This is one of the best times for entrepreneurship in Spain. The volume of investments in this sector was €1.217bn in 2018, up 49% from the previous year.

Spain ranks fifth in terms of capital invested since 2013, only behind the United Kingdom, Germany and France.

Investment volume

Euros invested 2011-18 YTD

Source: Startupxplore

Advantages to investing in Spain’s

entrepreneurial ecosystem

Market size: Gateway to the European and Latin American market

Public and private funding options

Over 80 science and technology parks

Talent at a very competitive cost

Big international-scale corporations

Attractive locations for events

High ICT penetration

Large number of business accelerators throughout the Spanish territory

Over 3,500 startups concentrated in Madrid and Barcelona

Spain's entrepreneurial ecosystem comprises over 3,500 startups, located mainly in Barcelona and Madrid. Three quarters of new companies are in those two cities making Spain the only European country with two hubs.

Barcelona and Madrid are among the “Top 6” startup ecosystem capitals in Europe.

Barcelona ranks fifth among the best startup cities in Europe, followed by Madrid. London, Paris, Berlin and Dublin hold the top positions.

Source: TBS Business School and El Referente.

Top 17 / Rounds 2018

In 2017 the number of startups that closed capital rounds of over €10 million doubled that of 2016.

In total, Spanish startups raised €1.3 bn in capital rounds in 2018.

Source: Starupxplore.

More than 180 startup accelerators and incubators

Support in forming and establishing startups from both the public and private sectors is apparent from the start in business accelerators and incubators. There are over 180 infrastructures of this type throughout the Spanish territory that offer advice and support for entrepreneurs.

Source: StartupXplore

Spain is a fertile territory

for co-working

Spain ranks second in Europe in number of co-working spaces, after the United Kingdom.

According to a 2019 report by Mobile World Capital Barcelona, the ongoing growth in number of co-working spaces suggests that the Spanish entrepreneurial system is booming and is recognized as an affable environment that fosters entrepreneurship and innovation.

Talent

in human capital

Three of the main Spanish business schools are among the top 20 of the Financial Times MBA ranking: IE Business School, IESE Business School and Esade Business School.

At the same time, Spain is among the countries with the fastest increase in professional developers, a profession with a year-on-year growth rate of 15.1%.

Global MBA ranking 2019

European Business School

Global MBA ranking 2019
Ranking	School name	Country
1	Insead	France / Singapore
2	London Business School	United Kingdom
3	IESE Business School	Spain
4	University of Oxford: Saïd	United Kingdom
5	University of Cambridge: Judge	United Kingdom
6	HEC Paris	France
7	Esade Business School	Spain
8	IMD	Switzerland
9	IE Business School	Spain
10	SDA Bocconi	Italy

Source: Financial Times 2019.

Top 10 fastest-growing countries

for professional developers (2019 versus 2018)

Source: Atomico.

Wage costs

As far as wage costs are concerned, Spain is still very competitive compared to other European countries and the rest of the world.

Spain also attracts foreign talent. It is the third destination for European tech talent and the fifth for international tech talent.

Strengths of the Spanish

enterpreneurship ecosystem

Senior software engineer salary (€ per year)

Source: Digital Startup Ecosystem 2017" Mobile World Capital 2018.Atomico, Startup Genome.

Source: Digital Startup Ecosystem 2017" Mobile World Capital 2018. Atomico, Startup Genome.

Climate
and quality of life

Spain's excellent climate and quality of life are other aspects that entrepreneurs take into account when choosing our country to set up their new businesses.

What we can do
for your startup

Download

the Starting up in Spain Guide

All you need to know about the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Spain.

Find out more

Program

Rising Up in Spain

Our softlanding program for foreign startups.

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Testimonials

of Rising Up in Spain

See all the testimonials

Biome Makers Inc.

Adrián Ferrero CEO & Co-Founder

After getting the support of the program we were able to explain to our investor that it makes sense to put money and efforts in Spain. The program increased our visibility in the Spanish market because we were a completely new company, so this program has helped us a lot in building our reputation and in gaining a broad presence, which has an impact on clients and potential stakeholders.

Knok Healthcare Spain

Gonzalo Rodríguez Country Manager

The most important one [value added from the program] was to understand what the main challenges are that we are going to face in the coming months in Spain, and to increase our visibility in Spain. Also, the opportunity to have the best mentors for our company and team was crucial for the development of Knok in Spain."