Free translation from the article originally published in Spanish with the title “Las Manchas de la Naranja” at Diario El Nacional on May 22nd, 2021. https://www.elnacional.com/opinion/las-manchas-de-la-naranja/
THE STAINS OF THE ORANGE
In our last article we referred to the creative, vigorous and enterprising Venezuela, which even in the face of the most complex circumstances, remains not only standing, but also providing creative solutions to go beyond mere subsistence, so even against the current, we do not stop seeing entrepreneurs who make their way in such circumstances, in what we affirm well, it is a sample of what the so-called Orange Economy is. However, even with the positive of that awakening Venezuelan spirit, which in the end is undoubtedly a good sign, it is necessary to mention what is not right and what we could describe as the stains of that orange.
Contrary to what is generally thought, creations are not only a matter of inspiration derived from what some call a spark, but rather, creating, is the product of a rigorous process of observing a certain situation, usually a problem that needs to be improved or solved, to which a solution is provided, usually preceded by research and development. While entrepreneurship, although is not necessarily dealing with the solution of problems, it’s about identifying opportunities and sometimes gaps in the market, which also requires a kind of spirit of adventure to deal with uncertainty. Thus, creativity and entrepreneurship, both, would of course be favored and enhanced by having a minimal favorable environment, which undoubtedly here in Venezuela is not only absent, but in many cases tends to be a deterrent to any initiative.
The creative economy or orange economy requires that the minimum essentials for its development are present, starting with the most basic that are public services, continuing with the normal elements of modernity such as telecommunications and the Internet; not without leaving aside the legal certainty and the simplicity of the paperwork and bureaucratic processes to operate with economic freedom; All of which together are the main elements with which the Global Innovation Index administered annually by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) is built, from which, by the way, it is not by chance that Venezuela has been absent for a few years.
As long as the conditions do not change and are translated into an ecosystem that generally promotes and favors entrepreneurship and creation, the cultivation of the orange economy will be limited to those with the greatest determination and natural conditions of creative spirit and risk, who are not few by the way given that innate characteristic in the Venezuelan. However, betting on it as a coherent, conscious and convinced public policy that there is the solution to climb the step to modernity from which we are lagging, is the objective for which we must bet, push and work all who in some way are linked to the creative economy.
Cástor González Escobar
