“In 40 years, the agency has supported 375,000 projects, creating 250,000 jobs and driving €28 billion in private investment”
Miquel Sàmper, Minister of Business and Labour
40 years of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment supporting Catalonia’s economy with 250,000 jobs
01 Oct 2025
In 40 years of activity, the agency has supported 375,000 business projects and facilitated the mobilization of €28 billion in private investment.
ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, the Government of Catalonia’s agency for business competitiveness, celebrated its 40th anniversary last night with an event that brought together Catalan companies and organizations at the National Art Museum of Catalonia (MNAC) in Barcelona.
During the event, the Minister of Business and Labour, Miquel Sàmper, announced that over its 40 years of activity, ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment has helped create and sustain more than 250,000 jobs, supporting more than 375,000 business projects that have facilitated the mobilization of over 28 billion euros in private investment.
ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment stimulates the growth of Catalan companies through the promotion of innovation, international expansion, and business strategy, in addition to being the government body responsible for attracting foreign investment to Catalonia. It also provides support for R&D projects, green and technological transformation, as well as the internationalization and opening of subsidiaries abroad.
Tuesday evening’s event featured an exhibition showcasing the evolution of the Catalan business fabric over the past four decades, in parallel with that of the agency. Cases were presented of pioneering Catalan companies in their fields, recognized as success stories in internationalization, innovation, and business growth, such as Simon, Liquats Vegetals, The Blue Box, and Fractus.
During the event, the Secretary for Business and Competitiveness and CEO of ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment, Jaume Baró, held a conversation with Anna Birulés, who held senior positions at COPCA and CIDEM in the 1980s, in which they discussed the changes the business world has undergone over these years.
40 years of continuous business support
2025 marks 40 years of public policies in support of business, promoted by the Government of Catalonia. Driven by the need to accompany Catalan companies in their integration into the European Economic Community, in 1985, the Parliament of Catalonia approved the law creating the Centre for Business Information and Development (CIDEM), which included Spain’s first foreign investment promotion agency and one of the pioneers in Europe. Subsequently, in 1987, the Consorci de Promoció Comercial de Catalunya (COPCA) was created. The integration of these two entities in 2009 gave rise to the current ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment.
Throughout these 40 years, support for Catalan business has been continuous, with constant adaptation to the needs of the Catalan business community. Highlights include more than €3.2 billion in foreign and Catalan company investment mobilized in the last 20 years through the High-Impact Business Investments program.
Other milestones include the opening of the first overseas offices in Tokyo, New York, Brussels, and San Francisco in 1988, as well as the launch of the cluster policy in 1992. ACCIÓ-Catalonia Trade & Investment also promoted the first Internationalization Week in 1994 and the first Investment Forum in 1995.
In terms of support lines, the first aid schemes in this field were launched in 1995 in collaboration with the Interdepartmental Council for Research and Technological Innovation (CIRIT). This commitment to supporting business research and development was consolidated in 2007 with the creation of the grant line for R&D business projects. Since then, this line has mobilized more than €300 million in over 800 R&D business projects.
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