Hospitalet de Llobregat, 17 November 2016. The presence of ACTUA -Invest Andorra- in the sixth edition of the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC) ended on Thursday with more than 400 contacts with companies mainly from Europe, America and Asia.
The director of ACTUA, Imma Jiménez, described the results of the three-day congress as “successful”. “We were able to present our current innovative projects, and many visitors showed their interested. ” Jiménez said “people who visited our stand were interested in our Big Data projects and also in the numerous advantages of investing in the country.
We also had many opportunities to talk about the regulation changes implemented, enabling the economic opening and added that “now it’s time to keep working to take advantage of the contacts made with new businesses and generate new opportunities in the field of innovation. Therefore, we expect a larger impact on job creation with Andorran talent. ” The director of ACTUA added that “given the success of this first presence, we hope to return next year to this congress,” which is now considered the most important in the world in its specific sector.
During the three-day congress, Andorra’s presence was relevant in many ways. During his conference “Towards entrepreneurial, high-performance, Livable cities”, Kent Larson, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), addressed the expert attendees focusing mainly on the work being developed by his research group in Andorra, and gave further details on many tested projects in the country such as CityScope and the Persuasive Electric Vehicle (PEV).
The Government of Andorra, was also involved in the congress. The Secretary of State for Economic Diversification, Josep Maria Missé, explained how Andorra is creating a framework for the development of innovation projects.
Missé said “we believe that the concept ‘lab’ links well with the start-up companies expectations, since we are providing them with a unique ecosystem allowing them to develop projects”. He also stressed “we can offer the best conditions thanks to the characteristics of our country. ” With regards to the collaboration with the MIT on Big Data, Missé is convinced that “we must improve both our citizens’ quality of life and the experiences of our visitors.”
Many authorities also visited our stand, such as the Ambassador of Finland to Spain, Roberto Tanzi-Albi, the US consul general in Barcelona, Marcos Mandojana, and the President of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Carles Puigdemont.