The president of the CME, Javier Garat, has presented the award in the Competitiveness category to both entities for the promotion of activity linked to the maritime sector and which was made visible at the Blue Zone Forum, organized jointly this year
This award is added to other recognitions obtained for the work of the Consortium within the framework of the Blue Economy, such as that of the Cádiz and Andalusia clusters or the first place obtained in the Funcas ranking of Andalusian incubators
The delegate of the Cádiz Consortium, Fran González, thanked the recognition and reaffirmed his commitment to the Blue Economy and the ecosystem that is being created in Cádiz around the sector.
The Cádiz Free Trade Zone has received, jointly with Navalia, the Federico Esteve Award in the Competitiveness category awarded by the Spanish Maritime Cluster for the work carried out in the Blue Zone Forum-Navalia Meeting 2025 that both entities organized in the month of September in Cádiz and which was a complete success in terms of participation and attendance. The president of the Spanish Maritime Cluster, Javier Garat, presented the award at an event held at the Madrid Casino after the conclusion of the 49th Assembly of the entity and which was attended by more than a hundred attendees.
The delegate of the Cádiz State, Fran González, who collected the award accompanied by the general director of Navalia Meeting, Javier Arnau, stated that “this type of recognition confirms that our new industry 4.0 model with the Blue Economy as the main commitment is working and encourages us to continue in the line of work that we are carrying out, with our projects around the blue sector: the Incubazul startup incubator and ZF Blue Core incubator 4.0 and with the innovative ecosystem that “We are configuring.”
González added that we have always advocated working together because unity makes us stronger and this award with Navalia confirms it for us. The Blue Zone Forum that we organized in September with Navalia Meeting was a success in participation, bringing together national and international experts, companies and more than a thousand attendees, in a highly specialized environment that covered the entire maritime ecosystem, and that has established us as a reference and pole of the Blue Economy. Next year we will organize it jointly with the University of Cádiz.”
The award obtained today in Madrid is added to other recognitions obtained by the Cádiz Free Trade Zone and Incubazul for their work and results in the configuration of the Blue Economy and innovation ecosystem in which the Cádiz Consortium works. In this way, there are several awards, such as the one from the Andalusian and Cádiz clusters respectively, the one from the Cádiz Ateneo, the Funcas ranking that grants first place to the Free Trade Zone incubator at the Andalusian level for two consecutive years or being a finalist in the Europa se Siente Awards.
The Spanish Maritime Cluster, of which Zona Franca de Cádiz has been a member since March 2024, brings together more than 150 entities and its work aims to promote collaboration and cooperation between all those activities linked to the sea, activities such as maritime transport; shipbuilding and repair; maritime engineering and auxiliary industry; extractive fishing and marine aquaculture; the recreational nautical industry, marinas and marinas; energies of marine origin; ports and port services; maritime services, as well as regional clusters; or marine research, to name just a few.
The Federico Esteve awards are named after the former president of the Spanish Maritime Cluster and recognize the work carried out and the commitment of companies and institutions in the sector that make a difference in various strategic areas of the industry with the aim of continuing to provide innovations to the industry. In previous editions, prestigious entities and companies linked to the sea, the Blue Economy and innovation have been awarded, such as Satlink, Pérez y Cia, or the Polytechnic University of Madrid, among others.
There are several categories of these awards. In addition to the Competitiveness for which the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz and Navalia have been awarded, the Port Authority of Vigo has also been awarded in International Projection; a Blue Education in Communication; to SATEC in Technology and Innovation; and the Civil Guard in Social Welfare.