5 alternative Spanish regions to Madrid or Barcelona to establish your start-up or work remotely, and their best incubators

The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands offers many advantages to entrepreneurs both local and foreign. Among them is the best corporate tax rate in Europe at only 4%. It also provides industry-specific benefits such as tax reduction of 40% of the cost of audio-visual productions by foreign companies or reductions in the corporate tax ranging between 37 and 45% in Research and Development. This is due to the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC) of which companies can become part of to have these advantages. In addition, the geographical position of the Canary Islands and air and maritime connectivity make them a natural international connection point between the Americas, Europe, and Africa. What’s more, in the Canary Islands a start-up or digital nomad can enjoy all the advantages of the European institutions while being so close to Africa that expanding your business to the continent will not be a problem.

There are several start-up incubators in the Canary Islands. Impulsa Ventures stands out among its peers because it provides professional training to start-ups on top of the financial aid and other resources such as guidance through all the steps a start-up must go through. Currently Impulsa Ventures is working with 6 different start-ups in industries ranging from human resources to big data or government. Unlike other incubators, it is not industry-specific which means that it can help start-ups across the board creating synergies among them.

Andalucía

Andalucía has been trying to improve conditions for start-ups. This has caused multiple entrepreneurship centres being created across the region, mostly in the Universities which have improved their connection with start-ups providing them with training and guidance. The Regional Government is also involved in matching start-ups and prospective investors. These investors are investment funds, business angels and other investment networks. The matching between start-ups and investors is done mainly in the Alhambra Venture, an investment forum focused on start-ups. The Government also organizes the Startup Andalucía Roadshow, a competition between different ideas for new businesses and start-ups. The winner of the competition receives training, mentoring and international promotion.

One of the most significant incubators in Andalucía is the Minerva Program, which has been working for over 10 years in getting start-ups to be market ready as fast as possible. In its 10 years it has helped over 200 projects in different industries. They focus on professional training as a key to the success of any new business.

Valencia

The Regional Government of Valencia has set up several programs to fund entrepreneurship projects with a special focus on trying to close the gender gap in entrepreneurship and start-ups. For example, the PAEM program is directed to entrepreneur women specifically. There are also programs to promote local talent acquisition through different online platforms and to help find accommodation for office space. Valencia provides with easily accessible tax and legal counsel, as well. These different programs are designed to facilitate the beginning steps of a start-up.

Lanzadera is Valencia’s main start-up incubator. They are mostly focused on digitalization and technological industries but not exclusively as they also tackle projects centred around ecology and sustainability. Lanzadera’s strong point is networking and connecting their start-ups with investors and technological partners, as well as providing funding since the beginning steps until the company is market ready. So far, they have accelerated over 900 start-ups.

Basque Country

The Basque Country is a region with a special focus on SMEs and, among them, start-ups. In the Basque Country start-ups can receive up to 40.000 euros in Government funding to improve their innovation. In addition, there is an official database with all the start-ups in the Basque Country which helps get visibility to newly established start-ups in the region. Also, the region’s booming economy creates a good environment for new economies and recruiting talent.

BIC-Bizkaia is one of the most specialized incubators in the region, focusing on start-ups in the advanced manufacturing and clean technologies. Currently they are working with more than 25 start-ups in these sectors. Aside from financial support and guidance, BIC offers their infrastructures (such as laboratories) for the start-ups to use if they need.

Galicia

The primary reason Galicia is an interesting destination for start-ups is the Galicia Start-up Congress. This event is directed towards entrepreneurs and investors to network and share ideas for prospective start-ups mostly in technology. The Congress also holds a competition between start-ups in which three winners are rewarded with financial aid for their projects.

ViaGalicia is an incubator partially financed by the Regional Government and the Vigo Free Trade Consortium. They have helped almost 80 different projects in six years and provided them with over 8 million euros in total, as well as professional training. ViaGalicia is not industry-specific, so start-ups with business ideas for any sector can apply for any of their programs.