) to delve into the idea of Niño of generating spaces that allow testing projects quickly to choose the strongest ones.

A debate fueled by all the players on the Madrid technology scene.

In addition to the two representatives from the Madrid City Council, the debate promoted by Madrid Tech City included contributions from numerous actors in the capital's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Rocío Güemes, director of investor services at CEIM – Madrid Business Confederation-CEOE, demanded a clear explanation from the government of Spain regarding the framework that companies will encounter. She also expressed her concern because "measures need to be agreed upon and a very powerful injection of capital is needed. The destination of 135 billion euros is being decided in Europe and the countries around us have already presented plans to apply for them. Spain still does not have a plan to capture this funding," she explained.

Encarnación Fernández, Director of Institutional Relations at Orange, called for «the creation of projects to develop use cases related to 5G technology in order to get the most out of the new infrastructures being deployed by mobile operators».

For his part, Patricio Gómez, from the consulting firm specialized in R&D project financing Leyton, called for the simplification of aid application processes. "We must also shorten the deadlines and spend the entire budget. I think it is an administrative organization problem. 50% of the budget allocated to R&D is not reaching companies," he said at the colloquium held at Aticco.

Elena Carretero, director of operations for AIM Group International, pointed to the events as "symbols of reactivation of the system". Carretero expressed concern about the image projected from Madrid abroad and called for the city to be projected "as a safe and suitable territory. We have to sell the destination."

For his part, Ismael Teijón, from Cupido Capital, cited the city of Valencia as an example to follow. "There, the players are united: university, politicians, entrepreneurs and startups." In addition, he insisted on the idea of the city's specialization in a part of the technological business without forgetting the need to channel startups that do not operate in that area of specialization.

Álvaro Castellanos, co-owner of Grupo Arzábal, defended the importance of SMEs and small businesses at street level. «We need personal feeling. With the change in consumer habits, what makes small businesses strong is lost.» He also asked for more agility from administrations to adapt regulations that can protect these small businesses.

María Martínez, director of Mayordomo Smart Points, posed a question. "How long are we going to be like this? We have been in a pandemic for 7 months and we have not sat down to find solutions. SMEs support the system and no one supports them. We are giving a terrible international image."

For Manel Pujol, general manager of Alan Spain, the Spanish business ecosystem needs "specialization and economies of scale. Furthermore, we lack role models, a kind of champion that represents the effort of entrepreneurs and how far we can go."

Part of the representation of young entrepreneurs came from Carla Mouriño, founder of Dinar at only 25 years old. Mouriño assured that «Madrid is an ideal city for multiple factors», but also warned that she has felt very lonely for a long time. «If your close circle does not have this concern to undertake, spaces are needed to share that culture».

Carmen Vazquez de Castro, director of the Start Universe community, was very critical of the difficulties faced by young people and the lack of real help. "We do not support SMEs or encourage talent fresh out of university. The communities that try to inject the entrepreneurial gene into these young people are not recognized."

Juan Chacón, co-founder of Textilo, one of the startups that works at Aticco, highlighted the adaptability of a company like his, which has been tremendously affected by the pandemic but has launched into the manufacture of other products such as customizable masks and company uniforms.

We are delighted to welcome Madrid Tech City and nurture the capital's business ecosystem. Our Aticco María de Molina 39 space is the perfect place to hold professional meetings, with all the security measures in place, and in spacious, bright and fully equipped spaces. Book a visit and come and see our Coworking in Madrid in Maria de Molina 30.