The Ibero-American Business Council and FIJE participate in the CEU Forum “Spain-LATAM: a future full of opportunities”

Event organized by the San Pablo CEU University

Narciso Casado and Antonio Magraner analyzed, among other points, the new areas of opportunity and international trade, and the role of Spain in LATAM.

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The permanent secretary of the Ibero-American Business Council-CEIB and general director of CEOE International, Married Narcissus and the vice president of the Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs Associations-CEAJE and general secretary of the Ibero-American Federation of Young Entrepreneurs-SET, Antonio Magraner, they intervened in the Forum “Spain-LATAM: a future full of opportunities”, organized by the San Pablo CEU University. During the course of the day, among other issues, the transitions to democracy in Latin America, the power of communication and new forms of information, and the future of Smart Cities and their business opportunities were analyzed.

 

 

Narciso Casado, Antonio Magraner and the president of the Forum of Presidents, founder of MACA Consultores, leader of Colombia Cientifica, professor, academic and member of Boards of Directors, participated in the first session of the afternoon, under the motto “New regions of growth and development. New areas of opportunity and international trade. The role of Spain in LATAM/LAC”, and moderated by the general director of MESIAS-Intelligence of Marca España and professor of the Department of Business Economics at the San Pablo CEU University, José María Cubillo.

 

Regional integration, collaboration, training and talent retention

 

The permanent secretary of CEIB and general director of CEOE International, Married Narcissus, insisted that the private sector has and will have a leading role in the recovery of Latin America. After the great impact that the Covid-19 pandemic has had, the work of the business sector as a catalyst for change is imperative. “Values ​​such as sustainable development, digitalization and innovation are more important than ever, as is their implementation through disruptive technologies,” he emphasized. Furthermore, he advocated for public-private collaboration as the most efficient way to advance the design and planning of public policies, regulatory frameworks and regulations. On the other hand, he considered training essential, as well as promoting initiatives that guarantee equal opportunities in this area, facilitating technological skills adapted to the needs of the business world, and making a clear commitment to retaining talent, especially among young people.

 

In this sense, the vice president of CEAJE and general secretary of FIJE, Antonio Magraner, stressed that Ibero-America is not a future but a reality full of opportunities. He also agreed with Casado by pointing out that “it is the region with the highest percentage of young people, and also the most prepared generation in history, with great resilience and desire for entrepreneurship.” The problem, he noted, is that it is also the region in which the most talent is destroyed, either because they are not allowed to develop it in optimal conditions or because it escapes, moving to other regions. For this reason, he highlighted, it is necessary to promote and generate a favorable ecosystem to create the initial seed that allows entrepreneurship and talent to develop.

 

As regards Spain, Casado highlighted the determining role that our country has always had in the internationalization process in the Ibero-American region. Process that began more than 30 years ago, and that stands out for the permanence vocation of its companies that, unlike the investment and export models From other countries, “Spanish companies that establish themselves become local and their presence is not based on a model, but on an adaptation.” Our country also plays, according to Casado, a very relevant role in the region, as a promoter of a business structure, structured through the membership of 24 Ibero-American business organizations to the Council of Ibero-American Businessmen-CEIB, which has its Permanent Secretariat in CEOE and also belongs to the International Organization of Employers-IOE.

 

What are employers asking for in the post-Covid era?

 

Businessmen and their representative organizations speak of a temporary crisis that cannot become structural, indicated the permanent secretary of CEIB. From companies, he added, it is considered essential not to reform for the sake of reform, but to preserve the reforms that work and improve them if possible; have a medium and long-term vision to make the necessary investments; ensure that companies are not only sustainable but also resilient; invest in social energy and green energy; bet on public-private collaboration, productivity and reindustrialization; promotes innovation and digitalization; and maintain budget stability. To make this possible, Casado insisted, equal opportunities and inclusive growth must be ensured through training and education.

 

The general secretary of FIJE, Antonio Magraner stressed that public-private alliances are the present and the future of Ibero-America, and it must be “a strong nation that has strong entrepreneurs and states.” He also sent a message of optimism by ensuring that “we are all in the same boat and we must row in the same direction, trusting both countries and businessmen.”

 

This same idea was taken up by the president of the Forum of Presidents, founder of MACA Consultores and leader of Colombia Cientifica, Victor Hugo Malagón, who extolled the concept of trust in business performance. In this sense, he mentioned that there are two types of challenges: technical ones, which can be solved through tools, instruments or technological infrastructure; and the adaptive or cultural ones, which consist of changing people's habits, behaviors and convictions. And it is precisely for this last type of challenge, he indicated, that requires trust when determining the creation or destruction of value. This trust, as he reported, is generated through sustainability, social responsibility, long-term thinking and protecting and caring for the quality of information. Malagón insisted, finally, on the importance of dialogue and consensus for digital transformation, betting on the “triple helix”, that is, the articulation between the State, company and university, thus promoting collective and collaborative leadership.

 

The permanent secretary of CEIB, Married NarcissusFinally, he referred to a series of concepts that perfectly define the business world and that begin with “E”: Strategy and Excellence; the State, indispensable and guarantor of Stability; and Equity, which entails justice and encourages giving each person what they deserve, and there is no better guarantee of this than by making Employment possible. Efficiency, Effectiveness and Effectiveness; Evaluation, which is what companies continually do; Education; Spirit; Stability; Equipment; Structure or infrastructure, especially human; Ecology and, above all, Hope in the future of Ibero-America, he concluded.