Minister Silvio Schembri attends the launch of the European Start-up Nation Alliance (ESNA) in Lisbon, Portugal during the Web Summit
Upon invitation of the Portuguese government, Minister for the Economy and Industry Silvio Schembri attended the launch of the European Start-up Nation Alliance (ESNA) in Lisbon, Portugal. This alliance has been established following a declaration signed on the EU Digital Day back in March. Malta along with another 25 EU member states and Iceland have agreed to establish an alliance which seeks to encourage the nurturing of a friendly environment for start-ups and entrepreneurs to grow within the European Union. The declaration also outlines a list of eight best practices which every signatory will need to implement.
These best practices include:
• Fast start-up creation and smooth market entry.
• Attracting and retaining talent.
• Access to finance.
• Social inclusion and diversity
• Digital first.
The establishment of such an environment is central to the EU’s transition into a sustainable, resilient, open and digital economy, and unleashes the tremendous innovation and growth potential of its start-ups.
During his intervention, Minister Schembri outlined that Malta is committed to implementing these best practices and the promotion of an entrepreneurial environment, as start-ups and scale-ups are key to Europe’s future economy and society.
The Minister also commended the work undertaken by Malta’s economic development agency Malta Enterprise through its ‘Start in Malta’ initiative, which contributes to the supercharging of the Maltese start-up ecosystem, firmly establishing it as the hotbed of several more start-up success stories. Minister Schembri also encouraged other member states to promote and implement tech standards and encouraged them to delve into the work carried out by the Malta Digital Innovation Authority. Earlier this year, the Authority established a technological sandbox aimed at guiding start-ups and SMEs to build a trustworthy tech arrangement in line with international tech standards.
Minister Schembri concluded his intervention by lauding Portugal and the EU Commission on the establishment of this alliance as, by coordinating efforts, more companies and entrepreneurs can flourish in the European Union.
Following the meeting, Minister Schembri attended the Web Summit to officially launch the alliance in the presence of several tech companies and start-ups which have travelled to Portugal to attend this event.
Source: Office of the Prime Minister