Get to know ACCIÓ

ACCIÓ is the public agency for the competitiveness of Catalan enterprise, attached to the Ministry of Enterprise and Knowledge of the Generalitat (Government) of Catalonia. It aims to promote the competitiveness and growth of the Catalan business fabric by promoting innovation, internationalization and by attracting investment.

ACCIÓ assists enterprise in the process of competitive differentiation and in the continuous search for new business opportunities. The agency guides Catalan companies so they can discover their environment and take advantage of the changes that take place in it, so they can strengthen those aspects that allow them to set themselves apart and position themselves in an advantageous position in the face of future global challenges.

With the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of the Catalan business fabric, ACCIÓ also advises companies in their search for funding, helps them grow through training programmes and guides them on issues concerning clusters, among other programmes and support services. It is also responsible for attracting foreign investment to Catalonia through Catalonia Trade & Investment.  Also, startups are a priority for the public agency, not only for their disruptive projects affecting the entire Catalan business fabric, but also because they are a source of innovation for larger enterprises. In short, ACCIÓ adapts to the entire reality of the Catalan business ecosystem and has become the ideal companion for the enterprise of the present and of the future.

To achieve all these goals, the agency has an expert, multidisciplinary team, both at its Barcelona headquarters and in its seven branches across the rest of Catalonia, which strengthens its commitment to service and proximity to enterprise and makes the agency a reference for the promotion of the competitiveness of the Catalan business fabric.

In addition, ACCIÓ provides enterprise with a network of 40 international Trade and Investment offices around the world that provide coverage to more than 100 markets. From these offices it promotes the connection of Catalan enterprise in the world and advises on setting up in new markets and discovering global business opportunities, as well as helping in the process of internationalization of innovation thanks its specialized team’s local support and knowledge.

ACCIÓ was formally conceived in 2010, after the merger of the Consortium for the Commercial Promotion of Catalonia (COPCA) and the Centre for Innovation and Business Development (CIDEM), jointly totalling more than 20 years of experience in support of the Catalan business fabric. It collaborates with local and international business entities to add synergies and ensure that Catalan enterprise can enjoy a wider range of instruments to grow and become more competitive.

Each year, ACCIÓ supports more than 23,000 customers and assists them in nearly 15,400 projects with the aim of strengthening the competitiveness of the Catalan economy. Through various programmes, in 2018 it mobilized investments of more than 990 million euros by Catalan companies.  

In the field of internationalization, through its network of Trade and Investments Offices, it managed more than 1,600 projects assisting Catalan companies to access foreign markets and consolidate their international presence. In this regard, ACCIÓ carried out 68 business missions with more than 700 companies participating in 2018, one of the more direct instruments to explore new markets, seek business opportunities and find local partners.

With regard to attracting foreign investment, 84 projects materialized in 2018 mobilizing more than 322 million euros and contributing to the creation of 5,455 new jobs and the maintenance of another 1,269. In fact, 129 euros were attracted for each euro of public budget.

Also, each year ACCIÓ provides its services to nearly 8,000 customers with the aim of fostering innovation as one of the engines of competitiveness: from support for the performance of research and development (R&D) collaboration projects and knowledge transfer between companies, technology centres, universities and other stakeholders in innovation, to support for the SMEs to access innovation, or assistance to startups during their process of growth, consolidation and internationalization.

The improvement of access to business funding in Catalonia is another of ACCIÓ’s priorities. In this regard, every year nearly 3,100 projects are supported by ACCIÓ in the area of funding.

Another mechanism that ACCIÓ provides to enterprise to improve its competitiveness are clusters. These are groups of companies and institutions from the same sector that share a platform to grow, generate critical mass, share market challenges and trends, do networking, increase their visibility and promote themselves to the world. Currently, the Catalonia Clusters programme has 29 associated clusters, comprising more than 2,300 companies, 310,000 employees and totalling 74,000 million euros of aggregate turnover.