Technological company that has already created 40 new jobs open on Terceira Island
The Vice-President of the Government highlighted in Angra do Heroísmo what he considered to be another sign of a new stage in the development of the Region and a strategic vision for the future of the Azores.
Sérgio Ávila spoke Tuesday at the opening of the Rook Technology facilities, a ceremony chaired by the President of the Government, Vasco Cordeiro. On the occasion, he praised the initiative of the project's promoters, who, "working from the Azores, work for the world, representing our capabilities and the quality of our human resources."
"All this team of 40 people, who, according to what is planned by the end of next year, will reach 98 workers, represents the quality of our human resources," stressed the government official. As he added, "we demonstrate that it is possible to work competitively for the United States, Europe and the world from the Azores in the middle of the Atlantic.
In fact, the three promoters (Pedro Gama and his partners Anthony Castro and Justin Deleo) have developed an exclusive project to export services to the USA focused on call centre services, programming, management and data processing.
"What we do here is what is being done with more than 170 jobs at Terceira Tech Island and more than 115 jobs at TERINOV, and also throughout the Region," stressed the government official.
For the Vice-President, this investment of more than one million Euros, co-financed by the Regional Government, demonstrates that the Competir+ incentive system "is undoubtedly one of the most comprehensive and generous at European level. It boosts competitiveness by attracting new companies and, essentially, strengthening the commitment to the quality of our human resources."
According to Sérgio Ávila, this investment also represents "our efforts to attract external investment," taking into consideration that this is about "an Azorean who went to the USA, earned his qualifications there and had the courage to return to his land. He also brought with him other investors and more knowledge, so as to continue their research from here."
"Therefore, we offer our words of recognition to Pedro Gama and his partners, who cannot be here today," said the government official.
In his speech, the Vice-President revealed that, under Competir +, the Regional Government has already received 1,447 private investment projects to date, corresponding to an investment of more than 671 million Euros and the expected creation of more than 3,381 new jobs.
In this context, Sérgio Ávila mentioned the 120 new companies already installed in the incubators that make up the Azores Business Incubators Network (RIEA), many of them are internationally competitive, working from the Azores to the world.
For this purpose, there is not only the contribution of the incentive systems implemented by the Regional Government, but also the tax incentives in the Region, with the 8th lowest corporate income tax rate in Europe and the 2nd lowest standard VAT rate.
“What we do and say to companies is that, besides supporting their investment, we have reduced the tax burden in Region to standards substantially lower than the European average,” noted Sérgio Ávila.
As he added, "the wealth generated can be reinvested, creating more wealth and more jobs, giving another sign of confidence to companies, to invest more and believe in the future of the Region."
The Vice-President recalled that the opening of the Rook Technology facilities was scheduled for March, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to July, always being in mind the path already followed, the difficulties of the present and the challenges of tomorrow.
"We begin today a journey marked by this opening, but it is not a finishing line, it is a beginning. From here we can conquer the world with our capabilities and our qualifications. The Government will always support those who continue this vision towards the future of our land and pay tribute to those who had the courage to return to the Azores, believe in the Azores and invest in our Region," stressed the Vice-President.