Spain has emerged as a leading hub for entrepreneurship in Europe, with cities like Barcelona and Madrid hosting a growing number of startups and venture capital firms. Spain's favourable economic conditions have created an environment that is nurturing new companies, and it is quickly becoming a hotbed for entrepreneurial activities.
Having already discussed the top VC funds operating in Spain, it is now time to explore the country's best startup accelerators and incubators. These initiatives provide young entrepreneurs with access to funding, mentorship, and resources to help them grow and scale their businesses. Spain’s startup ecosystem has a diverse range of accelerators and incubators, catering to a variety of industries, from fintech to health tech and more.
We will examine the programs and initiatives fuelling Spain's entrepreneurial spirit. So let’s dive into the exciting world of startup acceleration and incubation in Spain.
SEEDROCKET
Founded in 2008, Seedrocket is one of the most reputable, and bases almost all of its activity in Barcelona (although with some programs also in Madrid) and follows the classic acceleration method: welcoming startups from their birth to their takeoff, all of this with a series of mentors who are in charge of advising all companies and helping them in their growth. With more than ten campuses behind it, Seedrocket’s data so far is more than positive.
LANZADERA
Lanzadera is the startup accelerator established by Juan Roig, founder of Mercadona, and located in Marina de Empresas in Valencia. Directed by Javier Jiménez, it has three support programs for entrepreneurs so that they can transform their ideas into reality. Campus, for entrepreneurs from EDEM, Garage, for entrepreneurs with projects in initial phases; and Lanzadera, for entrepreneurs with projects already tested in the market.
In all of them, they show the fundamentals of a management model that they have learned thanks to the experience of Juan Roig at the helm of Mercadona. In addition, entrepreneurs receive training, advice, mentoring, and financing; all adapted to the degree of maturity of the projects, which can reach up to €500,000, in a loan format with a flexible repayment schedule. In addition, since 2017, it has had a program, PSTalents, in which, hand in hand with PlayStation, entrepreneurs develop video games for the brand and also receive advice on business management from Lanzadera.
PLUG AND PLAY SPAIN
Another of the pleasant surprises that come to us from Valencia is Plug and Play Spain, an open innovation platform that works as a bridge between Silicon Valley and 50+ locations where the Plug and Play Tech Center is located. Its mission is to connect the most innovative technology that is born in startups with large global corporations through its more than nine vertical acceleration programs that it has around the world.
In addition, since 2012, it has raised more than €8Bn from portfolio companies, thus investing throughout Europe and the US. Additionally, it provides space and promotions in services and products from suppliers to its entire portfolio of startups.
DEMIUM STARTUPS
Demium Startups is a network of startup incubators and accelerators founded and directed by Jorge Dobón. In addition to offering incubation and acceleration programs, Demium has its venture capital firm, Demium Capital, which invests from €150,000 in pre-seed rounds up to €500,000 in following funding rounds. Demium's programs help entrepreneurs find their co-founding team, validate their business ideas, raise investment rounds, and connect with a community of over 1,000 fellow entrepreneurs, mentors from different industries, and a network of investors.
They have three offices 100% focused on developing innovative businesses in the three main Spanish cities (Valencia, Madrid, Barcelona), a vertical dedicated to the video game sector (Demium Games), and another vertical oriented to the development of startups that make use of VR/AR or mixed.
BERRIUP ACCELERATOR
Berriup invests €50,000 in all participating projects in exchange for 10% of the project's shares. Entrepreneurs receive:
- 4-month Acceleration Program with Workshops, Advice, Tutoring, and Talks by Entrepreneurs and first-level professionals.
- Co-working space (Wi-Fi, telephone, and photocopier) during the four months of the program: available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
- Access to their extensive network of contacts.
Once the program ends, BerriUp is committed to helping entrepreneurs seek financing to develop their companies when they need it.
STARTUP ACCELERATOR CONNECTOR
Conector is a startup accelerator created in 2013 by 8 of the most renowned entrepreneurs in the Spanish ecosystem. They are: Carlos Blanco, Gerard Olivé, Miguel Vicente, Xavier Verdaguer, Marc Vidal, Marc Ros, Risto Mejide and Elisabeth Martínez. Through a five-month program, where mentors play a crucial role, they support projects in the seed phase to grow quickly and become successful, proven, and investable initiatives.
Connector selects an average of 7 projects for each program. The selected startups receive more than €400,000 in services from their collaborators, support in legal services, courses, and training sessions from mentors, and the possibility of presenting their project to private investors and venture capital companies at the end of the program at DemoDay. In addition, Conector also carries out vertical and corporate programs with corporations such as Bankia, SEAT, Porsche, and ABANCA. The Conector is present in Barcelona, Madrid, and Galicia and has at least two annual calls in each city.
METXA ACCELERATOR
Metxa is an accelerator that aims to support and facilitate the growth of entrepreneurs by investing in their ideas. They have created various acceleration programs with their methodology and knowledge to help entrepreneurs meet their challenges. They also provide a group of mentors from different disciplines who actively involve themselves in the projects and accompany the entrepreneurs throughout the process and beyond.
Metxa’s acceleration programs are designed to build investable projects and equip entrepreneurs with the keys for complete project development and management. They encourage entrepreneurs who are willing to invest time in their projects and make data-based decisions rather than relying on intuition.
WAYRA
Wayra is Telefónica’s startup accelerator that helps startups grow and form successful companies, which receive funding, acceleration services, workspace, access to Telefónica, and visibility.
Entrepreneurs must meet a series of requirements to be able to access their program: have a product/service, a balanced and solid team, and a scalable market.
Wayra opens the doors of the corporation to the most disruptive startups so that they can offer their technological solutions to the network of 350 million Telefónica customers in 24 countries. In addition, they offer up to €250k of investment, online scaleup services, and access to real clients.
TETUAN VALLEY
Tetuan Valley is a startup accelerator based at Campus Madrid, which helps internet, software, app, or marketplace startups to launch their prototypes during the acceleration process. Through six sessions, they receive talks from mentors and entrepreneurs. Upon completion, the startup graduate and become part of the Tetuan Valley community.
A community of 300 members made up of alumni, mentors, team, and partners. The benefits of being alumni are:
- Access to the network of mentors.
- European partners.
- External mentors and attendance at events.
- The possibility of developing the project within the incubator.
- Perks and discounts on services from other companies.
CLIMATE KIC
Climate-KIC accelerator is the only clean-tech accelerator in Spain and the largest in the EU. It offers financial support, training, and mentoring to the best Startups that offer innovative products and services for both mitigation and adaptation to climate change and the low-carbon economy.
The financing of their program can reach €95,000, also giving access to national and international masterclasses and specialized investment forums, among others. Climate-KIC Startup Accelerator seeks innovative solutions (industry, cities, agroforestry sector…) to promote a low-carbon economy. This accelerator belongs to Climate-KIC, an initiative promoted by the EIT (European Institute of Technology and Innovation), an EU body.
VIA GALICIA
Vía Galicia is a program promoted by the Vigo Free Zone Consortium and the Xunta, whose objective is the acceleration of innovative projects, which are accompanied by their validation, startup, financing, and maturation.
It is an 18-month High-Performance Program that combines training, tutoring, mentoring, workspace, and the contribution of seed capital to start the project. The progress of the participating teams is evaluated so that the best projects are presented to investors and industrial partners.
INNOENERGY
InnoEnergy is the largest sustainable energy accelerator in Europe and has a program aimed at startups in Spain and Portugal. In this way, they offer support for business growth to the most innovative entrepreneurs and small companies that work for the future of sustainable energy.
The Initiative is supported by the InnoEnergy Highway program for startups with products under development and ready to market in less than two years and by the InnoEnergy Boostway, designed to accelerate growth and boost the performance of companies in the sustainable energy sector in their adaptation to sales growth, industrialization, and internationalization.
SANTALUCÍA IMPULSA
Santalucía IMPULSA is a startup acceleration program promoted by Santalucía Seguros, directed by Ángel Uzquiza and Jorge Millán-Astray. The program offers, on the one hand, a unique and individualized acceleration process and the opportunity to proactively seek collaborations and synergies with Santalucía Seguros, and on the other, the possibility of winning one of the three cash prizes offered by the program itself.
From Santalucía IMPULSA, they help validate the value proposition and train the development teams to improve their competitiveness, accelerate the development of their projects and provide access to financing. The program lasts four months, with specific training divided into six 4-hour workshops and mentoring sessions every 15 days.
INNSOMNIA
Innsomnia is an innovation hub specializing in the acceleration and incubation of technology-based projects through agreements with large companies that trust the entity to incorporate the latest innovations into their business model. Thus, Bankia Fintech by Innsomnia is the first fintech incubator and accelerator in Spain, which, with two calls -one national and one international- works to incorporate new fintech projects into the bank’s innovation department.
They have also developed specific projects with other entities, such as the digitization challenge of Feria Valencia. With the same model -a non-invasive acceleration in which equity is not required for startups, and they are offered tutoring, mentoring, help in the search for public financing, and all kinds of advice- eight companies work to offer technological solutions to the entity fair.
ORBIT PROGRAM
Órbit is a business acceleration program designed to select outstanding projects and undertake a scalable and sustainable growth process for startups, entrepreneurs, and companies that have existed for less than five years. During the program, consultants, mentors, experts, advisors, and business angels conduct a prospecting and in-depth analysis of the participating projects to select the five that stand out for their robustness and growth potential, which will be the winners of the Órbit Awards and receive €20,000 each in equity-free funding.
The Órbit Program aims to detect projects with the greatest potential, support them in consolidating their growth, and facilitate their access to financing and private investment. Furthermore, the program promotes the five selected companies and takes them to the next level through personalised resources and tools, contributing to the economic sustainability, development, and structuring of Castellón province and its surroundings.
Want to discover more accelerators and incubators from other countries? Check out the list below.
Top Accelerators and Incubators from:
- Round-up Of The Best Accelerators In The CEE Region
- Albania
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bulgaria
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Estonia
- France
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Italy
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Türkiye
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- Western Balkans.
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Best Startup Accelerators And Incubators In Denmark (by Katarzyna Groszkowska, Editor, Vestbee)
Best Startup Accelerators And Incubators In The Western Balkans (by Katarzyna Groszkowska, Editor, Vestbee)
