Accelerate Azores Platform will contribute to paradigm shift in the regional economy, says Sérgio Ávila
The Vice-President of the Government considered that the Accelerate Azores Platform, presented this morning in Angra do Heroísmo, is a "tool designed to revitalise the regional economy."
Sérgio Ávila justified his view, stressing that the platform "brings together business ideas and their promoters, knowledge centres and researchers, and also investors wishing to invest in these promising business ideas." The purpose of this platform is to streamline the implementation these business ideas.
"In general terms, one can say the Accelerate Azores Platform is a simple but effective way to overcome the problem that often arises when we want to combine the interests of entrepreneurs, researchers and investors and establish successful synergies," said the government official.
Sérgio Ávila also explained that, through the platform presented today, it will be possible for entrepreneurs to present their ideas, searching for small investments and testing the potential interest that these ideas might have; the latter will be efficiently and effectively subject to a market test.
"This is indeed an aspect that I would like to point out, because if the project passes this market test filter - and it may also be subject to a further development process - it will have better chances to succeed and be able to apply to the available incentive schemes, such as Competir+ or the Investment Fund for Support to Entrepreneurship in the Azores, "stressed the Vice-President of the Government.
The Accelerate Azores platform also provides the Bank of Ideas, where potential investors can find business projects and respective promoters. The primary goal of this innovative feature is to speed up the implementation of projects.
For Sérgio Ávila, this is "an important aspect in the paradigm shift that we want to implement in our economic model, where knowledge is the basis and driving force of a new period of growth for the decades to come."
The Vice-President of the Government even considered that this "a powerful tool in the dissemination of innovative projects, where all the potentialities of our endogenous resources can be used. With this platform, the link between scientific projects and their coordination and implementation with the regional business fabric will be possible in a simple and practical way."
In this regard, Sergio Ávila also mentioned the creation of the Azores Business Innovation Centre, a business incubator for technology-based companies to be implemented at Terceira Technological Park, the Maritime School in Horta and the Azores Network of Business Incubators.
The government official stated that the Regional Government is working towards the implementation of "business incubators that will foster the transfer of knowledge acquired at the universities in order to create added-value companies and skilled employment as well as to establish local-based companies that will enhance the use of our resources at a municipal level."
For Sérgio Ávila, the Azores will have the infrastructures to support entrepreneurship and the necessary financial tools to join efforts with "knowledge-producing entities, companies and business associations and municipal authorities," which will allow the Region to "enter a new era of prosperity."
According to the Vice-President of the Government, "a more efficient, greener and more competitive economy that is capable of generating more and better jobs" is the main goal to be accomplished "with the efforts of all those who wish to work for the benefit of the Azores and Azorean citizens."