Speaking at the conclusion of a seminar on the local ICT industry in Valletta, Dr Gatt said: “In the same way that foreign entrepreneurs come to Malta because they see opportunities here, why don’t Maltese entrepreneurs do the same abroad?”
He asked why, for instance, Maltese ICT entrepreneurs have not tapped the web design market in southern Italy.
“Have you ever seen websites from Sicily, how horrible they are?” he asked.
As for the difficulty found in getting financing from local banks for new projects, Minister Gatt was blunt.
“If BOV and HSBC do not give you financing for your venture, go to England and Italy if you have to.”
He said that Maltese entrepreneurs cannot remain with a mentality as if Malta was still the centre of the world.
“The days of protectionism are over,” said Dr Gatt. “We must have a global vision.”
He said that local industry is still expecting too much from government, but at the same time is not making use of the opportunities it is being offered through Malta Enterprise.
“None of the Maltese businesses have applied for a grant from the Lm1 million fund for research and development that Malta Enterprise has,” he said.
Speaking on the evolution of ICT in Malta since the first computers were introduced here 23 years ago, Dr Gatt asked whether any other country in the world with the same conditions as Malta – 400,000 people with no natural resources – would have made the same progress in ICT as we have over the same period of time.
“We have moved further than those who are in the same circumstances as us, as well as those who are bigger than us,” he said.
He said that in the EU, Malta is behind only the Nordic countries, England, Germany and France.
Of the accession countries, only Slovenia and Estonia compare to us in terms of ICT infrastructure.
Dr Gatt said that foreign entrepreneurs in the ICT industry are coming to Malta because they find qualified labour at a better price than anywhere else in Europe, they can set up business much more easily and there is a better tax system.
He revealed that a US company which processes credit card transactions has expanded its operations in Malta and has transferred five Maltese employees to its mother operation in Seattle.
One of these employees was so impressive that he has been appointed director of the company’s operations in Europe, said Dr Gatt.
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