A one-stop shop for companies
The new merged entity will bring together all support activities for businesses to foster economic transformation, investment promotion, internationalisation, innovation, R&I promotion, knowledge transfer, entrepreneurship and self-employment. Andalucía TRADE is going to be a one-stop shop for the market, investment and companies. It will be the nexus for the transfer of knowledge between universities, research centres and the Andalusian productive industry.
The new body, which will depend on the Regional Ministry of Economic Transformation, will contribute to a more efficient organisation of the Andalusian public sector connected to the business ecosystem and will gain in agility and transparency. In this sense, 'Andalucía TRADE' aims to simplify procedures, eliminate unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles, rigorously and transparently evaluate initiatives and extensively implement the digitalisation of its management.
A wide range of activities of 'Andalucía TRADE'
The future Business Agency for Economic Transformation and Development (TRADE) will focus its activity on favouring economic promotion, fostering and promoting economic, technological and industrial development. To this end, it will unify the different financial instruments in order to improve competitiveness and tackle new business projects. In this context, priority will be given to public-private collaboration with the criteria of maximum control and transparency.
In the field of innovation, the new body will provide support especially to SMEs, through programmes and aid to promote digitisation, technological and business innovation. ‘Andalucía TRADE' will emphasise the promotion of disruptive innovation, the development of support programmes for public procurement of innovation and the simplification of procedures. In terms of knowledge transfer, the aim is to strengthen collaboration and transfer mechanisms between research centres, universities and companies. Likewise, the creation of technological start-ups and spin-offs will be stimulated and the development of patents or licences for the use of technologies derived from Andalusian research will be encouraged.
In the field of investment, the aim is to create an economic, research and industrial environment capable of attracting investment and new productive initiatives, benefiting from the advantage of having all the financial instruments available in a single entity. Other aspects it will focus on is the optimisation of the advisory and promotion instruments of the Regional Government of Andalusia and the European Funds in favour of diversification and improvement of the quality of the productive fabric. With regard to entrepreneurship and self-employment, its work will be aimed at supporting people who decide to start up business projects, especially under the formulas of self-employment and social economy, responding to the real challenges of the Andalusian economy and society.
The Andalusian agency has been always in EURADA
Agencia IDEA is one of the members of EURADA and was re-elected as member of the Board of Directors in 2020. This Andalusian agency was directly involved in the establishment of EURADA in 1992 and has been a member of the governing bodies of our association ever since. Agencia IDEA was created in 2004 from IFA Instituto de Fomento de Andalucia (established in 1987). At present the IDEA Agency has delegations in the 8 Andalusian provinces and in Brussels, with 282 employees (119 men and 163 women), and a budget of 219’48 millions.
More information
Agencia IDEA. Regional Development Agency. Junta de Andalucia
Video Andalucia Trade (in Spanish). Junta de Andalucia
Presentation Andalucia TRADE (in Spanish). Junta de Andalucia
