The digital innovation ecosystem of the Canary Islands obtains the European Seal of Excellence

The Minister of Economy, Knowledge and Employment, Elena Máñez, accompanied by the director of the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society, Carlos Navarro, and the president of Innovalia, Jesús de la Maza, announced this morning the obtaining of the Seal European Excellence in digital innovation. The European Commission has granted this recognition to the proposal put forward by the Digital Innovation Center of the Canary Islands, CIDIHUB, which is a consortium of organizations and competence centers specialized in business digitization, which provide infrastructure and key resources for the digital transformation of private companies and public entities and operates mainly in the Canary Islands region, although it also collaborates and works with entities from other regions and other countries inside and outside the European continent.

The Minister of Economy, Knowledge and Employment, Elena Máñez, explained that the European Commission chooses the Canary Islands to be one of its digital innovation hubs with one of the highest scores in all of Europe, with 14 points out of a possible 15. An achievement that, in the words of the minister, “supposes the inclusion of the Canary Islands in the main Digital Innovation Network of the European Union and will allow us to obtain state and European funding, in addition to opting for restricted tenders for projects of excellence”.

Just for being part of this Network, CIDIHUB will obtain financing of 4.5 million euros, which will be donated in equal parts by the European Union and the State, “to which the Government of the Canary Islands will also contribute with an item of 600,000 euros, oriented mainly to reinforce cybersecurity solutions from the innovative ecosystem of the Islands”, as announced by the Minister.

CIDIHUB Canarias receives the support of the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society and joins the roadmap drawn up by the Government of the Canary Islands to strengthen R&D&i, emphasizing the importance of the alignment of all public, private, professional agents, companies and universities to take advantage of our strengths, promote digital transformation and turn the Islands “into an innovation laboratory”.

In this sense, the director of the Aciisi, Carlos Navarro, specified that CIDIHUB will function as a single window that will help companies to be more competitive in relation to their business and production processes, using cutting-edge technologies. Through a catalog of services, CIDIHUB Canarias will offer access to the latest knowledge, experience and advice to create a great ecosystem of innovation and new opportunities.

“We have the right instrument to promote a digital and innovative Canary Islands and we have worked together with CIDIHUB so that the entire innovative ecosystem forms part of it and promote a physical space shared by professional entrepreneurs, startups and investors, to develop innovative universes. The Canary Islands enter the future of the digital economy through the front door and in 10 years what we are announcing today will be another key piece to advance in the Canary Islands”, said Carlos Navarro.

On the other hand, the president of Innovalia, Jesús de la Maza, explained that “through CIDIHUB Canarias, SMEs will be able to experiment with software and hardware technologies and business models to understand new business opportunities. In addition, they will obtain the necessary skills and training to take full advantage of digital innovations. They will also find support to find investments and launch feasibility studies, develop business plans, incubation and acceleration programs, among others”.

Likewise, the president of Innovalia, CIDIHUB's coordinating entity, explained that 283 hubs from all over Europe participated in this process to form part of the European Network of Digital Innovation Centers, “of which less than half, 138, managed to enter .

Regarding CIDIHUB, Jesús de la Maza pointed out, “the total minimum operating budget for the first three years is around 4.5 million euros. Based on this budget, it is then expected that each EDIH will be able to attract more regional funds, mainly, as well as to develop additional projects and generate more resources by attending calls for projects and initiatives (regional, national and European).

CIDIHUB, the European gateway to digital innovation

In the presentation of this achievement of CIDIHUB, three work tables were organized, in order to present and coordinate joint actions.

In the first table 'Digital Innovation Hubs as a mechanism of convergence with Europe' public innovation policies were reviewed at European, national and Canarian level in order to understand what it is, how it operates and how a DIH (Digital Innovation Center) is framed within the current innovation ecosystem, in order to facilitate digital innovation in a territory in connection with the European environment.

The second, 'Digital Innovation Challenges in the Canary Islands' identified and assessed the real challenges posed by digital innovation in the Canary Islands, and the real needs of companies and Canarian society in terms of digitization.

Finally, in the table 'Advanced and complementary capacities in CIDIHUB', the capacities, tools and technologies that CIDIHUB contributes to the Canarian economy and business were detailed, specifically the consolidation of the regional innovative ecosystem, specialized training, financing public-private, and development, experimentation and validation of digital technologies.

The presentation ended with the intervention of the director of the Canarian Agency for Research, Innovation and Information Society, Carlos Navarro, who presented the main conclusions during the meeting.

The entities that are part of CIDIHUB are: Association of Innovalia Technological Companies, Technological and Renewable Energy Institute (ITER), Canary Islands Maritime Cluster (CMC), Technological Center for Marine Sciences (CETECIMA), Canary Islands Technological Excellence (CET), Avantalia Solutions, Plocan, Canary Islands Technological Institute (ITC), Canary Islands Institute of Astrophysics (IAC), University of La Laguna (ULL), University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Tenerife Science and Technology Park (PCTT), Park Tecnológico de Fuerteventura (PTF), Gran Canaria Economic Promotion Society (SPEGC), Canarian Confederation of Entrepreneurs (CCE).