The Government of the Canary Islands and the chambers of commerce of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura have signed an agreement to support cultural companies. The signing of this agreement was attended by the Minister of Culture, Inés Rojas, and the presidents of the chambers of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, José Torres and Antonio Rodríguez, respectively, together with the general director of the Cameral Institute Foundation for the Creation and Development of Companies, INCYDE Foundation, Javier Collado.
Through this agreement, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura will launch support programs for the creation and consolidation of cultural and creative companies and will establish a line of work in order to promote the creation of companies and the improvement of business management, linked to training and advice in the field of cultural industries.
This agreement, whose development will be from January 2014, affects one of the lines of work marked by the Canary Islands Culture Strategy, in the training, technification and qualification of the sector, promoting "the improvement of business profitability, the adaptation of professionals to the new labor demands derived from innovation, as well as training in the new business challenges", according to the Chamber of Commerce of Lanzarote through a statement.
The Minister of Culture has defended the importance that training currently has in the field of cultural enterprise. "We must promote the development of new technologies in cultural production, acquire skills and tools to define objectives, which help us face the challenges," said Rojas.
"Achieving the competence to manage projects capable of converging with other economic sectors and generating more resources is now more necessary than ever to understand the principles of the cultural market in today's society. We must combine in a balanced way criteria of social and economic profitability respecting the uniqueness of the cultural fact, sustainability and equal opportunities," the Minister defended.
Invest in culture
In this line, both for the presidents of the chambers of commerce and for Javier Collado, the agreement "will mean the launch of these programs, which will allow Canarian entrepreneurs to materialize their business idea." "From the chambers of commerce we are very clear that in times of crisis it is essential to invest in culture and support companies that are committed to it. Over the last few years, our institutions have worked on the development of initiatives such as this one," he said.
This training and advice aims to support and guide entrepreneurs who want to create their own company, enhance its profitability, and even evaluate other alternatives for expanding their projects, in the face of new business challenges, that allow them to develop their full potential. Each of the programs offers more than 250 hours of free training, guidance and consulting aimed at detecting new business opportunities both inside and outside the island borders.
It will be taught by "highly qualified" specialists who will advise each of the participants individually on the opportunities in their respective sector of activity as well as in the development of a business plan. It will also focus on the management of the business instruments necessary to design and direct cultural projects with defined strategic objectives.
The Program for the Creation and Consolidation of Cultural and Creative Companies is aimed at entrepreneurs who have a defined project as well as businessmen in the sector who want to enhance the profitability of their business and even evaluate other alternatives for expansion.
