Sarsanedas, who received the award with gratitude and humility, attributed his success to "perseverance," a virtue that, as he explained, has been key to transforming a small engineering startup into a multinational group with global reach, active in sectors such as marine, medical technology, and New Space. The award for Best Business Initiative went to Madequa Health, a company founded by three entrepreneurs who have developed natural treatments with scientific backing to improve women's health during menopause.
The gala was also the setting for the debut of the new AIJEC board, headed by Vicenç del Mar, who thanked the outgoing team of Rubén Sans for their work with words of continuity and commitment: "We are heirs of your effort and we commit to living up to it." Del Mar is accompanied on the new board by Cristina Hernández-Martí and Amanda Ceballo as vice-presidents, Lluís Feliu as general secretary, Laura Puigvert as treasurer, Víctor Costa, Joan Torras, Laura Guix, Albert Celma, Claudia Salaet, and Raimon Recoder as members, and Griselda Grau as president of Aijec Plus.
In his speech, Del Mar vindicated the role of young entrepreneurs as a driving force for change and prosperity: "The young entrepreneur faces the same problems as any young person: access to credit, housing, or licenses to launch projects. We do not ask for privileges, we ask for opportunities." He lamented that "too often the entrepreneur and work are demonized," and warned of the "rigidity and excessive bureaucracy" that stifle entrepreneurial initiative.
The president of AIJEC argued that Catalonia must leave behind the resignation of being only a country of SMEs and opt for a model that values talent and ambition: "From the talent we have, we aspire to much more. We cannot settle. We want a youth eager to generate, cooperate, and build a strong Catalonia rich in values."
Very aligned with the defense of entrepreneurship, Josep Sánchez Llibre, president of Foment del Treball, asked that entrepreneurs "be respected," that they stop "being continually provoked," andthat "they stop treating businessmen as alleged criminals," which provoked a great ovation.With an inspiring tone, the Minister of the Presidency, Albert Dalmau, shared with the young entrepreneurs three keys for good leadership: "There is no ambition without humility; great successes have a lot to do with generosity; and there is no leadership without optimism."
However, entrepreneurs —young or veteran—, deep down, ask for and need the same thing. In the same week, several associations and business organizations have celebrated their business nights and, without having agreed on the contents, the melodies of the speeches sound quite similar. Both Xavier Panés, president of Cecot —who celebrated the employers' night last Monday—, and Vicenç del Mar, agreed exactly on two ideas: "Entrepreneurs are not part of the problem, we are part of the solution" and "we cannot distribute poverty." And if Panés warned on Monday that "the welfare state is at risk", Sánchez Llibre reiterated it: "Without companies there is no democracy, and without democracy there is no welfare society."
During the event, several awards were also presented: the Business Trajectory Award, granted posthumously to Joan Planes, founder of Fluidra; the Recognition for Business Linguistic Quality for Bellmàs Enginyers / BIB Grup; the Social Entrepreneurship award for Coleo; the Blue Entrepreneurship award for Titanium Technology; and the Future Company award for the Ecogrow project, by students from Montserrat School, which transforms organic waste into natural fertilizers.
At Casa Fuster, the celebration had an air of retrospect, a certain vindication, and a lot of future. Forty years later, AIJEC continues to champion a new generation of entrepreneurs who keep alive "that fire that transforms dreams into reality."