More than 300 business ecosystem leaders gather to discuss competitiveness

Some 350 leaders from the private sector (industrialists, business consultants and entrepreneurs), along with the public and academic sectors, took part on Tuesday in a working session organized by the Agencia Competitividad Córdoba and ProCórdoba, the province's trade and investment agency. The goal was to provide tools and share organizational best practices to tackle the climate-energy, technological-digital and demographic-cultural transitions the world is going through.

The event featured a talk by international business consultant, analyst and developer Marcelo Elizondo, and a panel of multinational companies based in Córdoba that shared projects and best practices for navigating global transitions. The panel included Lucía Ploper, sustainability manager and executive director of Fundación Renault Argentina; Juan Santiago, CEO of Santex and Tecnología con Propósito, co-founder of Incutex and partner at Kalei Ventures; and Manuel Ron, president and co-founder of Bio4. The event was moderated by Gisela Veritier, Executive Director of ICDA at the Universidad Católica de Córdoba.

The province was represented by Coordination Minister Silvina Rivero; Agriculture and Livestock Minister Sergio Busso; Science and Technology Minister Pablo De Chiara; Agencia Competitividad Córdoba President Fernando Sibilla; ProCórdoba President Jorge Marcotegui; and the Secretary of New Technologies and the Knowledge Economy, Federico Sedevich.

"Events like this, and the initiatives and programs the Agencia Competitividad Córdoba has delivered in a short time to transform the productive base, develop indicators and drive cluster policy, are possible because in our province we can work with every sector. That is something that sets us apart in Córdoba," said Minister Silvina Rivero.

"Along these lines, we have deepened ties with international organizations such as the OECD, ECLAC, the Basque Agency for Development Cooperation and ACCIÓ, the Catalan agency for business competitiveness. And recently UCLG, an organization that brings together cities and local governments worldwide, named Córdoba, with the Agencia Competitividad as its focal point, one of its 14 hubs worldwide, positioning us as a reference for the entire Ibero-American region," she said.

In this context, highlighting the importance of collaboration and the role of subnational governments in fostering regional competitiveness, Fernando Sibilla noted that "tackling the agendas of the future means redoubling our efforts to keep strengthening, through joint work, a sector with as strong a can-do culture as Córdoba's private sector. By helping generate wealth, added value and quality jobs, we will stay on the path of continuous development".

Along the same lines, Marcelo Elizondo, an international business specialist, argued that today's conditions for competitiveness are global and more demanding. "Today we live in a world where 'intangibles' are starting to create value; people need to develop new skills, organizations must adopt more flexible, modern and dynamic models, and technology keeps reshaping the landscape, bringing new demands but also many opportunities," he said, while outlining keys for Córdoba companies to become more competitive.

Finally, the Agencia Competitividad signed two agreements. The first, with the Fundación Empresaria para la Calidad y la Excelencia (FUNDECE), sets up a pilot productive transformation program in which anchor companies mentor others in their value chain and help them innovate.

The second agreement, with Japan's Association for Overseas Technical Cooperation and Sustainable Partnerships (AOTS), gives Córdoba companies access to scholarships in Japan, encouraging exchange with international experts and the transfer of Lean know-how.