The agreement signed in Cádiz is the first that INCYDE Foundation signs in Andalusia to develop the project launched together with the CDTI and bring technology closer to SMEs, startups and entrepreneurs
The protocol includes training, advice and acceleration tools and will facilitate access to information on financing opportunities for R&D&i projects.
The firm continues a close collaboration between both entities that has allowed the development of strategic projects linked to the Blue Economy such as Incubazul and ZF Blue Core
The State delegate in the Free Zone of Cádiz, Fran González, and the general director of the INCYDE Foundation of the Chambers of Commerce of Spain, Javier Collado, have signed a collaboration protocol to promote innovation, entrepreneurship and the technological transformation of the business fabric. This is the first agreement that INCYDE Foundation signs in Andalusia to develop the project launched together with the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), aimed at bringing technology closer to small and medium-sized companies, startups and entrepreneurs.
The agreement establishes a collaboration framework between both entities to promote the development in the area of action of the Cádiz Free Zone of the initiatives provided for in the agreement signed last May between the INCYDE Foundation and the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI), a public business entity dependent on the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, in charge of promoting innovation and technological development of the Spanish business fabric and of promoting and channeling support instruments for R&D&I projects.
The collaboration will make it possible to bring the Cádiz business community closer to tools and resources aimed at improving its competitiveness, favoring the incorporation of innovation and technological transformation processes and supporting the creation, consolidation and growth of innovative and technology-based companies.
The State delegate in the Cádiz Free Trade Zone has valued this protocol as “a new opportunity to put tools at the service of companies and entrepreneurs that allow them to innovate, grow and be more competitive, especially at a time when technological transformation is decisive to face new business challenges with guarantees.”
For his part, Javier Collado highlighted that the agreement represents “one more step” in the collaboration that the INCYDE Foundation maintains with the Cádiz Free Trade Zone in terms of innovation and technology, after projects such as Incubazul and the Business Incubator 4.0. The general director of INCYDE has explained that the objective now is to “bring technology to small and medium-sized companies, entrepreneurs and startups” and has stressed that the one signed in Cádiz “is the first agreement that we signed in Andalusia to launch this CDTI project.”
Collado has also advanced that this agreement paves the way for new alliances, since, as he has pointed out, "after this agreement others will come here in Andalusia."
Fran González has also stressed that "the Free Zone wants to play an active role as a facilitator and as a meeting point between companies, knowledge, innovation and resources offered by different administrations and public organizations. This alliance with INCYDE fits fully into that strategy and allows us to add capabilities to generate new opportunities in our territory."
Concrete actions for companies
The protocol contemplates the development of different actions adapted to the characteristics and needs of the territory. These include awareness-raising and dissemination sessions on innovation, technological transformation and innovative entrepreneurship, as well as practical workshops aimed at identifying innovation opportunities and facilitating the application of technological transformation processes in companies.
These workshops will also improve the capabilities of companies and startups to access financing, including the dissemination of the instruments and programs managed by the Center for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI).
Another of the axes will be the implementation of express acceleration programs aimed at promoting the consolidation and growth of startups and innovative companies. These programs may include project diagnoses, specialized mentoring and the development of action plans adapted to the needs of each initiative.
The collaboration framework also provides for training programs aimed at innovation and technological transformation and the creation and consolidation, mainly, of technology-based companies. These actions may be co-financed by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) through the ESF+ State Program for Employment, Education, Training and Social Economy (EFESO). One of the objectives expressly included in the protocol is to provide companies, startups and entrepreneurs with information on existing financing opportunities for R&D&i projects, paying special attention to the instruments and programs managed by the CDTI.
Likewise, the aim is to promote collaboration with the different agents of the innovation ecosystem, generate networks and promote the exchange of knowledge, in addition to bringing public resources to support innovation and entrepreneurship closer to the business fabric of the territory. González has pointed out that "just as important as having public instruments to support innovation is ensuring that companies are aware of them, know how to access them and can take advantage of them. With this agreement we want to contribute precisely to reducing that distance and making these resources reach the business community in a more direct way."
This new collaboration framework is added to the recent incorporation of the Cádiz Free Zone to the PIDI Network of the CDTI, approved by the Executive Committee of the Consortium last July. As a member of this network, Zona Franca acts as a point of reference to offer information and advice to companies and entrepreneurs on the public financing instruments and programs for R&D&I, a line of work that is now reinforced with the actions provided for in the protocol signed with the INCYDE Foundation.
A consolidated collaboration
The signing of this protocol continues a close collaborative relationship between the Cádiz Free Trade Zone and the INCYDE Foundation developed in recent years, which has had the Blue Economy, innovation and entrepreneurship as some of its main axes. This alliance has allowed us to launch different strategic projects for the Cádiz business community co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the INCYDE Foundation.
One of the main exponents of this joint work is Incubazul, the High Technology Incubator in the Blue Economy of the Free Trade Zone of Cádiz, conceived to promote the creation and growth of innovative business projects linked to the sea. The initiative has allowed the development of a specialized incubation and acceleration ecosystem and, since 2024, it has its own headquarters in the Zona Base building.
This alliance has continued with ZF Blue Core-Business Incubator 4.0, a project that expands the work started with Incubazul to accompany companies in new stages of consolidation, growth and internationalization. Blue Core has an investment of 10.3 million euros, 85% co-financed by the ERDF through the INCYDE Foundation.
The business ecosystem generated around Incubazul and now expanded with Blue Core already has a portfolio of 123 projects linked to the Blue Economy, of which 58 are in the incubation phase and 65 are consolidated projects, with more than three years of experience. In this way, 53% of the initiatives are already in the consolidation phase, compared to 47% that continue in incubation.
The collaboration between the Cádiz Free Trade Zone and the INCYDE Foundation has also extended to the field of training and entrepreneurship. In recent years, both institutions have developed different actions aimed at promoting self-employment, business creation and the training of entrepreneurs, with special attention to sectors related to the Blue Economy and innovation.
This line of work has been reinforced in 2026 with new training actions linked to the Blue Economy and aimed at promoting self-employment and entrepreneurship, consolidating a collaboration that has allowed the Free Zone to add European resources and specialized tools to its strategy to support the business community.
Fran González highlighted that "we are not starting from scratch. The collaboration between Zona Franca and INCYDE has been decisive in launching projects such as Incubazul and Blue Core and in attracting European resources that today are translating into companies, innovation and new opportunities. This protocol allows us to expand that alliance and put it at the service of the entire business fabric."
A collaboration framework until 2027
In the development of the new protocol, Zona Franca will collaborate with the INCYDE Foundation in the detection and recruitment of participants for the different activities, as well as in its dissemination and promotion. In addition, it may provide, depending on its availability and in accordance with its internal regulations, appropriate spaces and facilities to carry out the planned actions.
For its part, INCYDE Foundation will be in charge of managing, coordinating and executing the actions contemplated within the framework of its agreement with the CDTI and will provide the technical and teaching staff and the necessary resources for the proper development of the activities.
The specific programming, its calendar and the number of activities will be determined by the INCYDE Foundation in coordination with the Cádiz Free Trade Zone, taking into account the needs of the territory and the availability of resources.
The protocol does not entail any associated cost for the parties and will be valid until December 31, 2027. Upon completion, the INCYDE Foundation and Zona Franca will prepare a recapitulation of the activities carried out and the results obtained.
The new agreement thus expands the scope of a collaboration consolidated in recent years and adds to the projects jointly developed in Economía Azul new actions aimed at promoting innovation and technological transformation of the entire Cádiz business fabric.