Biscay Startup Bay defines Biscay’s strategic commitment to innovation and the Startup ecosystem, symbolised by the International Entrepreneurship Centre and connected to the world's best entrepreneurship hubs under the logic of open innovation.

Biscay Startup Bay: entrepreneurship and innovation in Biscay

At the turn of the 20th century Biscay was an economic and financial benchmark region in Europe, with growth based on shipbuilding and steel mills and one of the busiest ports in Europe.

It has proved capable of transforming itself from an industrially based territory to an international reference point for business and tourism without losing sight of its roots.

Today, Biscay pursues entrepreneurship and innovation as the mainstays of economic and social change, through the Biscay Startup Bay strategy, with its International Entrepreneurship Centre as the guiding light of an entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem that has become an international benchmark.

Biscay Startup Bay: Biscay connected to the rest of the world

Biscay Startup Bay is one of the world's best connected entrepreneurship hubs. It has solid links with the most advanced innovation and entrepreneurship hubs on an international level.

Biscay works with entrepreneurship hubs in Boston, Tel Aviv and Helsinki which are acknowledged as leaders in innovation and concentration of start-ups. Connected to Latin America via a partnership with the South Summit.

The participation of these world-leading actors in the Biscay Startup Bay ensures connections between leading corporations and innovation systems and start-ups, thus helping to further innovation at local and international businesses and corporations through open innovation structures. Those connections provide access to ground-breaking technologies and talent, and enhance reputation and brand positioning, among other values.

The Torre Bizkaia tower brings together cutting-edge actors in innovation and entrepreneurship.

The International Entrepreneurship Centre is based at the iconic Torre Bizkaia tower in the heart of Bilbao, the capital city of Biscay and the territory's economic and financial heart.

It provides large corporations, businesses, start-ups and individual entrepreneurs with 9542 m² of modern, innovative office space fitted out with all necessary services.

Learn more about the multi-corporation approach of Biscay Startup Bay

This centre for innovation and entrepreneurship is based on a multi-sectoral, multi-corporation approach with the involvement of trailblazing local companies and leading corporations on a global scale.

Based on its strengths, the centre focuses on three main vertical markets (energy, mobility and foodtech) and one horizontal/transverse market: industry 4.0.

Biscay Startup Bay also benefits from the tax breaks available in Biscay

Thanks to its fiscal autonomy, Biscay is able to implement a raft of tax measures to set up its own tax system to promote entrepreneurship and innovation as drivers for economic development.