Technology start-ups as a driver of innovation: Transforming collaboration between industry and knowledge brokers

The Asociación Canaria de Startups, Empresas de Base Tecnológica e Inversores Ángeles (EMERGE), as a member of the Red Canaria de Centro de Innovación y Desarrollo Empresarial (Red CIDE) and in collaboration with the Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento y Empleo del Gobierno de Canarias through the Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información (ACIISI), organized on July 8 the event “Emerging technology companies as a driver of innovation: Transforming collaboration between industry and knowledge agents” at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Government of the Canary Islands in the capital of Gran Canaria. The main objective of the event was to promote the exchange of knowledge, know-how and technology transfer between the Canary Islands and the international ecosystem through the promotion of collaboration between large companies and technology startups, as well as to present its Open Innovation program: Innovate Canarias.

With the inauguration of the regional president, Mr. Ángel Víctor Torres and the director of the Economic Mission of the Embassy of Israel in Spain, Ms. Noa Heinemann is clearly committed to innovation in the Canary Islands, learning from more developed models such as Tel Aviv, the cradle of innovation in the East. Large and small companies from all over Spain, such as Endesa or the Agbar group, among others, participated in the event, as well as those that are most committed to innovation among local companies, such as Astican, Grupo Domingo Alonso, Grupo HD or Grupo Martínez, revealing their lines of action in R&D&I. Also present at the event were technology entrepreneurs and startups with projects that are a priori more modest but already deserving of worldwide attention, such as Nektium, Wimmic, Rethink Medical and Wooptix, among several others. The success of the event resulted in a packed room with the main innovation agents in the islands, highlighting researchers and technology entrepreneurs.