The Innovation Zone of the Ecuadorian Littoral (ZILE) is a strategy proposed by ESPOL, which aims to increase the articulation between academia, the productive sector and governments, for the generation of innovation processes by companies and entrepreneurs, as well as for research and knowledge generation oriented to innovation for regional development.
The ZILE seeks to:
- Encourage the creation of meeting and cooperation spaces in the seven provinces of the Litoral, territories of impact of the ZILE.
- Promote the importance of innovation as a transversal axis in the Development and Land Management Plan.
- Boost the competitiveness of strategic sectors based on science and technology, promoting collaboration between companies and universities.
- Promote the establishment of development poles in the regional innovation system of the coast, building new institutional arrangements.
History of ZILE
ESPOL has in its mission to support the development of the industry and boost innovation in the Ecuadorian coast and for this purpose created the ZILE as a strategy of articulation between the different actors of the ecosystem.
In 2015, ESPOL - with the endorsement of the Ecuadorian government - requested resources from the Inter-American Development Bank, IDB, to support the design, development and sustainability of the ZILE. This support was materialized in 2016, with non-reimbursable technical cooperation funds delivered by the IDB to ESPOL. Within the framework of this cooperation, the study "Strengthening the National Innovation System of Ecuador through the Innovation Zone for the Ecuadorian Littoral" was initiated in July 2017. The results of this study have continued to be socialized, and ZILE has been seeking spaces for interaction with different actors in the region and advancing its strategy.
Among the opportunities that ZILE has identified is the support to the Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD) in the development of their development plans and territorial planning, to promote the insertion of innovation in the strategic axes of the GAD.
In addition, in the last year it has worked on the implementation of a tool provided by the Inter-American Development Bank, called Digital Checkup, for companies to start the path towards digitization as a strategy to increase their productivity and competitiveness.
Contact
ZILE Offices in Guayaquil (ESPOL- Campus Gustavo Galindo Velasco)
2269777, Ext. 7015