- He stresses that the aim is “for innovation to become an increasingly integral part of businesses”
- The Regional Minister for Economy highlights the goal of industrialising innovation to generate new products and skilled, high-quality jobs in Galicia
- Galicia, a Factory of Innovation is structured around four pillars and 14 measures to strengthen businesses’ capabilities in an increasingly global market
- Collaboration between businesses and technology centres will help turn scientific advances into practical solutions for the business sector
- Rueda sets targets to “increase the number of innovative businesses by 25% and exceed €1.5 billion in business expenditure on innovation”
Santiago de Compostela, 19 October 2026
The President of the Xunta, Alfonso Rueda, announced that the Council today approved the Galician Business Innovation Strategy, “with a timeframe extending to 2028 and a budget of more than €400 million”. Its aim is to support the business sector so that “innovation becomes an increasingly integral part of businesses”, which is essential to “become more competitive and avoid falling behind” in an increasingly global and technology-driven world.
Under the name Galicia, a Factory of Innovation, the region will have a dedicated innovation strategy for the first time. It brings together a set of measures within a common framework to coordinate and strengthen existing support mechanisms and introduce new ones, with one priority: to industrialise innovation. “In other words, to help bring ideas and technological innovations into industry and, through it, to market,” Rueda explained. “We want talent and knowledge to translate into productive capacity, with innovation leading to industrial production here in Galicia and generating skilled jobs in the region,” added the Regional Minister for Economy and Industry, María Jesús Lorenzana.
The initiative builds on the positive development of business innovation in Galicia, which, the minister stressed, “has grown exponentially” in recent years. In this regard, the President recalled that “between 2018 and 2024, business expenditure on R&D grew by 71% to €510.5 million, while the number of company employees engaged in these activities increased by 30%”, reaching 6,285. Building on this progress, the Xunta now aims to increase the number of businesses that innovate, particularly SMEs, and strengthen the application of knowledge across the business sector.
The Galician Business Innovation Strategy is structured around four complementary pillars — activating, boosting, structuring and mobilising — comprising a total of 14 measures that cover the entire innovation process: from building capabilities within businesses to developing and commercialising technological solutions, fostering collaboration between innovation ecosystem stakeholders and mobilising investment.
Four pillars to bring innovation to market
As the minister explained, the first pillar, Activating Innovation in Businesses, has a budget of €47.4 million and “aims to make innovation a routine part of our businesses, particularly SMEs”. It will promote the recruitment of talent and the development of specialist capabilities through programmes such as Innocap Galicia, created to support the recruitment of qualified professionals for innovation projects, and innova Mercado, designed to help start-ups bring their products to market.
The second pillar, Boosting Innovation, has a budget of €231.9 million and will be delivered through initiatives such as TIC-MAQ, focused on developing proprietary technologies and advanced machinery, and Accelerator Galicia, a new instrument combining grants and financing, with the participation of Igape and Xes Galicia. This pillar also includes the Industrialise Innovation initiative, which will launch next year with a budget of €66.5 million. This new pre-commercial public procurement programme targets strategic sectors of Galician industry. Technology centres will act as project promoters, helping projects through validation, industrialisation and market entry.
The third pillar, Structuring and Connecting, has a budget of €9.4 million and will strengthen collaboration between businesses, technology centres and other ecosystem stakeholders. Notable programmes include MatchINN Galicia, which will connect business needs with innovative solutions, and Business Wallet Galicia, designed to simplify administrative procedures with public authorities.
Igape will allocate a total of €113.1 million to Mobilising Investment, the fourth and final pillar. Its purpose is to ensure that projects have the resources they need to develop. It includes tools such as XesTransforma, designed to improve the investment readiness of technology projects, and the Venture Studio Fund, aimed at turning innovative ideas into viable ventures. These measures will be complemented by financing instruments provided by Igape and XesGalicia.
Tailored support
The first Galician Business Innovation Strategy also introduces a more personalised and proactive support model from Igape, allowing assistance to be tailored to each company’s circumstances, level of innovation maturity and growth potential. The aim is to help each business identify and make use of the most suitable resources at every stage of its development, thereby supporting the production of innovative solutions in Galicia.
Through this initiative, the Xunta aims to expand the pool of innovative businesses and strengthen the links between knowledge, industry and the market. Rueda highlighted the targets set for 2028, which include “increasing the number of innovative businesses by 25%, exceeding €1.5 billion in business expenditure on innovation and reaching more than 4,200 people engaged” in in-house innovation activities within businesses, as well as surpassing 2,700 beneficiaries of public support instruments.
