Last Friday, July 17th, the Baleària headquarters at the Dénia Maritime Station hosted the presentation of the 2026 Business Barometer, a study that provides objective data on the contribution of companies to society and how citizens perceive the figure of the entrepreneur.
During the event, the president of GAD3, Narciso Michavila, presented the main findings of the study, addressing a key question: How do citizens value entrepreneurs?, offering a detailed demoscopic analysis of how the business community is valued today in this territory, what factors influence that perception, and what image and communication challenges the sector faces.
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A positive and rising image
The results show a favorable evolution in public perception. 77% of respondents in the Valencian Community say they have a positive or very positive image of entrepreneurs, while 69% believe that image has remained stable or has even improved over the past year, reflecting a progressive consolidation of social recognition towards business activity.
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Young people, the most favorable towards entrepreneurship
The survey also reveals that citizens identify companies as a relevant actor in addressing some of the main economic and social challenges. Young people show the most favorable attitude towards entrepreneurship: six out of ten people under 29 say they have considered starting a business in the future, and a large majority believe that the private sector should play an even more prominent role in driving business initiative.
In this regard, Michavila highlighted that “in Spain there is no shortage of entrepreneurs, what is lacking is a business culture. That is, understanding the role of the entrepreneur from society, but also from institutions.”
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Institutional and business participation
The event also featured the participation of Agnès Noguera (Libertas 7 and the Valencian Business Association, AVE), José Vicente Morata (Valencia Chamber of Commerce) and Vicente Lafuente (Business Confederation of the Valencian Community, CEV), who all agreed on the need to continue highlighting the contribution of entrepreneurs to economic and social progress and to support it with rigorous data and objective analysis.
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Business panel: the role of the entrepreneur in Valencian society
Following the presentation of the results, the event continued with a business panel in which the role of the entrepreneur in Valencian society was debated. The participants were Maite Antón Puntes (Grupo Antón Comunicación), Darío Grimalt Monfort (ALE-HOP) and Guillermo Utor Pérez (Baleària), moderated by Diego Lorente Fraguas (Valencian Business Association, AVE). The debate addressed, from the perspective of entrepreneurs from different sectors, how the relationship between the business community and citizens can be improved and how the value they generate can be better conveyed to society.
