MARISA ARRIOLA RECEIVES THE GOLD MEDAL OF GIPUZKOA FOR HER CONTRIBUTION TO THE PROMOTION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND HER SOCIAL COMMITMENT

Marisa Arriola Nieto has received today, from the General Deputy, Eider Mendoza, the Gold Medal of Gipuzkoa, for her “extensive and committed contribution” in the task of promoting entrepreneurship in the territory, as well as her work “in favor of the quality of life and welfare of people suffering from cancer”. “You have offered roots and wings to many, many people. And, with this, inspiration and hope for all the people who understand Gipuzkoa as a responsible society that takes care of the integral welfare of all people,” said the general deputy.

Before a large representation of the economic, social and academic world of Gipuzkoa, the general deputy highlighted the work of Marisa Arriola at the head of BIC Gipuzkoa, from which she has contributed “to the gestation, deployment and consolidation of more than 500 companies, projects with an important technological component and high added value”. “I can think of few missions as important and decisive for the future of a community as the work of supporting entrepreneurs, those who pursue the dream of launching and growing a business. Creating a business, not only as a means of livelihood for oneself, but also as a tool to generate quality employment and well-being, to offer products and services that contribute to the progress and quality of life of society,” she said.

In this task, in the words of the deputy general, BIC Gipuzkoa has become “central gear” of the entrepreneurial ecosystem of the territory, which gives “dynamism” to our economy and is allowing it to position itself “increasingly in future sectors such as biosciences, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, the silver economy, quantum technologies and sustainable mobility”. In all the initiatives aimed at strengthening this ecosystem, Arriola's participation has been “decisive and fundamental”, always defending the interests of entrepreneurs and favoring the conditions to give birth to and attract new business projects.

“When we talk about promoting entrepreneurship, we talk about generating a context that helps people, about trusting and believing in the innovative potential of people”, reflected Mendoza, who has committed to continue taking ‘courageous steps’ in favor of entrepreneurs. “At the crossroads of the economy in Europe, we want our companies to continue to contribute to the competitiveness and innovation of European industry, we want to be a pioneer in this transformation,” he added, for which, in his opinion, it is necessary to continue activating ‘the key’ of entrepreneurship, as a way to ‘strengthen the dynamism and development of emerging sectors’ within the Gipuzkoa industry.

Equality and social commitment

“Your career and your social commitment also leave their mark,” Mendoza pointed out, both in ‘promoting equality’ in the economic sphere and ‘in the fight against cancer, warning us of the need to advance in awareness and research, offering a handhold to those who find themselves in this difficult situation; emphasizing the need to care for and protect people,’ the general deputy added, referring to her work within the Association against Cancer.

“Let's continue working in collaboration to continue rooting the values of entrepreneurship and solidarity as fundamental values of our community. So that, as a society, we can take flight in this world that is changing at breakneck speed,” concluded the deputy general.

We stand out in Europe “in scientific and technological entrepreneurship”.

Marisa Arriola received the Gold Medal with words of gratitude, as it is “a great honor and an enormous responsibility”, a recognition that she wanted to extend to the BIC Gipuzkoa team and the key people who have accompanied her in her career. In her speech, she defended that Gipuzkoa has a public-private model to promote entrepreneurship “well structured and focused on strategic sectors”, an ecosystem that has had “a great growth” in the last 12 years, thanks to the development of “specialized infrastructures, the Ikerbasque Foundation and smart specialization strategies” that are generating “a great boost to the creation of Deep Tech companies”. “Gipuzkoa is one of the European territories that stands out in scientific and technological entrepreneurship,” she said.

However, the director of BIC GIpuzkoa has advocated to address the “many challenges” we face in Europe and, referring to the Draghi report, has encouraged to “aspire to more”, to get “more entrepreneurs and companies of the future”.

Regarding his work in the fight against cancer, Arriola recounted his experiences since he was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013, breaking a lance in favor of the Basque public health system, Osakidetza. In this field, he has shown the need to invest “in research of excellence, in promoting with economic resources its innovation projects, in granting convertible loans to new companies that arise from biomedical research institutes, from public hospitals”, among others.

The Gold Medal award ceremony began with the traditional ezpata dantza de honor in the Plaza de Gipuzkoa, which was received by the dantzaris of Arkaitz dantza taldea from Añorga. Once inside, the speeches were interspersed with the voice of Malentxo Zeberio, who put melody to the recognition together with Itsaso Etxebeste (bass), Miren Zeberio (violin) and Juantxo Zeberio (piano). For their part, Ainhoa Aizpuru, former Provincial Deputy for Economic Promotion and Arriola's colleague at BIC Gipuzkoa, and Javier García Cogorro, biotechnologist and founder of Viralgen, gave the corresponding laudatio. These words were complemented with an audiovisual presentation by the filmmaker Maider Fdz. Iriarte.

The event was attended by various institutional leaders of the territory, such as the president of the Basque Parliament, Bakartxo Tejeria; her counterpart from the General Assembly of Gipuzkoa, Xabier Ezeizabarrena, together with a representation of the Gipuzkoa's regional councils; the mayors of Donostia and Eibar, Eneko Goia and Jon Iraola, respectively; the Deputy Minister of Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation of the Basque Government, Jaione Ganzarain, and the Deputy Minister of Universities and Research, Adolfo Morais. The personalities who have received the Gold Medal of Gipuzkoa in recent years, such as Andrés Arizkorreta, Jose Mari Sors (Elkar taldea), Nerea Ibáñez (Aspegi), Jose Antonio Urbeltz, Pedro Miguel Etxenike, Antxon Elosegui (Orfeón donostiarra), were also present at the event, Miriam Urkia (Euskaltzaindia), as well as familiar faces from the field of entrepreneurship and the economic world such as Isabel Busto (ADEGI), Mauri Arregi (Chamber of Commerce), Zenon Vázquez (Elkargi), Ander Aizpurua (Kutxa Fundazioa), Pello Rodriguez and Iñigo Ucín (Mondragon). Not forgetting Pedro Esnaola and Julia Salaverría, from the Association Against Cancer, as well as Juan José Etxeberria, rector of the University of Deusto, and Raúl Antón and Agustín Erkizia, representing Tecnun and UPV/EHU, respectively.