Simplify eligibility criteria for certification under the Startup Law to enable more young companies to benefit. Notably, extend fiscal and other benefits for a longer period, up to eight years, for deep tech startups, taking into account their technical characteristics and development needs.
Further streamline insolvency procedures, especially for companies whose sole creditors are public entities.
Continue progress on the harmonisation of administrative procedures across regions by: i. Enhancing the role of the Sectoral Conference for Regulatory Improvement and the Business Climate; ii. Introducing opt-out regulatory options for regions to accelerate reform convergence; iii. Continuing the implementation of “Régimen 20”.
Remove the minimum social security contribution for self-employment individuals whose main activity is their startup company and who own stock in their company (corporate self-employed).
Annex A. Summary of recommended policy actions
Copy link to Annex A. Summary of recommended policy actionsRecommendations for specific entrepreneurial ecosystem elements
Copy link to Recommendations for specific entrepreneurial ecosystem elementsInstitutions
Culture
Introduce campaigns to promote entrepreneurship to the Spanish population under the “Spain Up Nation” brand and tailor communication to a more mainstream audience that extends beyond the narrow ecosystem boundaries.
Create an “entrepreneurial schools” label for schools and universities that meet certain standards with respect to entrepreneurship promotion, in partnership with the “Spain Up Nation” brand. Issue “Spain Up Nation” awards for standout schools and universities that demonstrate excellence in entrepreneurship promotion.
Provide training for teachers in teaching entrepreneurship in secondary schools, vocational training institutions and universities.
Embed a module on entrepreneurship education in tertiary, vocational and secondary education and make pedagogy more practical.
Networks
Launch a public matchmaking programme that provides tailored introductions between Spanish startups and large corporates operating in Spain, based on identified needs and competencies, with a clear process for progressing to a pilot project where there is a suitable fit.
Publish information on Spanish startups and ecosystem actors (including large corporates, investors, researchers, startup support providers, mentors, and public entities) on the ONE platform and introduce online matchmaking functions.
Organise events and establish a platform for companies certified under the Startup Law to share relevant resources, contacts or experiences, discuss shared challenges, and explore potential collaborations.
Assign mandates and provide resources to chosen incubators, business innovation centres, or innovative business clusters to create and manage specialised ecosystem networks in selected sectors.
Infrastructure
Strengthen the access of startups and scaleups to strategic “technology infrastructures” housed in universities, supercomputing centres, and public research institutions (e.g. testbeds, AI sandboxes, pilot manufacturing, water labs). Simplify rules and interfaces to make these assets usable for early-stage firms.
Promote inclusive infrastructure development through better national-regional co-ordination and targeted incentives for digital and transport infrastructure in underserved regions (notably “Empty Spain”).
Leverage Spain’s strengths in renewable energy and green hydrogen by supporting startups and scaleups working on smart grid, storage, and decarbonisation solutions through sector-focused accelerators, innovation-friendly procurement, and test environments.
Advance open data and interoperability frameworks to reduce barriers for startups and scaleups in data-intensive sectors such as health, mobility, and energy, using sandboxes to balance data protection with innovation needs.
Use public procurement strategically to crowd in startup and scaleup innovation addressing infrastructure challenges (e.g. smart mobility, digital inclusion, water efficiency), supported by new tools like GovTech missions and challenge-based calls.
Markets
Enhance startup internationalisation through co-investment bridge funds, legal support, B2B matchmaking and soft-landing services delivered via embassies, ICEX, and local hubs.
Modernise public procurement to become a strategic innovation lever by including clearer innovation criteria, faster decision-making, and dedicated calls for startups. Expand successful GovTech and innovation procurement pilots across national and regional governments.
Incentivise corporate-startup collaboration by introducing match-making mechanisms between startups and corporate supply chain management to facilitate purchase of innovative goods and services solutions from emerging startups. Consider introduction of preferential procurement conditions for large firms to source solutions from startups, especially in strategic sectors.
Continue working at European level to foster greater harmonisation in goods and services markets as well as access to public procurement.
Finance
Set up incentive schemes and introduce legal reforms to encourage institutional investors to invest more in venture capital and private equity.
Extend the tax benefit to investors introduced by the Startup Law to SPVs and angel investor syndicates.
Reduce legal and bureaucratic barriers to capital increases and investment rounds, for instance, by leveraging information technologies for identity validation and signature that reduce the involvement of notaries and enable the signature of official documents remotely.
Publish information about funding opportunities for investors on the ONE platform and introduce functionalities to facilitate networking and matchmaking between funding entities.
Act at European level to change critical aspects of AIMFD regulation, including the limits for retail investments from private savers into venture capital and support European Investment Fund initiatives to launch European-level funds of funds.
Continue leveraging public development banks and other public-funded entities (e.g. CDTI) to crowd-in private investors to venture capital markets, and possibly institutional investors.
Better support impact investors by extending venture capital tax benefits to European Social Entrepreneurship Funds (ESEFs) and European Venture Capital Funds (EuVEFs).
Knowledge
Raise awareness of recent reforms in university commercialisation legislation such as on IP ownership and academic staff employment regulations through communicating information to academics and helping researchers and institutions to navigate recent updates, e.g Red.ES.
Incentivise researchers to find commercial applications for their inventions by: i. defining conditions for spin-off participation, ii. issuing guidelines on how to apply “one-third income” IP provisions, iii. offer proof-of-concept grants and translational R&D funds for spinouts.
Maximise research commercialisation by supporting university-linked accelerators, research-based innovation districts, and dedicated joint research funding tenders involving teams of academics and startups.
Enhance Knowledge Transfer Office (KTO) capability by investing in training, commercialisation funding, and technical services (e.g. legal, valuation) and reduce legal uncertainty by issuing national guidelines on equity, licensing, and revenue-sharing principles.
Promote entrepreneurship among students, as foreseen by the Startup Law, by introducing liability protections, flexible registration, and tailored incubation/acceleration support for student-founders.
Expand and optimise existing programmes that incentivise collaboration in innovation across firms and knowledge transfers between university and the private sector.
Talent
Improve domestic supply of technical professionals by encouraging students to pursue technical programmes both in tertiary and vocational education.
Reduce the labour tax wedge and labour regulations affecting the ability of startups and scaleups to employ high-skilled workers.
Further ease startups’ access to foreign talent through high-skilled professionals visa applications, establishing a network of pick-up points in several cities globally to facilitate visa applications from abroad.
Maintain alignment of fiscal incentives stock options with other countries by adapting thresholds and accessibility.
Leadership
Disseminate entrepreneurial role models through media campaigns, events, and networks that showcase successful entrepreneurs, including women founders and investors, and entrepreneurial leaders from other underrepresented populations.
Increase support to post-exit reinvestment by successful entrepreneurs through platforms, peer-to-peer learning activities and incentives.
Better measure the development of leadership in the ecosystem by improving data collection on serial entrepreneurs and their activities, developing new key performance indicators (e.g. founder board participation, pay-it-forward engagement), and building datasets on mentor networks and founder involvement in policy.
Promote women leadership roles in the entrepreneurial ecosystem by women entrepreneurs, women investors and women leaders in other stakeholder organisations such as corporates and banks by women entrepreneurship programme support, measures to encourage women participation in networks and consultation groups, and communication and educational campaigns across society on women entrepreneurship and leadership.
Intermediate Services
Improve regional co-ordination by creating institutional mechanisms that enhance harmonisation and collaboration among incubators and accelerators across regional ecosystems.
Leverage regional competitive advantages encouraging local incubators to specialise in regionally strong sectors.
Improve monitoring and evaluation of incubation programmes to establish track records and performance history of different programmes.
Recommendations for cross-cutting issues
Copy link to Recommendations for cross-cutting issuesEnabling women entrepreneurs
Develop a dedicated strategy for women entrepreneurship promotion, articulating the key actions to be taken and their objectives, responsible entities, timelines, and key performance indicators.
Increase public support for women entrepreneurs’ access to key resources such as funding, training, networks and testing facilities.
Raise awareness of entrepreneurship as a viable career option for women.
Review regulations on the ability of groups of investors to benefit from Startup Law incentives, given the relatively strong propensity for women angels to invest in groups.
Co-ordinating regional entrepreneurship supports and regulations
Continue the implementation of Régimen 20.
Create a working group in the National Startup Forum to focus on how synergies between national and regional government support initiatives can be increased.
Encourage cross-regional collaborations in the design of public support programmes for startups and scaleups.
Foster more opportunities for startups and scaleups in peripheral regions to network and collaborate with ecosystem actors in Spain’s major entrepreneurship hubs.
Strengthen referral mechanisms between national and regional programmes to guide firms towards the most appropriate supports.
Globalising startups and scaleups
Launch a matchmaking programme to connect Spanish startups and scaleups with potential customers in overseas markets, leveraging ICEX Spain Trade and Investment’s network of international offices.
Strengthen promotion of the Spain Up Nation brand internationally and promote the companies certified under the Startup Law internationally.
Co-ordinating entrepreneurship policy
Ensure the National Startup Forum convenes regularly and has buy-in and engagement from key national and regional entities.
Undertake monitoring and evaluation of the implementation and impact of the Startup Law via a champion government ministry and report and discuss results through the National Startup Forum.
Develop a national entrepreneurship strategy, which articulates priority areas, policy actions, key performance indicators, targets, implementation steps, monitoring and evaluation arrangements, and responsible entities for the delivery of public support to entrepreneurs and startups across ministries and agencies that are active in this policy area.
Tailoring supports for different firms and entrepreneurs
Create dedicated teams within key entrepreneurship support entities such as CDTI and ICEX with a mandate to deliver tailored advice and guidance to startups and scaleups in specific sectors or technology areas.
Launch a public tender for the development and delivery of a specialised incubation or acceleration programme in a select sector of strategic importance to Spain’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
Establish a legal status or certification for Spanish scaleups, with corresponding benefits and incentives to support their development.