The new strategy of the Generalitat to overcome the 3,000 'start-ups'
The Government will dedicate 78 million euros in aid in 2026 to R&D and expects to mobilize 300 million private ones
BarcelonaThe Generalitat has approved this Tuesday its new business innovation strategy for the period 2026-2030. The Government's new roadmap for innovative activity in the country will activate an investment package of 78 million euros this year alone, 30% more, to accelerate research and development in the territory, train and attract the necessary technological talent, or facilitate the business adoption of disruptive technologies. According to the executive's calculations, public investment dedicated to the sector will mobilize private capital worth 3.7 times more; that is, about 300 million euros. The first call, as explained by the executive, will open next week, with an available amount of 17 million euros.
The strategy sets a series of objectives to be achieved by the end of the decade. The Generalitat aims to raise business investment in R+D+I to 2% of GDP. Catalonia would thus double the current ratio, which stands at 1.1%; still far from the European average, which is close to 1.5%. If the project meets all its indicators, the Principality would have 12,000 innovative companies by 2030, and a total of 250 hubs technologicals from multinationals, nearly 50 more than there are now. As for the emerging ecosystem, the Government aims to reach 3,000 start-ups and scale-ups by 2030; 25% of which should correspond to deep technology projects. According to the latest data from Acció, the agency for business growth of the Department of Business and Labor, corresponding to 2025, there were about 2,400 businesses of this profile in the country.
The aid linked to the strategy will be channeled through Acció. It will be executed in 33 specific actions distributed across eight axes, from the competitiveness of innovative companies to international projection; through venture capital or technological sovereignty.
They also place at the center of the target a series of sectors that the executive considers especially relevant for the economic development of the country: food, health, automotive, chemistry and energy, the digital economy, and the defense industry. To this range are added some technologies of a transversal nature, such as AI, robotics, or semiconductors, which act as "enablers" of the rest of the technological economy and which will also have a leading role in the department's objectives.
Reduce risk
According to the executive director of Acció, Joan Romero, the two key objectives of the Government with the innovation strategy are to activate investment in innovation, on the one hand; and, on the other, to "order the ecosystem". Regarding the investment leg, Romero believes that the strategy must reduce the risks involved for a company, especially for smaller ones, in dedicating resources to innovation. "R&D investment is the riskiest, because the initiative may not even reach the market," according to the leader.
In this sense, the department's roadmap seeks to stabilize public aid for research and development so that it becomes part of the daily life of innovative businesses; and it will offer sandboxes (supervised testing environments for disruptive technologies) so that they can observe the product of their investments without risk.
Regarding the articulation of the ecosystem, in the Government's view, the Catalan technological fabric is "very good at fostering initiatives" – from universities, research centers, or the business world itself. However, it lacks the "governance" to coordinate efficiently. In this way, the executive will seek to "avoid overlaps and maximize the impact" of any initiative undertaken.