The Consortium and the University of Cádiz have participated in the Joint International Staff Week, a meeting that consolidates the alliance between both institutions and opens new opportunities for cooperation in the blue economy with Latin America
Both institutions have shown in Costa Rica a consolidated collaboration model that is awakening growing interest due to its capacity to generate innovation ecosystems linked to the sea and its adaptability and replication from Cádiz to the other side of the Atlantic.
The Cádiz delegation has met with the Minister of Environment and Energy of Costa Rica, with whom lines of joint collaboration have been opened, and has visited the Coyol Free Trade Zone, considered one of the most advanced in Latin America
The State delegate, Fran González, has participated in two panels in which he has detailed the strengths of the Incubazul and Blue Core projects as references for attracting talent and opportunities around the blue sector
González also presented the Decarbonization Plan promoted by the Free Zone, a pioneering blue carbon project to reduce emissions and achieve zero footprint.
Fran González: “Collaboration between institutions, universities and companies constitutes an essential tool for the transfer of knowledge and innovative and sustainable economic development in coastal territories”
The Cádiz Free Trade Zone has reinforced its internationalization strategy this week in Costa Rica with an intense institutional agenda developed within the framework of the Joint International Staff Week, a meeting organized by the University of Cádiz and the University of Costa Rica that has brought together institutional representatives, researchers and economic agents to promote new alliances around the Blue Economy.
Led by the State delegate of the Cádiz Free Zone, Fran González, the Consortium representation has taken advantage of this forum to consolidate the international projection of the innovation ecosystem promoted by the Cádiz Free Zone, by presenting Incubazul – Blue Core as a reference model in the development of innovative companies linked to the sea and in the generation of sustainable growth opportunities for coastal territories.
During these days, meetings have also been held with representatives of the Government of Costa Rica, including the one held with the Minister of Environment and Energy (MINAE), Mónica Navarro del Valle; and the Vice Minister of Water and Seas, Ana Gloria Guzmán, with whom lines of collaboration have been opened in public policies on conservation measures and sustainable use of water. In addition, meetings have been held with university officials and entities linked to innovation and territorial development to explore new avenues for international cooperation.
The mission has also served to reinforce the close collaboration between the Cádiz Free Trade Zone and the University of Cádiz, a strategic alliance that combines scientific knowledge and research with entrepreneurship, technology transfer and business innovation as tools to promote the Blue Economy. Both institutions have shown in Costa Rica a consolidated collaboration model that is awakening growing international interest due to its capacity to generate innovation ecosystems linked to the sea and its adaptability and replication from Cádiz to the other side of the Atlantic.
The Cádiz representation also had the presence of the director of Business Promotion of the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz, Marta Domínguez, and the financial director and of the Blue Economy area of the Consortium, José Manuel Fedriani, together with the vice-rector of Titles and Quality of the UCA, Manuel Arcila; the dean of the Faculty of Marine Sciences, Javier Benavente; and the coordinator of CEIMAR and director of the INMAR Institute, Carmen Garrido, among others.
Participation in two panels
Fran González has participated in two panels along with other authorities and representatives of various institutions. The first panel 'Blue Innovation Ecosystems' has been dedicated to collaboration opportunities between universities, companies and territories to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and employment.
The delegate explained that the Free Trade Zone has gone from being solely a managing entity of land and productive spaces to acting as a catalyst of opportunities for companies, accompanying them in their transformation, access to financing and their opening to new markets.
Fran González's intervention has put the focus on the roadmap initiated by the Free Trade Zone in 2020 with the aim of creating, growing and consolidating Cádiz as a reference pole for the Blue Economy. The first step was the launch of Incubazul, the High Technology Incubator specialized in the Blue Economy, which has established itself as an acceleration model that works, with more than 5.5 million euros invested, of which 4.6 million have been raised from European funds.
The project has made it possible to recover industrially degraded spaces and, since its launch, the program has incubated 100 companies out of the 130 projects presented, with 81% of the startups advancing in the development of their initiative, 41% that already invoice and 31% that have a minimum viable product.
The delegate has stressed that this first impulse has allowed us to build an ecosystem from the base and now take a new step with Blue Core, the project with which the Free Zone expands the scope of the model to support entrepreneurs and startups, and also SMEs in transformation, consolidated companies, university spin-offs, research centers and projects interested in establishing themselves in Cádiz, a project that has an investment of 10.2 million euros co-financed with FEDER funds.
The second panel in which Fran González participated was 'Coastal territories in dialogue', held at the Pacific headquarters of the University of Costa Rica, and it addressed the context, initiatives, challenges and opportunities for cooperation between the Caribbean and Pacific coasts and the province of Cádiz.
The delegate has argued that coastal territories must jointly face challenges such as business innovation, job creation, energy transition, conservation of marine ecosystems and adaptation to climate change. To this end, it has highlighted the need to articulate international networks that allow sharing knowledge, promoting joint projects and adapting successful experiences to the economic, social and environmental reality of each territory.
In this context, Fran González has detailed the Free Zone Decarbonization Plan, developed together with the University of Cádiz and the Tragsa Group to achieve zero footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future free of emissions. The program includes the calculation and registration of the carbon footprint and a mitigation and compensation phase through pioneering Blue Carbon projects related to the conservation and restoration of coastal ecosystems.
Fran González has highlighted that "collaboration between institutions, universities and companies constitutes an essential tool to promote innovative and sustainable economic development in coastal territories. Sharing the experience developed in Cádiz allows us to continue strengthening international alliances and generate new cooperation opportunities that benefit both shores of the Atlantic."
Visit to the Free Zone of Coyol
The institutional agenda has included a technical visit to the Coyol Free Trade Zone, considered one of the most important in America. There the Cádiz representatives were received by Carlos Wong, general director of Coyol Free Zone, and Mariola Sánchez, marketing director of the business department of this entity. This business park constitutes one of the main international references in industrial innovation and manufacturing of medical devices, a sector in which Costa Rica has established itself as a world leader thanks to a model based on high technology, the attraction of foreign investment and collaboration between companies, administrations and universities.
During the visit, the delegation from the Cádiz Free Trade Zone learned first-hand about the operation of a facility that houses 34 international companies, including seven of the 30 largest global companies in the medical device sector. Coyol also concentrates a powerful ecosystem of auxiliary companies and specialized suppliers that turn the park into an example of industrial integration and competitiveness.
The meeting has allowed the exchange of experiences on the management of business spaces with high added value, the attraction of investments, the creation of innovative ecosystems and opportunities for international collaboration. For the Cádiz Free Trade Zone, the visit has also been an opportunity to learn about good practices in the development of smart parks and explore possible future synergies with one of the most advanced industrial complexes in Latin America.
The presence of the Cádiz Free Zone in Costa Rica continues the internationalization strategy initiated in recent years by the Consortium, which has intensified its relations with universities, free zones, public administrations and international organizations in Latin America through different institutional missions and meetings specialized in innovation and the Blue Economy. Among them, the actions developed in Colombia, Panama, Uruguay, Argentina and Honduras stand out, where the model promoted from Cádiz has aroused notable interest due to its possibilities of adaptation to other territories. These alliances will be intensified during the XXIX Ibero-American Free Trade Zone Conference, which Cádiz will host from October 26 to 28 of this year.