New business formations in January surged by 13.1 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, reaching a total of 10,716 companies. This marks the highest January count since 2008, according to data released this Monday by Spain’s National Institute of Statistics (INE). The year begins with a strong uptick in startup activity, signaling a rebound in entrepreneurial creation after a decline observed late in the previous year. In plain terms, more people took the leap to start their own ventures as the calendar turned to 2024, reflecting renewed confidence across the small business landscape.
With this January rise, company formation again moved into positive territory after a year-end 2023 downturn, when annual growth dipped by nearly 4 percent. The momentum in January suggests that the headwinds affecting new business creation earlier in the year have started to ease, and that many aspiring entrepreneurs are perceiving better conditions for launching operations, financing, and early-stage growth.
For the 10,716 new companies created in January, more than 912.7 million euros were subscribed in capital, which is 65 percent higher than in January 2023. The average capital subscribed stood at 85,176 euros, up 45.9 percent from the prior year. These figures underscore a notable shift toward larger initial investments in new ventures, a sign that founders are prioritizing more substantial seed resources to accelerate early-stage development and market entry. This could reflect a combination of improved credit access, investor appetite, and an emphasis on stronger capitalization in the startup ecosystem.
On the other hand, company dissolutions remained flat: 3,936 firms closed in January, identical to January of the previous year. This means that, on average, 127 businesses shuttered each day during January. The balance between new formations and closures indicates a dynamic environment where market entry possibilities still exist even as some ventures face sustainability challenges. Analysts view this as a reminder that while new ideas attract capital, the long-term viability of a business often hinges on execution, market fit, and adaptive strategy in a competitive landscape.