The Spanish institution works with Indian organisations on several bilateral projects
According to the Spanish Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology Biotech (CDTI), agriculture, green technologies (water, environment) and smart cities are the sectors in which innovative Spanish and Indian companies collaborate the most.
The centre, part of the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, was the first stop on the visit of the 2019 Indian Leaders Programme. Luis González Souto, Head of Technological Cooperation; and Ismael Barco, from the Department of Tech Companies Capitalisation, welcomed the Indian experts and explained how CDTI works.
During its more than 40 years of history, CDTI “has benefited over 13,000 companies and implemented funding programmes worth 25.2 billion euros,” said Luis González Souto. The centre also promotes “international cooperation and innovation programmes through R&D projects” with a long list of countries that includes India.
CDTI is involved in the India & Spain Innovating Program (ISIP), which has led to agreements for the development of joint projects in the aforementioned areas. There are regular calls for the submission of projects with Indian institutions such as the Global Innovation & Technology Alliance (GITA) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Indian Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
CDTI’s Head of Technological Cooperation stated that the goal is to “create R&D projects involving companies from the two countries” with one essential requirement: they need to be “market-oriented” projects.
According to Ismael Barco, this is because “there is a good level of basic research in Spain, but transforming it into marketable products and services has been problematic.” Spanish tech companies have difficulty accessing foreign markets, and there are few success stories that put Spain on the map of international investors. “Spanish venture capital is growing, but it needs support,” he said, and that is where Neotec and Neotec Capital Riesgo, CDTI’s investment tools, come into play.
The Leaders learned about several CDTI programmes, both international and domestic, and about the funding mechanisms and the opportunities CDTI offers through bilateral programmes for Indian venture capital companies in Spain. The participants took an interest in CDTI’s INNVIERTE programme, which aims to promote business innovation through the support of venture capital investment in tech and innovative companies, while they also discussed the possibility of holding bilateral funding exchanges. “This is something we need to explore together,” they said.
