La Junta inaugura centro de emprendimiento digital Smart Mobility en Alhaurín de la Torre

The Minister of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue, and Administrative Simplification, Antonio Sanz, inaugurated the Smart Mobility digital entrepreneurship center for mobility and smart vehicles in collaboration with the Mayor of Alhaurín de la Torre (Málaga), Joaquín Villanova, within the framework of the Misión Project. This center will facilitate the testing and validation of digital solutions applied to public transport, electric mobility, micromobility, and infrastructure optimization.

There are already 19 entrepreneurship projects and startups that have applied to be part of the program at the Alhaurín center, and seven of them have been selected and incorporated based on criteria such as innovation, definition, and differentiation of their proposals compared to other market alternatives. Entrepreneurs have until September 8th to submit their projects, as the call is still open.

The Smart Mobility Center in Alhaurín is located in the Smart Building CSI-IDEA and, as explained by the Minister, it is launched thanks to an investment of 1.4 million euros, co-financed with MRR funds, supplemented by an order of grants or incentives totaling two million for the four Misión Project centers in Andalusia.

Antonio Sanz emphasized that the goal of the Andalusian Government is «to position Andalusia as a leader in digital transformation and make the community a benchmark in innovation and digital entrepreneurship.» «A few years ago, no one would have believed it, but the technology sector is becoming the third economic engine of Andalusia, and Málaga is the third Spanish province with the highest demand for tech jobs, according to data from the Telefónica Foundation’s Employment Map,» the Minister stressed. «In short, we are assisting companies, creating jobs, looking to the future, and improving people’s lives through the application of new technologies,» he concluded.

Additionally, this new center in Alhaurín is linked to the Aeroportuaria City of Alhaurín de la Torre, a space promoted by the City Council with the support of the Andalusian Government. Antonio Sanz therefore expressed his gratitude to the municipality «for their collaboration as a territorial agent whose basic formula is to connect digital entrepreneurship with the economic reality of the territories.»

The center will offer a collaborative workspace, aiming to promote collaboration among entrepreneurs, providing access to mentoring and training from experts in specialized sectors, including high-performance consultancy services.

Furthermore, they will have the appropriate technical infrastructure and development tools to test and validate innovative ideas, as it boasts cutting-edge technological equipment specialized in the mobility sector, such as urban sensors for measuring air quality, energy consumption, or ultrasonics, IoT (Internet of Things) development kits, and virtual reality glasses, among others. It will also promote the use of artificial intelligence to enhance the flow and circulation of both cars and goods vehicles.

Among this equipment, the Vodafone STEP Platform stands out, serving the Misión Project for simulating and analyzing mobility scenarios. A project developed in the Vodafone Innovation Hub inaugurated in Málaga in September 2023.

Antonio Sanz emphasized that «in this way, this company becomes a strategic partner and a truly differential value of this Misión center, as it allows us to incorporate advanced capabilities in IoT, cloud, and cybersecurity into the project, facilitating the development of innovative solutions and real use cases in the urban environment.»

The Vodafone Málaga Hub team also offers training and support to Misión to ensure that startups master the STEP platform environment and develop their solutions there.

83 initiatives so far in Misión, with an investment of 12 million euros

Misión is the first regional public project that turns entrepreneurship support into a sectoral strategy, connecting talent, digital solutions, and specific economic challenges. «It reflects, ultimately, the commitment of the Andalusian Government to the promotion of digital entrepreneurship, supporting entrepreneurs and startups in driving their projects forward and assisting SMEs in their digital transformation process to strengthen the region’s technological ecosystem,» the Minister emphasized.

The Alhaurín de la Torre center is the second Misión Project center in operation. The first, specialized in the agrotech sector, was inaugurated in El Ejido, and in the coming weeks, centers dedicated to port logistics in Puerto de Algeciras and specialized in gaming and digital content creation in Jaén will be opened.

Currently, there are 83 entrepreneurship projects and startups that have applied to join the acceleration program offered by the Misión Project throughout Andalusia. Of these, 28 have already been selected for inclusion, with eight for the El Ejido center, seven for Jaén, six for Algeciras, and seven projects for the Smart Mobility center in Alhaurín. With co-financing from MRR funds, the Andalusian Government will invest 12 million euros in creating the four planned nodes, including the line of grants or incentives that complements it.

These grants or incentives for startups and SMEs have two aspects. The first line is aimed at startups for developing digital solutions. The second line targets small and medium-sized companies for implementing digital solutions developed by startups, promoting their collaboration. The total budget for these grants will exceed two million euros.

Antonio Sanz highlighted that «the Andalusian Government’s commitment to digital entrepreneurship is absolutely unquestionable, and we continue to take steps towards a much more diversified economy, an economy that is no longer just agriculture and tourism.»

At the event, the Minister of the Presidency was accompanied by the Vice Minister of the Presidency, Interior, Social Dialogue, and Administrative Simplification, Tomás Burgos; the Government Delegate of the Andalusian Government in Málaga, Patricia Navarro; the General Manager of the Andalusian Digital Agency, Raúl Jiménez; and the General Manager of Sandetel, Sergio Gómez.