Europe boosts entrepreneurial talent through its new strategy for startups and scaleups
The European Commission has just launched an ambitious strategy aimed at making the Union a true breeding ground for innovative companies capable of competing on a global scale. It talks about talent, investment, removing barriers, and fostering an ecosystem where a startup can grow without having to go abroad.
At BFFood, we not only see this strategy as good news, but we also see in it the reflection of the principles we’ve been putting into practice for years from Galicia, through our model of open innovation and public-private collaboration in the agri-food sector. Because this new strategy confirms something of great importance: creating the right conditions for innovative projects to take root and grow requires vision, action, and a strong commitment.
EUROPE’S COMMITMENT
The EU’s new strategy, titled “Open for Startups & Scaleups”, proposes a paradigm shift: from a Europe where startups are created to a Europe where startups grow. The objective is clear: to make the European Union a global leader in the creation and scaling of tech and innovative companies. To achieve this, the strategy is structured around five key areas:
Funding that matches ambition
Many European startups fail to scale simply due to lack of capital. That’s why the EU is reinforcing the European Innovation Council, creating the Scaleup Europe Fund, and launching the Innovation Investment Pact, a framework to mobilize public and private resources to provide stability and traction to projects with global potential.
A favorable regulatory environment
Simplifying procedures, reducing bureaucracy, and creating tools like the European Business Wallet will make starting and managing a business in Europe as agile as in other markets. This also includes the launch of a “28th regime,” a unified, simpler, and more efficient European regulatory framework.
Market and adoption: from lab to market
The strategy aims to accelerate the market uptake of innovations through the Lab-to-Unicorn initiative and by promoting innovative public procurement. Europe wants research and entrepreneurial talent to translate into real products, solid companies, and solutions that improve people’s lives.
Attracting and retaining global talent
Europe is launching the Blue Carpet initiative to ease the entry and integration of founders, researchers, and highly skilled tech profiles. It will also strengthen educational and career pathways within the EU to retain local talent.
Infrastructure and support networks
The development of an Access Charter will help ensure that startups have access to the infrastructure, services, and networks they need at every stage of their growth, from early prototypes to international expansion.
Together, this is a strategy that aims to transform the European ecosystem into a more competitive, connected, and resilient space—one capable of retaining value, jobs, and technology within its territory.
IN GALICIA, WE’RE ALREADY ON THAT PATH
At the Galicia Food Cluster, through the Business Factory Food (BFFood), we’ve been walking that path for years, working according to the principles now reflected in the EU strategy. At BFFood, we accelerate, consolidate, and support innovative entrepreneurship in the food sector with concrete tools: access to funding, sector-specific mentoring, strategic training, support for internationalization, connection with anchor companies, and real market opportunities.
We do so with a vertical vision—focused on the food sector—but with a transversal and European approach. We believe in the sustainable growth of projects and contribute to strengthening an innovation ecosystem that creates employment, technology, and economic and social value.
That Europe is now moving forward on this path is excellent news for our ecosystem, for Galicia, and for the projects that place their trust in BFFood. It validates a way of working that enables us to be part of a stronger, more innovative, and more cohesive Europe.
