- Rueda emphasized that the network of accelerators promoted by the regional government consolidates Galicia as the sixth Spanish region with the highest number of innovative companies.
- Galicia currently has 375 startups and projects, with a 95% success rate and more than 1,400 highly qualified jobs.
- The region already has a total of 534 tech companies, with €20.8 million in investment secured over the last year.
- The future Business Factories, together with Galicia’s first Business Innovation Strategy 2026–2028, reinforce the Galician Government’s commitment to increasing the competitiveness of the productive sector.
Santiago de Compostela, May 18, 2026
The President of the Xunta de Galicia, Alfonso Rueda, announced today the launch of three new business accelerators in “three strategic areas”: biotechnology, energy, and healthcare, with the aim of “supporting no fewer than 70 new projects by 2028.”
These are Business Factory BioTrack (BF BioTrack), focused on the biotechnology sector; Business Factory Energy (BFE), specialized in renewable energy; and Business Factory Health&Care (BFHC), aimed at the healthcare and social care sectors.
The success of the Business Factory network promoted by the Xunta places Galicia in sixth position in Spain’s national ranking of innovative companies. This is highlighted in a report by the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion (Igape), presented today at the Xunta Council meeting, where the launch of the three new accelerators was authorized as part of the Galician Government’s commitment to technological competitiveness.
The study also underlines that the experience accumulated by Galician accelerators since the launch of the first BF in 2016 confirms the economic impact of this model. The Business Factories have supported 375 startups and innovative projects, with a 95% business survival rate—well above the usual average for entrepreneurship—and have contributed to the creation of more than 1,400 qualified jobs. Furthermore, they are helping to consolidate a stronger and more competitive entrepreneurial ecosystem, better connected with industry and the development of new technological and industrial capabilities in strategic sectors for Galicia.
Biotechnology, Renewables, and Healthcare
The future Business Factories reinforce the Galician Government’s commitment to placing innovation at the center of the region’s development and are part of the first Galicia Business Innovation Strategy 2026–2028. Once implemented, it will mobilize more than €400 million to make innovation a routine practice within Galicia’s business fabric rather than an exception. This investment will help attract talent and flagship projects, create experimentation spaces, stimulate innovation, and enable the integration of new technological advances such as AI into more traditional productive sectors.
The new BFs are designed to accelerate companies with high growth potential in fields expected to play a key role in Galicia’s economic, technological, and industrial transformation in the coming years. Through a specialized acceleration model, participating startups will gain access to strategic guidance, mentoring, market connections, industrial validation, and financing opportunities, thereby supporting their consolidation and international scaling capabilities.
BF BioTrack will focus on life sciences, biotechnology, bioindustry, and technologies applied to healthcare and the agri-food sector, supporting projects with a strong scientific component and market transfer potential, while strengthening Galicia’s position as an emerging ecosystem in advanced engineering.
Meanwhile, BF Health&Care will focus on innovative projects related to digital health, medical technologies, advanced care, and social healthcare services, contributing to the modernization of Galicia’s healthcare ecosystem and the creation of innovative solutions aimed at improving people’s quality of life.
In the energy sector, BF Energy will promote initiatives linked to renewable energy, energy transition, storage, energy efficiency, and sustainable industrial technologies. Its objective is to strengthen the connection between startups, Galicia’s industrial network, and the regional energy value chain.
Participation of Clusters
The three accelerators will be developed in collaboration with Galicia’s main sector clusters—Bioga, the Galicia Health Cluster, Asime, and Cluergal—and will also include the participation of XesGalicia, reinforcing a public-private collaboration model aimed at accelerating innovative companies, attracting talent, and connecting entrepreneurship with Galicia’s major industrial challenges.
Up to €14 million will be mobilized for the launch of these three new accelerators “between contributions from the Xunta de Galicia and private projects.” Igape will allocate more than €5 million for management, coordination, advisory, and training expenses; the collaborating clusters will jointly contribute around €850,000; and, additionally, XesGalicia may provide financial support to selected projects that successfully pass the investment analysis process. This financial support may range from €50,000 to €250,000 per project, depending on each initiative’s stage of development, with a maximum investment capacity of up to €8 million.
With the incorporation of these new initiatives, Galicia strengthens a pioneering Business Factory network promoted by the Xunta that already includes seven established accelerators: BFAuto, BFAero, BFFood, BFClimaTech, BFSport, ViaGalicia, and Galicia Avanza. Their success is supported by strong figures and comes at a time when Europe is engaged in a global race to attract technological startups. In this context, the European Commission has made support for startups and scaleups—companies that have already moved beyond the initial startup phase—a priority to reinforce competitiveness and technological autonomy. Galicia is therefore consolidating itself as one of Spain’s most dynamic entrepreneurial ecosystems.
According to the report Tech and Innovative Companies in Galicia 2026, the region currently has 534 technological and innovative companies (264 startups, 29 scaleups, and 229 SMEs), generating more than 5,700 jobs and annual revenues exceeding €556 million.
The Business Factory network therefore represents a modern industrial policy based on innovation, smart specialization, and public-private collaboration. It is a model designed not only to create startups but also to support them in their growth and consolidation, transforming innovation into viable businesses, qualified employment, and new industrial capabilities for Galicia.
Galicia Avanza
The Xunta Council also authorized this morning the signing of a new agreement between the Galician Institute for Economic Promotion (Igape) and the Galicia Technology Park Company (Tecnópole) to develop the 2026 and 2027 editions of the Galicia Avanza accelerator, a pioneering program “focused on supporting SMEs in promoting their internationalization.” Total investment exceeds €1.19 million.
The initiative is aimed at established companies and startups with validated products and the capacity to scale internationally, but which require specialized support to professionalize their international presence. To achieve this, Galicia Avanza offers a practical and personalized acceleration pathway that combines mentoring, advisory services, cross-functional training, technical support, and acceleration activities adapted to the specific needs of each participating company.
Each edition will include a maximum of 15 beneficiary SMEs and will run over a period of between eight and twelve months. The program will enable companies to validate the potential of their innovative solutions, improve their commercial strategies, and strengthen both their organizational capabilities and access to financing, investors, and new international partners. In addition, it includes specific actions to increase the visibility of participating companies and create synergies within Galicia’s innovation ecosystem.
It is worth highlighting that Galicia Avanza has consolidated itself in recent years as a key tool for accelerating the validation, positioning, and international commercialization of Galician innovation.
