The Deputy Minister of Economy and Internationalization and vice president of Proexca, Gustavo González de Vega, presided this Thursday over the Economy and Internationalization Conference at the Hotel Cristina in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where he announced the new routes and tools for the islands' business fabric to compete globally.
Under the slogan “The internationalization of our economy is our best version,” González de Vega gave the technical presentation titled “Business Routes and Tools to Compete Globally from the Canary Islands: A Roadmap to Productivity.”
The deputy minister explained the structure of the regional government’s new strategy: “Our roadmap is based on three very clear angles of internationalization: the promotion of exports (Out), the attraction of capital and companies (In), and the training of our talent (Grow).”
For this machinery to work, he highlighted that the Government assumes “a coordinating role for the alignment of internationalization, based on both horizontal and vertical governance through the Regional Council for Internationalization – CRI.”
González de Vega supported the success of these policies by revealing the excellent results of the past fiscal year. “Internationalization in data supports us: in 2025 alone, we achieved an attracted investment of 266 million euros thanks to 61 foreign projects that have chosen the Canary Islands, generating 489 direct jobs,” he stated.
Regarding the international expansion of Canarian companies, he detailed that “our companies generated an estimated business volume of 31.88 million euros through 108 promotional actions and more than 3,300 B2B meetings.”
The deputy minister made special mention of the potential of the islands' audiovisual sector, revealing that “the sectoral impact has exceeded 432 million euros, managing to maintain around 20,000 jobs during the 180 filmings that took place in 2025.”
To consolidate this position, González de Vega presented the integration into global value chains through the Sectoral 360 Plans, focused on key areas such as Audiovisual, Technology, Blue Economy, Aerospace, Agri-food, Health, and Tourism. He also highlighted the Canary Islands-Latam Strategy, which seeks to connect the "Canarias Latamtech" ecosystem with countries like Colombia and organize major events such as the upcoming Ibero-American Tourism Forum (2027).
Among those attending the event were the ambassador of the Republic of Ghana to the Kingdom of Spain, Kulsoume Sinare Baffoe; her political and economic counselor Beatrice Effah; and her honorary consul in the Canary Islands, Daniel Fitzjohns-Sherington.
Also attending were the Secretary General of the Ibero-American Business Council - CEIB, Narciso Casado, who spoke about the opportunities that the Canary Islands present as an Atlantic business hub, and especially recalled the importance of the MiPyme event being held in the Canary Islands in 2005.
Success Stories: When Going Abroad Multiplies Productivity
After the technical presentation, the day continued with a panel discussion moderated by Pilar Rumeu titled "Inspiring Stories: When International Expansion Multiplies Productivity." In this space, three companies shared their experience competing globally from the Canary Islands.
Amuse Animation was represented by its co-founder Elena Catalán. A prominent animation studio based in Gran Canaria that employs around a hundred people and has accumulated more than 20 awards. This studio is a benchmark for attracting investment to the islands, whose advantages, both fiscal and in terms of connectivity, talent, and ecosystem, were undoubtedly reasons why this studio decided to set up in Gran Canaria.
Ecos Group, a leading consultancy in Blue Economy and sustainability. It is a strategic company in compliance with European regulations, leading environmental studies for the future implementation of offshore wind energy in the islands. An international benchmark, as explained by its CEO Manuel de la Rosa.
The technology sector was represented by Mottum Analítica, an innovative startup focused on Generative Artificial Intelligence. Supported by the Canarias Aporta program (which has benefited 314 projects in its various modalities), it has managed to expand its social impact technological solutions to states in Mexico such as Querétaro and Zacatecas.