In the UK, between 20,000 and 40,000 active investors ( business angels ) who perform between 3,000 and 6,000 investment in SMEs with a financing volume of between 800 and 1,600 million euros. Meanwhile in Spain, business angels have no history of formal activity. This is reflected in the highly recommended study coordinated by Eshban (Spanish Network of Business Angels ) and sponsored by the General Secretariat of Industry ( Business angels in Spain: a new source of financing for SMEs ).
I’ve been interested in the topic after my article on the Law of Science from a couple of days. While in the UK and to a lesser extent in other countries Germany, France. Netherlands. can speak of mature markets in terms of business angels in our country all the credit is focused on a few pioneers, very valuable, as the interesting case of SeedRocket . The development of new business in areas of present and future as ICT, nanotechnology , biotechnology, etc.. require specialized financing channels and non-conventional circuits.
What the Law of Science has forgotten A law enacted in Science today serious syndrome of the Spanish economy has to stop obsessing over the status of researchers and things the style and focus on one core, the effective transfer of knowledge competitive business and all those variables that contribute to its success. In terms of hard and expensive Spanish debt refinancing, the company is entitled to demand efficiency and productivity research activity developed in our country. For this the law must protect and enact imaginative and solid bridges between public and private sectors as the main target. No complex ideological or otherwise. This means talking ecosystem of innovation (science and technology parks, clusters …) promoting emprededurismo intensive scientific or technological basis, fiscal support and aid of all kinds to capital and business angels adventure, encourage the maximum mobility of researchers between universities and businesses, and so on.
For much of the Spanish teachers would be important to spend several years in a company. This experience and my own experience, would be a very positive change of mind. And the other hand, companies, attracting human capital from universities can open great opportunities in increasing their innovative capacity. Should be extremely encouraging these through, apart from giving legal facilities. Today, most universities (especially public sector) and entrepreneurs live largely in separate compartments or divorced each other.
They speak very different languages, sometimes hold conflicting interests, and even ideologically there is often great harmony with each other. This situation represents a waste of human capital and high opportunity costs of scarce innovative companies. A country with Spain’s unemployment rate and level of debt, can not afford this. Spain, linked to a Spanish-speaking community of more than 400 million people has failed to encourage ICT companies leading the market to take as a reference while companies face were very capable. Perhaps, unlike the U.S., the UK, our entrepreneurs lack the funding could be based on the development of the aforementioned business angels or venture capital specialist.
And universities should form a human capital that is not ideologically stunted their capacity to undertake and innovate. Without “business angels”, we are doomed to the old economy of tourism and the construction is no alternative model solid medium time for our country. Many times we have to keep listening to if Larry Page, Sergei Brin, Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, and so on.