When I arrived in the Algarve, almost 20 years ago, the light, when leaving the airport, was of a clarity that I had never seen in other regions I had already visited.
In Milan, it was very hot, with the tar melting, and here in the Algarve it was also very hot: 28º. But there was a breeze that cooled the face, a smell of fresh air. Anyway, a spectacle!
Hospitable people, willing to help, explain, guide, accompany and have a few drinks together, as if we've known each other for 20 years. A polite and respectful people with others – I had never seen so much respect for pedestrians as here.
So I chose to live here, where the quality of life is high, there is a lot to do, there is a lot to learn and there is a lot to give.
I was thinking about possible analogies between the period we lived in the Algarve and the economic growth of the golden years of the Italian economy. For example, in a model that has facilitated growth, as well as in other models, not typical of Italy: clusters + technological innovation.
The Italian economic reality, especially in the 80s and 90s, had as an element that facilitated growth the phenomenon of industrial districts – or as Michael Porter called them, years later, the clusters.
In 2003, I had already been interested in the subject and published an article on this topic in a Portuguese magazine, which I quote in part:
"The origin of the definition of cluster it is found, for the first time, in Marshall's industrial economic theory, in the 1892th century (XNUMX), when that author defined “industrial districts” as “the existence in the same area of a high number of small producers or few large companies… and with a division of labor…».
Then, it was used again in the early seventies by A. Beccatini (1979), to analyze the Italian regions, where there is a high concentration of companies in the same sector, either vertically or horizontally in the value chain.
We talk about cluster of technological innovation, when the innovation factor characterizes the companies present in this area. You clusters technological innovation produce wealth in the countries where they are located.
The concept of innovation was initially also used by J. Schumpeter (1967), but it was between the seventies and eighties that the ideas were developed.
Os clusters Technological are then areas where new products or new production processes are launched and where the technological or information technology component, in some cases, is important and speeds up the process.
The key elements for the development of clusters of innovation have been identified some time ago (for example, for consultants like McKinsey, in a 1996 study):
>Availability of public funding;
>Existence of new talents;
> Presence of Venture Capitalist
>Intervention of large innovative companies"
After researching this topic a few years ago, I believed that these conditions could also materialize in this sunny and hospitable region, for the good of the Algarve, its population and our families.
Time passed and the crisis came, which slowed down several projects and initiatives, but did not extinguish them. They hibernated, but like this hot region, they could not remain in a lethargic state forever.
Thus, in the last 3/4 years, Generation Y, the Millennials, arrived to reactivate and, in fact, put these conditions into practice, through new aggregations and forms of collaboration between companies in the information technology sector.
In order to have an organic and harmonious growth of the ecosystem, there is also a need to mobilize various actors: local (public and private), external and create a virtuous circle that allows for sustained growth, based on knowledge.
The investment in knowledge and innovation has allowed that also in countries like China, formerly a low-cost factory in the world, today there is a reality of innovative products with a high technological component. Areas like Shenzhen City already compete with the biggest clusters worldwide.
Thus, today, in the Algarve, as in the whole country, there is a dynamism and an enthusiasm to do something for the region and Portugal to grow, which continues to gain relevance on the international stage, linked to the generational change, which brought a different vision and a willingness to change in various sectors of the economy.
Thus, the emergence of clusters technological, seems to me, today, much closer and easier to implement. Currently, we are talking about Tech Hubs, which, in fact, defines a quasi-cluster, focused on the area of technologies.
The realization of this Tech Hubs is, of course, based on the elements identified above.
But, in my opinion, there is a differentiating element, which is not always found in other Tech Hubs: the quality of life. This is a really peculiar competitive advantage of the Algarve, which contributes significantly to attracting elements favorable to growth and diversification, as well as to creating an economic reality in the region that breaks the seasonality of the tourist industry.
All of this without forgetting the importance of population fixation in the region, also in order to reverse the problem of demographic decline.
It is also in this quality of life and in the associated immaterial and material factors that we have to bet, to promote the region, as well, as a business destination, encouraging the installation of digital nomads in the region, the return of elements of the diaspora and third parties economic entities. I would say that this is the competitive advantage of the territory that is most difficult to replicate and that best distinguishes it.
In the almost-clusters or Tech Hubs, we have many of the elements that economic research identifies: University, Talents, Entrepreneurship, Capitals. But there are competitive advantages that only some Hubs can be proud to have, such as the Algarve.
Writing differently, I adapt the happy slogan of the University of Algarve: “Working where it's good to live!”.
The remaining actors, which are still missing, will follow, with the careful preparatory work on the side of the University, local authorities and other public actors, involving civil society in this process.
I believe that the region is ready to face other paths, complement the existing industry and that… a new era has begun…
Who is Francesco Berrettini
Born in Rome, graduated in Economics, with a biennial MBA full time in business management from the Bocconi University of Milan.
With over six years of experience as an analyst in due diligenceand, for an Italian investment bank with industry analyst.
Strategy Consultant, for four years in an international consultancy created for professors at Bocconi University, with offices in USA, Europe, Eastern Europe and China; with European and International private and public clients. He gained experience in several transnational projects for the European Union, such as Project Manager.
He has lived in Portugal since 1999, and assumed the position of general director at Inesting from 2001 to 2018 and, later, at Breef.me, Inesting Training and Inesting Brasil, with offices in Algarve, Lisbon and São Paulo.
Won the Innovative Company award by ANJE. Since 2016, the Spanish group Digital Group enters the capital, with offices also in Madrid, Barcelona and Mexico City.
He leaves the Digital Group at the beginning of 2018 and, since November, has been the executive director of Algarve STP, Algarve Science and Technology Park.
Since 2014, he has been the Honorary Consul of Italy in the Algarve. Mentor for various support institutions for startups, among others Helthcare City, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa, in the past, Beta I, NERE, etc.
In addition to the positions held, he was also an assistant in the subjects of Marketing and Management in Lisbon (ISLA, now European, and in the Business School of Católica do Porto) and in Algarve, for 12 years, at INUAF. He is frequently invited as a speaker at national and international lectures on digital topics.
Digital Marketing Consultant, advisor of companies in operations of Venture Capital ou Business Angels.
Note 1: the photo by Francesco Berrettini is by Dulcineia Dias
Note 2: article published under the protocol between the Sul Informação and the Algarve Delegation of the Order of Economists
Comments