Arthur Jordão, Executive Director of ESNA in an interview with ECO about the future of the organisation
Arthur Jordão, Executive Director of ESNA in an interview with ECO spoke about the organisation’s journey over the past four years and the priorities shaping the next phase of work.
The conversation touches on the continued commitment of all 28 member countries, the launch of ESNA’s Data Platform, and the planned transition toward a European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC).
ESNA, with its headquarters in Lisbon, is beginning a transition to a different structure that brings it closer to EU institutions. The Portuguese Government plans to change the association model to an EDIC, an international legal status, which will strengthen ESNA’s ability to advance public-policy projects for the startup ecosystem within Europe.
It offers a clear overview of how ESNA is strengthening evidence-based policymaking and supporting Europe’s startup ecosystem.
Interview with ECO- English Translation
ESNA was launched four years ago, during Web Summit, by the former Government of António Costa. Since then, the Prime Minister changed, as well as the College of Commissioners. Before we approach the future model for ESNA, how has this journey unfolded?
With resilience. As you say, we are talking about a different College of Commissioners, the fourth government in Portugal, the sixth in France, the third in Germany and the second in Italy. ESNA is an organisation for dialogue on issues relating to the startup ecosystem at European level, which leads to the inevitable relevance of political cycles. However, despite all these cycles, the agenda remains a priority and important for each of them. The priority they give to this ecosystem is clear. We see it in the results and in the data from the various studies we carry out and collect, such as the Startup Nation Standards.
Have all 28 countries remained in the alliance?
Yes. Ukraine even joined last year, having endorsed the initial declaration. I can also say that there are countries outside the European Union that look to ESNA’s standards as a reference and also wish to open a dialogue along these lines.
For example?
The Balkan countries. They understand the startup ecosystem as a driver of innovation, competitiveness, added value, and the economy of the future, so they also want to build their foundations. They are in constant dialogue with the European Commission on aspects of accession, and this remains one of the areas in which it is important for them to align with Europe.
Last week, the member countries of the alliance gathered in Brussels for the annual ministerial event. What was decided?
The official launch of the Data Platform, because there was no credible, independent source with comparable data in terms of macroeconomic indicators for the startup sector for policy purposes. Don’t get me wrong, what exists is good, but it wasn’t designed for public policy; it was created for private investors. For economic policy exercises, we go to the National Statistics Institute, the World Bank, the IMF… But for startups? Where do you go?
Something similar to the Startup Portugal dashboard, but for Europe?
In a way. As far as I know, that dashboard has a mapping purpose and then supports the implementation of policy itself. This isn’t quite that. We’re talking about a sectoral macroeconomic analysis. In Brussels, we launched the platform in its initial state, but we will strengthen the results so that public institutions can access and use them.
The current Government’s programme foresees “monitoring the evolution of ESNA into an EDIC - European Digital Infrastructure Consortium”. What does this change in structure involve?
The EDIC is a very recent European legal status, about two years old, launched to address some of the challenges of the European Commission’s Digital Decade [2030]. The aim is to create and strengthen a set of intra-European projects across multiple countries and areas. From the very beginning, when the Commission issued a call for expressions of interest, they basically came straight to us and said, “You should do this.” An analysis was then carried out of the 200 projects submitted, and ESNA ranked in the top 10 of those they wanted to convert into an EDIC.
Was this a challenge from the European Commission?
Exactly. Why is this important? As the name itself suggests, it will now have a European legal status and be automatically recognised as an international organisation in all Member States, rather than having an associative and legal status limited to just one Member State.
Practically speaking, not much changes, but the little that does change has a measurable and significant impact. In other words, we’re not going to do different things, but it changes our ability to attract funding to do more, deliver value, and improve policymaking navigation. If legislators can access better information, it will be reflected in the actors working on the ground.
What is the advantage in attracting funding?
It makes the channelling of funding from various countries clearer and more transparent. From day one, ESNA has been financed by the Portuguese Government and the European Commission. To use a startup analogy, these four years have been a proof of concept, and it’s working, as seen with the 25 countries represented at the Brussels forum. Now, when it transitions into an EDIC, what will happen is that everyone has skin in the game. Everyone will contribute annually, much like in the OECD.
Do they pay an annual fee and keep the same teams in each country?
In ESNA as it stands today, governments nominate the entities from each country to represent them as members (in Portugal, this is Startup Portugal). In an EDIC, the members are the governments themselves. They can either appoint officials at a ministerial technical level or designate a public entity — A, B, or C — to represent them. At the top of these members is a body called the Presidency Board, a group of five countries responsible for supervision, monitoring, and making key decisions, particularly strategic and budgetary ones, as well as choosing the executive team. The membership rotates every two years. Among the five countries, the criteria is holding the Presidency of the Council of the EU, to push the startup agenda forward. Portugal is the special case among these five: as host, it has a permanent seat in the Presidency Board.
Who will the Government appoint?
I don’t know. We’ll have to see. I imagine most countries will maintain the same representatives, but the EDIC member is the government itself.
Why does this European consortium make sense for ESNA?
It sends a clear signal of dialogue and commitment at the European level. It makes sense in one of two ways: either have a legal form like an EDIC or be a European agency. At the time, it was practical to be an association, non-profit, but the legal form remained Portuguese, even though we are a Europe-wide organisation. The entity needs to have the appropriate legal form for its function and mission. It would be beneficial right away, particularly in terms of easing public procurement rules. We are required to follow public procurement regulations, which we have no problem with, but it’s also important to understand that we are a 20-person organisation. Other public institutions have entire departments dedicated to this. These are public investments, international tenders, and the time demands are high, something we don’t have in abundance given the size of our team.
ESNA has funds from the Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP), in addition to Horizon. Will this change have any impact on that funding?
No, because the transition will take place after the RRP period ends. Things are happening in parallel, but the obligations remain. It will be phased. It is expected to start around mid-year or early in the second half of next year.
Has the application already been formalised?
As far as I know, no. The Portuguese Government will submit it through the Ministry of the Economy, as they are leading the application. Procedurally, at least two more Member States must join at the same time as members. The idea is to expand to other Member States as the project progresses.
Is there an expectation that it will be submitted by the end of the year? The timeline for starting in 2026 is getting tight…
It would be very important for the organisation’s funding and sustainability. To some extent, it’s also to avoid risking all the investment made so far and the assets that have been developed. The European Commission has invested an additional one million euros until 2027 precisely to ensure that ESNA is converted into an EDIC. Another difference is that the European Commission will become an observer in the EDIC, meaning it will have a formal role in this context with veto power over the investment it makes. If they invest a certain amount for a specific purpose, they have the right to veto that portion. They will now have a governance role.
Would you be available to continue in leadership?
Everything is still open. I understand the question. I think that if it is in the interest of the organisation and all the Member States that the current leadership team remains, I would be more than happy to continue.
What would you highlight from ESNA’s work since 2021?
Looking back, ESNA was created from a ministerial declaration that evolved from a very aspirational aspect into an operational one, with the creation of the organisation itself to facilitate understanding — a sort of OECD for startups. Collecting evidence of public policies, gathering data, and playing an observer role across eight dimensions. We are now in our third annual report, analysing the implementation of startup-friendly policies, similar to the Digital Economy Society Index (DESI). This allows us to diagnose, track evolution, and support more technical follow-up and sharing of best practices among countries to drive improvement.
I can give a concrete example. The Czech Republic’s government — the previous one, since they had elections in October — developed a strategy that has been discussed with both the ecosystem and public entities, based on the Startup Nation Standards. They even passed a law on stock options.
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