Innovative entrepreneurship generates jobs, revenue and productivity in Latin America and Spain.

The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), along with Vocento, through Diario Sur, organized the third annual seminar titled "The Future in Spanish", with the theme "Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creation in Spanish", whose goal is to share experiences and identify the most useful projects and strategies to develop new startups in Latin America and Spain.

During the opening speech, CAF's Director in Europe, Guillermo Fernández de Soto, pointed out that the "entrepreneurship ecosystem in Latin America is dynamic and vibrant, so much so that it has made great strides towards establishing itself in the region and integrating with the rest of the world. Entrepreneurs with high levels of innovation in their projects will be able to provide significant contributions in terms of employment, revenue and productivity for the region."

During the opening ceremony, Francisco de la Torre, Mayor of Málaga, stressed that education is "key to successfully facing the digital revolution", and emphasized that "innovative initiatives in Málaga, such as Polo Digital  [Digital Hub], are open to startups and business angels from Latin America." The event also featured José Luis Romero, CEO of Prensa Malagueña, publishing house of Diario Sur, as well as Ana Carmen Mata, Second Vice President of the Council in charge of the Government's Citizens' Services department.

In his diagnosis of the current Latin American scenario, Fernández de Soto listed a few advances regarding the "advancement of public policies, private sector engagement, fostering public-private alliances, and implementation of entrepreneurial initiatives," but in reality "entrepreneurs are equipped with less resources, competences and experience compared to those from other regions, which is why they face larger obstacles to access financing, develop capabilities, integrate with entrepreneurial networks, achieve internationalization, and overcome regulatory barriers."

CAF's Director in Europe proposed a few solutions featured in the Latin American Economic Outlook, developed jointly by CAF and the OECD, such as offering more and better financial instruments, boosting the development of entrepreneurial skills and competences, promoting networking among entrepreneurs, lowering regulatory barriers to promote entrepreneurship, and supporting integration with international markets.

Fernández de Soto concluded that the prospects are reassuring and prove that there is a suitable environment to develop entrepreneurship, despite some lingering financial challenges. For this reason, he considers it "necessary to face such challenges with a multifaceted approach and integrate aspects linked to the development of entrepreneurial talent and innovation, access to financing and workforce training."

CAF's role in matters of entrepreneurship and innovation revolves around working with the governments of member countries to outline and implement public policies aimed at boosting entrepreneurship and innovation, in addition to sharing experiences and drafting regulatory frameworks and programs to foster the development of venture capital funds. At the same time, the institution fosters public-private collaboration to promote entrepreneurship. 

What was coming is now here

The opening conference was organized by Isabel Aguilera, former CEO of Google Spain and Portugal, who encouraged the audience to "build the future and promote changes." She also said "we are reinventing everything because everything has changed: the way we compete, what we consider to be strengths, and the definition of goals... and success."

Next in the agenda was the panel titled Start your own business and/or die- a discussion among entrepreneurs regarding the formula for success in Latin America. The panel was moderated by Senén Barro, CEO of RedEmprendia, also featuring Fernando D'Alessio, co-founder and CEO of juntoz and iEH; Juan Pablo Swett, founder of trabajando.com and President of ASELA (Association of Latin American Entrepreneurs); Fernando Bacaicoa, co-CEO and co-founder of Educaedu; and Mario Cortés, Deputy Mayor of Innovation, New Technologies and Security of the City of Málaga.

The second round table addressed Innovative Ecosystems in Spain and Latin America- a debate between representatives of the entrepreneurial culture from both regions. The round table was moderated by Natalia Bayona, Vice President of Spain Startup, a developer of international startups, and also featured Andrés Felipe López Bermúdez, Director of Innovation at Ruta N; Hugo Kantis, Director of the Latin American Entrepreneurial Development Program (PRODEM); Alejandro Javier Tosina González, Director of Digital Economy at Red.es; and Rafael Ventura, Senior Vice-Chancellor of Social Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the University of Málaga.

The seminar's closing ceremony was led by José Luis Ruiz Espejo, Government Delegate of the Autonomous Government of Andalucía

"The Future in Spanish" is an initiative by Vocento and the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), created in 2011 under the goal of disseminating the possibilities offered by the use of Spanish around the world, and to explore the strength of the language as a bridge for business and cultural endeavors.