Following the approval of the Startup law, the government moves to fund a pipeline of tenders and programs valued at over 100 million euros from the New Generation Funds, ensuring continued support for technological entrepreneurship in the coming year.
Implementation is nearly ready, with thirty publicly funded startup accelerators expected to generate around 6,800 endorsements. These efforts run alongside initiatives that foster cybersecurity-focused companies, including the CyberEmprende program connected to the National Institute of Cybersecurity (Incibe).
This sequence of incentives, which followed a record year in 2021, faced headwinds as investments in startups cooled amid macroeconomic shifts and rising interest rates, which dampened investor appetite due to heightened risk.
As the year winds down, industry receipts reached 3.343 billion euros, down 22.5% from 4.314 billion euros in 2022, a trend that begins with a year marked by several mega-rounds that have since become rarer. Nevertheless, the amount remains nearly three times higher than any year between 2018 and 2020, based on data from the Bankinter Innovation Foundation’s Startups Observatory. [Citation: Bankinter Innovation Foundation Startups Observatory]
The new Startup law includes a broad array of tax advantages for the sector, such as reduced corporate tax, expanded investment deductions, and reforms to the stock options regime, addressing key requests from entrepreneurs.
Incibe’s role
Incibe has been assigned a leading role in these government plans, expanding cybersecurity initiatives where Spain already hosts a notable unicorn like Devo. The organization will allocate a budget exceeding 60 million euros to bolster its CyberEmprende programs, which target startup ventures refining their business models, and to Cybersecurity Ventures, aimed at companies with up to five years of operation.
The plan includes placing accelerators at five locations across the peninsula and shortening the cadence of retention activities. At least 20 startups will participate in CyberEmprende, and eight in Cyber Security Ventures per program release.
Additionally, an innovative public procurement program will add a mechanism to deploy 137.2 million euros for cybersecurity services under development, once again reformed by the Startup law.
Regional accelerator network
In parallel, the Industry Enterprise School is proceeding with a public accelerator network that will operate across regional boundaries, with one accelerator per autonomous community and sector-focused tracks in finance, mobility, energy, and the ecological transition. The public body will award just over 33 million euros across 27 lots, including 17 regional and 10 sector-specific opportunities, to serve up to 6,800 startups collectively.
Following the tender, notable bidders include Telefónica, Auren, and PwC. The operator chosen for mobility and digital projects is based in Madrid and Catalonia, with a total budget of 11.6 million euros. The EOI will also support a 200,000 euro grant for up to 20 events related to innovative entrepreneurship, funded by the Flag Programme that totals four million euros. [Citation: Public tender announcements, Industry Enterprise School]
Other precautions
These measures, introduced in 2023, complement broader actions not limited to the tech sector but aimed at strengthening digitalization among small and medium-sized enterprises and helping them scale. Initiatives include the Digital Hub announced by Industry, along with the Digital Entrepreneurs Line led by Enisa, which finances projects with a total contribution of 50 million euros and 18 million euros through 2023.
Additionally, the government has committed to investing up to 270 million euros in funds designed to foster scaling across Spain. The Next Technical Background initiative will mobilize two billion euros of public investment by injecting equivalent private capital into funds that attract matching private investments.
The government also maintains the Activa Startup hotline, which has supported innovative projects with grants up to 40,000 euros and has logged several inquiries. [Citation: Government policy documents]