Businesses and organisations from Gran Canaria establish business links in Norway at Nor-Shipping, the largest European offshore industry event
A commercial delegation from Gran Canaria, comprising 15 businesspeople and public representatives travelled to the Nor-Shipping event in Norway to promote the Island to 130 investors from the shipping, logistics and port industries, and where 30 meetings were held.
The effort made to attend the event, one of Europe's most important for the shipping industry, falls within the actions taken by the brand Best in Gran Canaria and included representatives of the Gran Canaria Island Council (Cabildo) through its Corporation for the Economic Development of Gran Canaria, the Government of the Canary Islands, the Foreign Trade Institute, the Canary Islands Special Zone, the Las Palmas Port Authority, the Gran Canaria Chamber of Commerce and the Canary Islands Shipping Cluster.
Furthermore, the members of the delegation participated in the seminary "Business Opportunities in Spain", which was attended by over 60 Scandinavian investors and organisations and in which representatives of the Canary Islands Special Zone introduced the characteristics and importance of the shipping industry in the Canaries.
Three leading international companies, the British firm, Rolls-Royce, and two Norwegian firms, Otech and CCB Zamakona, have successfully set up their businesses in the Port of Las Palmas to offer their services to oil rigs, large cargo and passenger vessels and fishing trawlers. So much so that their managers have offered their testimonials, in various forums, to recommend investing and setting up business in Gran Canaria, not just because of its fiscal advantages, but because of its location, facilities, climate and people.
This mission to Norway represents an opportunity to promote the island to the strong shipping and North European Blue Economy industries and will help foster bilateral relations between Norway and Gran Canaria.
The brand Best in Gran Canaria
The brand Best in Gran Canaria, promoted by the Cabildo, comprises the Corporation for the Economic Development of Gran Canaria, the Government of the Canary Islands, the Government Representation Office, the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, the Chamber of Commerce, Casa Africa, the Confederation of Canary Employers, the Las Palmas City Council, Ports of Las Palmas, the Foreign Trade Institute, the Free Trade Zone, the Shipping Cluster and the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC).
Its website http://localhost/bestingc/ introduces the island as the ideal place to thrive due to its tax and investment advantages and because it offers a privileged environment for business, owing to the great links with its port and airport, the safety of the destination, all the services on offer, whether to do with health or education, its great city and the world's best climate. In short, it is the ideal place to work and live, an advantageous combination scarce to come by in this world.
The SPEGC presented the lines of support and financial advice it offers to entrepreneurs and innovative businesses
The president of the Island Council of Gran Canaria (Cabildo), Antonio Morales, emphasised that over 75 entrepreneurs and businesspeople learnt about the new lines of support to entrepreneurs and innovative businesses that the Cabildo, through the Corporation for the Economic Development of Gran Canaria (SPEGC) and the Science and Technology Park Foundation of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, has developed to "boost diversification of the island's productive fabric".
Financial institutions such as Enisa, MicroBank and Banco Sabadell participated in this event and presented their various funding lines aimed both at entrepreneurs and innovative businesses.
Morales explained that over the past two years the Cabildo has been developing "a support policy for all the entrepreneurial initiatives that bring new business and try to innovate with their products and services, providing access to funding to promote RD&I".
The programmes for creation and speeding-up of projects, the advice and training service, the offer of incubation spaces and support for access to funding are services offered by the Cabildo aimed at the formation of businesses and entrepreneurs, and were developed with attention to detail by the managing director of the SPEGC, Cosme García Falcón.
The managing director of Enisa, Bruno Fernández Scrimieri, presented the Enisa Lines and Shareholder loans, for young entrepreneurs (under the age of 40), entrepreneurs (over the age of 40) with new business ideas and growing enterprises, also aimed at the sector which is starting out in business.
Joaquín Vega Marichal, CaixaNegocios and BusinessBank D.T. Canarias Specialist, provided all the details about MicroBank's Innovation Microcredit , aimed at funding innovative business projects initiated by entrepreneurs.
And the director of SMEs at Banco Sabadell, Daniel Bazán Lorenzo, explained the features of the BStartup Programme, aimed at supporting innovative entrepreneurs so that their projects may be developed with the best chances of success.
Services to innovative businesses
García Falcón explained that the SPEGC offers innovative businesses an "RD&I funding advice service, a training service, and from September 2017, a service of support to the growth and internationalisation of businesses".
All the entrepreneurs and businesspeople who wish to do so can find out about all these funding lines and receive advice on other matters through the SPEGC's Business Support Service (SAE), which will accompany those requesting this service throughout the process until applications are submitted to various financial institutions.
The regional councillor of Economic Development, Energy and RD&I of the Cabildo, Raúl Garciá Brink, closed the event by encouraging all attendees to obtain in-depth knowledge of the services offered by the Corporation for the Economic Development of Gran Canaria through its "Business Support Service, its training schemes and the work spaces it offers".