The Valencia Institute for Business Competitiveness (IVACE) has hosted on 18 April, the meeting to establish the Regional Observatory for Financing Innovation, an IVACE initiative that is constituted as an open, cooperative and dialogue project to improve and establish policies and programs for financing innovation. "The financing - has indicated the general director of IVACE, Júlia Company - is not one of the first causes of success of a project, but one of the main reasons for failure and there are still market gaps between demand and financial supply". "It is for this reason -the IVACE official added- that with this Observatory we have wanted to put at the same table those who offer financial and investment instruments from the public and private sectors and those who demand this type of instruments ranging from consolidated companies to start-ups. And the answer has been successful".
The financing is not one of the first causes of success of a project, but one of the main reasons for failure and there are still market gaps between demand and financial supply. Júlia Company, General director of IVACE
In the meeting have participated the general director of IVACE, the general director of Economy, Paco Álvarez, a wide representation of companies of the public sector (Local authorities, Regional ministries, Valencia Institute of Finances, Valencia Agency of the Innovation) and the private sector (financial institutions, investors, venture capital and AFIN SGR). Also representatives of the business reference cluster of the Valencia Region such as AVIA, AVAESEN, business associations such as the Valencia Business Confederation and support intermediaries such as the European Innovative Business Centers (CEEI), accelerators, institutes and technology parks.
For the head of IVACE "the offer of instruments must meet the real need of demand, being key coordination and cooperation between different public and private actors and this process must be efficient and have measurable results."
First objectives set-up
The Regional Observatory of Financing for Innovation has agreed on the development of different objectives, among which is the application of a tool for analysing and collecting information on the different financial instruments that exist in the Valencia Region. The objective is to collect the data of the entity that generates the financing or investment instrument, the characteristics of the financial instrument, its beneficiaries and the type of investment. With the information obtained, a unique map of the innovation financing ecosystem will be prepared with possible extensions at national and European level, in Innova-FI project.
The second action involves organizing working groups on different topics: financing start-ups, new financial engineering and guarantees, impact measurement and relationship with the ERDF, new financing instruments and their possible fiscal incentives or risk minimization (crowdfunding, crowdlending, guarantee funds etc.)
And the third objective is the celebration in Valencia of the first European Congress of Financing for Innovation with the collaboration of the Associations of the Spanish and European Regional Development Agencies, and the European Commission.
European framework
The Regional Observatory for Financing Innovation is linked with the demands of the European Union in its regional cooperation projects to establish joint meetings with the regional stakeholders, in this case, the agents of the innovation financing ecosystem.
These projects include Innova-FI Interreg Europe, addressed to improve the design and implementation of financial instruments as use of structural funds and finMED Interreg Med, aimed at promoting the financing of innovation in green sectors of the Mediterranean area in cooperation with green clusters.
To these two initiatives is added the IFISE project, which leads the General Direction of European Funds, whose objective is to analyse the situation of financial instruments in support of the social economy and propose new instruments to the European Commission that can be generalized in Europe.
European Congress of Innovation Financing
The First European Conference on Financing Innovation will be held in 2020 in Valencia with the support of the Regional Observatory, the Spanish and European Associations of Regional Development Agencies, the European projects Innova-FI and FinMED, and the support of the European Commission. The annual Congress will have the participation of the best financing specialists to share good practices, news and opportunities in the sector. This pioneering initiative and the European Congress intend to reach a cross-national & European level.
