Representatives of Malta Enterprise and the Department of Contracts (Ministry of Finance) visited Madrid to participate in a number of fact-finding and capacity visits, and international innovative public procurement workshop, as part of the Innova Foster project. 

The European project is co-funded by the Interreg programme and focuses on improving local policies for entrepreneurs and startups through the exchange of experiences, as well as transfer of good practices between policymakers from seven member states on SME innovation and competitiveness.  

The Maltese delegation visited the Spanish capital to get first-hand information about the practices developed in support of the Madrid entrepreneurial ecosystem. The agenda included a visit to successful Spanish startups, Madrid City Council’s public spaces for entrepreneurs, the Madrid Google Campus, as well as startup accelerator’s and high-tech incubators.

Malta Enterprise will study the innovative models and good practices learned

The Maltese delegation also participated in an international workshop on innovative public procurement, which was addressed by the Madrid City Council, the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities and various international experts.

As a result of the project, Malta Enterprise will study the innovative models and good practices learned from these project exchanges and draft a local action plan with a number of proposals, aiming to improve the local startup ecosystem. 

The Innova Foster project partners are: INCYDE Foundation (Spain), Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council (UK), Cork City Council (Ireland), Torun Regional Development Agency (Poland), Malta Enterprise (Malta), Tartu City Government (Estonia) and the Scientific Research Centre of Bistra Ptuj (Slovenia).