Over the decades, countries’ economic diplomacy has focused on promoting exports, attracting industrial revolution or opening markets to large multinationals. The world has changed. Today, the international competitiveness of the economy depends more on its capabilities develop technologies, attract global talent and scale innovative companies able to compete in international markets.
in other words the foreign economic policy of the 21st century largely takes place in the technological ecosystem and for this reason, more and more governments have incorporated a new approach into their external action: technology diplomacy.
It is not just about supporting startups or organizing innovation events, but about positioning the country (or region) as the place where they were born and raised. companies that will define the next generation of industries. Although it is late and years from realizing its full potential, Europe is having trouble understanding it.
Technology has become one of the main elements of economic and geopolitical power. The United States and China are outspoken leadership in artificial intelligence, semiconductors, computing or space technologies and this is the context in which the European Union has begun to create strategic autonomy and technological superiority more often.
But for all that she is capable of, technological autonomy is not mandated until it is built with companies able to compete globally, with the capital to finance them, and with ecosystems that attract talent and international inversion. And in this, Europe still has a clear challenge.
On our continent, and specifically in the European Union, we generate targeted investigations and startups of enormous caliber, but we struggle to keep up with each other turn this innovation into large technology enterprises.
Many technology-based companies that They were born in Europe and reached their main limit when it comes to adolescence. False depth in capital markets, false liquidation in niche stock markets and in many cases the capital to allow it to scale beyond the continent. If Europe wants to reduce its technological dependence, it needs its own companies capable of leading strategic industries.
In this new scenario here scaleups Technologies have simply become fast-growing businesses. They are strategic assets: they create innovation, attract highly skilled talent, develop technology and operate globally from Europe. And they also project the economic influence of a country or region in the global digital economy.
Because of this, they are the tastiest things every time integrating its technology companies into its international strategy. Estados Unidos lleva decasas haciéndolo. China has turned it into a state priority. Europe is struggling to understand that its ability to compete globally also depends on its strength scaleups technology.
Spain is not leading this development. In recent years, our technology ecosystem has evolved into a remarkable form. Today, we count on companies capable of international growth, achieving global change and competitiveness in high-tech markets. At the same time, the form in which Spanish economic institutions project the country abroad also developed.
Reflect this new logic elk road shows managed by ICEX and the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise in international financial centers such as Tokyo, London and Toronto, where scaleups Spanish, joined by Minister Carlos Cuerpo, we sent with global investors. These meetings are not only about achieving an inversion in Spain, but also about explaining that the country has a technological ecosystem capable of generating global businesses and that its inversion means participating in the next generation of European companies.
This type of initiative represents a modern form of economic diplomacy connection of institutions, inverters and scaleups technology to support growth and competitiveness. However, for this strategy to have a full impact, it is necessary to address the structural issue. Europe needs to strengthen its ability to finance the growth of its technology companies.
As the United States engages in capital markets that are deeply integrated and specialized in high-growth companies, fragmented European financial ecosystemwhich limits the ability of European technology companies to expand from the continent.
In this context, initiatives aimed at promoting the turnaround between the public and private sectors To strengthen economic competitiveness, such as the España Crece fund, can and must be transformed into important businesses to strengthen the business growth ecosystem.
The network, regardless, is more extensive and transcends any single country. Europe needs advance the integration of its capital market, facilitate access to finance for growth-stage technology businesses and strengthen the ability to scale businesses capable of competing on a global scale.
Because Europe’s strategic autonomy will ultimately depend not only on industrial policies or technological regulation, but also on something much more concrete: Europe’s ability to create and develop its own global technology businesses.
We need to consolidate a strategy that combines capital, innovation and economic diplomacy transform this potential into companies capable of competing on a global scale. Las scaleups The Europeans prove that it is possible. Apoyarlas, traerr inversión hacia ellas y proyectarlas internationally is not only a policy of innovation, but also a question of economic competitiveness and technological superiority. These are the bearers of what European technology diplomacy should be.
*** Alister Moreno He is the President of EsTech and the CEO of Clikalia.
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