The objective of the stay of these entrepreneurs is to share among their community the advantages of the archipelago as a generator of meetings of interest between remote workers, which can be exported anywhere thanks to the technological infrastructures of the islands.
“The presence of the Female Startup Leaders represents strong support for the strategy we have undertaken to position the Canary Islands as an ideal place to work remotely,” says Yaiza Castilla.
The Canary Islands have become the office of seven Spanish executives who will be in charge of experiencing and communicating their stay on the islands as an ideal destination for remote work. From October 25 to 31, seven women CEOs of startups, from different cities in Spain, have established their base of operations in the archipelago, in an initiative organized by Turismo de Canarias. The objective of their stay is the creation of synergies between this group of entrepreneurs sharing experiences, projects and creating debates specific to their sector, while validating the advantages of the Canary Islands as a generator of meetings of interest that can be shared and exported to any place thanks to the high technological capabilities and infrastructure of the islands.
The seven CEOs are Luz Rello, from Change Dyslexia; Andrea Barber, from RatedPower; Muriel Bourgeois, from MiCuento; Claudia de la Riva, from Nannyfy; Laura Lozano, from Chargy; Esther Molina, from WILDCom; and Silvia Rivela, from Cohesionist. During their stay in the archipelago, they have organized various training sessions focused on the global concept of remote working, a work formula that, due to the pandemic, has accelerated its natural evolution by 10 years.
“The presence of the Female Startup Leaders to work remotely for a week in the Canary Islands is very relevant for our destination, as it represents a validation of the advantages that the archipelago presents for the offshore work of professionals from all markets,” explains the Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce of the Government of the Canary Islands, Yaiza Castilla. Teleworking from the archipelago will allow them to “know our destination first-hand, from its climate, its landscape diversity, its gastronomy, its culture and its potential for tourist activities or technological facilities and for ecosystems of remote workers,” adds the counselor.
Furthermore, Castilla highlights the fact that they are young women and leaders in the business field, "which represents strong support for the Canary Islands tourism brand and for the strategy that Turismo de Canarias has undertaken to turn the archipelago into a space “ideal for remote workers.”
The Canary Islands is the region that has grown the most in attracting technological talent and that is most in tune with the business format of startups, which can better take advantage of digitalization and the tools of remote work.
A recent study by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicates that the archipelago is the autonomous community that has evolved the most in this sector, with a growth in human capital dedicated to technological sectors of 88% since 2012. The technological infrastructures of the islands, the Growing technological talent in universities, tax incentives, quality of life and the constantly growing remote worker ecosystem cause large companies to set up their headquarters on the islands. This is the case, for example, of Lufthansa and Volkswagen, which offer IT support from the Canary Islands, or of Atos, which is providing service from the archipelago to large companies such as Disney, Airbus, the London subway or the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. recently celebrated.
One of the Female Startup Leaders teleworking.
“The Canary Islands not only offers a potential framework for technological talent, but is positioning itself as one of the leading destinations for remote workers in any productive sector since it balances personal well-being with professional well-being,” comments Esther Molina, CEO of WILDcom. .
“We have chosen the Canary Islands to telework because of its connectivity, its proximity to the peninsula and its variety of leisure activities in spectacular landscapes, a crucial element to continue inspiring us in our day-to-day work,” explains Silvia Rivela, CEO. by Cohesionist.
The success of women in startups
According to the Business Consulting Group article “Why Women-Owned Startups Are a Better Bet” published in June 2018, companies founded by women generate 10% more accumulated income in a period of 5 years, ($730.000) than those founded by men ($662.000), making women-owned businesses better investments for investing sponsors in both absolute value and return per dollar invested.
The objective of the Female Startup Leaders, who are carrying out their first team building as a community in the Canary Islands, is to focus on the importance of disseminating and making visible the projects of other entrepreneurs in the national territory. They represent the figure of the entrepreneurial woman in Spain's startup ecosystem, the scenario contemplated after the coronavirus crisis and the accelerated reinvention of thousands of professional profiles, driven by the socio-health situation.
The Canary Islands, a growing technological hub
In 2020, the archipelago began working to take advantage of the opportunity to also be a leader in a booming tourism segment strongly linked to the professional field, remote working. Just a year ago, the percentage of people who had considered teleworking was 30%, while in 2021 this interest has increased to 65%.
An increase in numbers of which the Canary Islands, at the forefront of this trend, have been a proactive agent. At the beginning of the year, Turismo de Canaria launched the campaign 'The office with the best climate in the world' and announced a plan worth 500.000 euros to attract some 30.000 professionals over a decade to develop projects lasting between one and three months. A period that last May was advanced to 5 years due to the increase in the arrival of this type of travelers, which has increased by 10% monthly since then given that many companies have changed the formula of in-person work for a flexible and deferred thanks to an increase in the use of technology.
Now, the Department of Tourism redoubles its bet. “Next year we are going to allocate another 500.000 euros to the category of remote workers, a million euros in total from 2021 that will serve to strengthen the Canary Islands destination as 'The office with the best climate in the world',” he explains. Yaiza Castilla.
There are numerous attributes that place the archipelago as a leading destination for those who carry out their work remotely: the status of an Atlantic hub with extremely high connectivity, with better broadband than the European average, its good climate all year round, the extraordinary nature and diversity of islands, landscapes and activities that it enjoys, the proximity to Europe and the very high number of connections, as well as the security of the destination and its cities and towns with a vibrant atmosphere, in addition to the compatibility of work hours with America, Europe and much of the world. In fact, the Nomad List-Best places to live for a Digital Nomad, the bible for teleworkers, regularly places both Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife in the top ten.