More and more foreign startups and tech companies are choosing the Valencian Region to grow their businesses. For instance, Startup Valencia has 21 members from outside Spain.
Originating mainly in Europe and South America, these companies have seen the Valencian Community as a destination for their investment. Among the reasons for choosing this region is the fact that it is now the third tech hub in Spain, only behind Madrid and Barcelona, as well as the open innovation space where startups and corporations connect and evolve together.
As Juan Luis Hortelano, president of Startup Valencia, explains: “the Valencian Community is a great enclave for the tech and innovation ecosystem, which is why we seek to encourage foreign startups to settle here. Valencia has become the ideal setting for tech entrepreneurs looking for a place to develop their ideas and scale their businesses”.
The maturity of the ecosystem and a solid financial and technological structure are attractive values for talent and entrepreneurship. Added to this are the climate and quality of life offered by the region. As Gillian van Loenhoud, head of “People and Culture” at Yobbers, a Dutch startup based in Valencia, points out, all these ingredients are a magnet for companies. “The reason we decided to come to Valencia, apart from all the advantages the city has, is to meet interesting people in the ecosystem,” he says.
Eve Pattison, CEO of Big Translation, a Corporate Partner of Startup Valencia, shares the same view: “the Valencian ecosystem welcomes you, regardless of your nationality, and makes you feel supported. It’s an ecosystem where you really notice how they help each other“.
In order to make the setting-up of these companies in the Valencian Community easy and pleasant, Startup Valencia has developed an accompaniment programme. Through the Soft Landing programme, these companies are provided with information and connections with agents in the Valencian tech and innovation ecosystem that will enable them to obtain help in the form of legal advice, public aid, acceleration programmes, basic documentation, administrative procedures, workspaces and accommodation, among others. The aim is to provide them with an easy “landing” so as to allow them to focus completely on developing and scaling their business.
This is an assistance that entrepreneurs value positively. “With Startup Valencia it’s the first time we have felt helped by the ecosystem as expats“, explains Stefano Scardia, CEO and co-founder of Colibid.
Startup Valencia has created an Expats working group that aims to foster cooperation between foreign companies based in the Valencian Community. If you are interested in joining this group, please write to hello@startupvalencia.org.
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