More than a hundred digital animation experts meet up in Gran Canaria
On Thursday 9th December, Antonio Morales, President of the Island Council of Gran Canaria, opened the digital animation seminar, Cartoon Business. This event makes for the second time the island as a meeting place for more than a hundred specialists of the sector between production companies, investors, and TV channels, among other companies and entities.
Morales was accompanied in this opening by Cosme García, Managing Director of the Corporation for the Economic Development of the Canary Islands (SPEGC), and by Nuria Guinnot, the Gran Canaria Film Commission coordinator. During his speech, he emphasized that they are actively focusing on attracting companies from the digital animation sector to Gran Canaria, as part of an economic diversification strategy.
“The overall growth of audiovisual industry demand, the development of new production processes, and the new distribution platforms, linked to the efforts we are doing through the Island Council, gives us great opportunities for reinforcing this industry and the related creation of skilled job opportunities”, noted Morales.
He also explained that Council areas of work are mainly focused on nurturing local talent, on giving to the new projects facilities and personalized services, but above all, on enhancing the use of tax incentives for international and national productions. These tax incentives are currently the most competitive in Europe.
As for Cosme García, he has highlighted the importance of Gran Canaria will once again host this major event, “allowing strategic alliances between the domestic sector and all the companies involved and also turning the island into a major film production scenario”.
García also explained the work that Gran Canaria Film Commission has developed for providing advice and assistance to companies interested to settle on the island. “It’s a program completely adjusted to each entity’s individual needs, a high-quality support service we give them before, during, and their post-arrival to Gran Canaria”.
In recent years, Gran Canaria has become a magnet for the animation industry. Currently, companies like Ánima, Fortiche, Birdland, or Koyi moved onto the island and from here they produce TV series like ‘Cleo y Cuquín’, ‘Arcane’, ‘Shark Academy’ or ‘Pocoyó’.
‘Cartoon Business 2021’
Promoted by Gran Canaria Council, in cooperation with Europa Creativa MEDIA and Gran Canaria Film Commission, the ‘Cartoon Business 2021’ event, will make Gran Canaria the focus of one of the biggest digital animations meetings, and also will give the island a significant repercussion.
This year’s edition will include several speakers as Charlie Cooper Henniker of The LEGO Group, Stefan Kastenmueller of Sesame Workshop, or Yago Fandiño of Radio Televisión Española (RTVE). Who will analyze together with other relevant speakers the future of the European animation business through such issues as public and private funding, the new business models, licensing and merchandising, digital opportunities, and legal matters, among other subjects.
We help you establish yourself effectively on Gran Canaria
‘Best in Gran Canaria’ is a public initiative offering free personalised guidance for companies, investors and entrepreneurs looking to set up on the island of Gran Canaria. We provide professional assistance regarding the opportunities, the tax advantages and any other information needed about the island as a business destination, as well as an effective and practical landing on the island.
Gran Canaria brings together various key ingredients for business success in one single place: a dynamic setting for businesses, specific taxation and funding, high level infrastructures, full digital connectivity, a location which is near to high growth markets, local talent, quality of life and safety, etc. All the same, we are also aware of the difficulties associated with getting to know a new business setting, attaining full confidence in it and setting up there. This is why the team at ‘Best in Gran Canaria’ will be available for any query, offering an integral support and monitoring service.
At ‘Best in Gran Canaria’, we have a number of different services:
• A technical consultancy service for companies and entrepreneurs: we are here to help, and we give information about tax law and the tax incentives which best fit the sector and business model.
• Funding: we give information about SPEGC's own lines and other sources of funding for innovation and business growth
• We give advice about recruitment: local talent as well as Canarians living elsewhere ("Gran Canaria Talent Network"). We support the local business with ad-hoc training programmes
• We have office spaces in the Gran Canaria Technological Park and we give guidance about sourcing office space in other areas
• Softlanding service: we provide guidance through the administrative steps and procedures to be undertaken in order to work and take up residence on the island. In addition, we provide a practical guide to setting up a business on the island of Gran Canaria which will help you to find information about house hunting, schools and give other recommendations which will make it easier for professionals and businesses to set up here, making it simpler and more comfortable for you to settle down in your new home: Gran Canaria.
• We offer digital guides and resources, in particular about Research and Development and taxation.
If you need to establish a company on Gran Canaria, the technicians at ‘Best in Gran Canaria' will provide support for in your venture and innovation, and we will be there to help you in the different stages, so you can develop your business on the island. You can count on us before, during and after your landing on Gran Canaria!
The 2021 call for ‘Innova Invest Program’ has been published
The 2021 call for ‘Innova Invest Program’ has been published on Thursday 25th. This support is managed by ICEX España Exportación e Inversiones through INVEST IN SPAIN, focused on subsidizing investment projects in Spain of foreign companies with a high R&D component seeking to enhance competitiveness and productivity of the Spanish economy.
In addition, these supports promote the integration of the beneficiary institutions in the national productive and research fabric.
The maximum period for developing these projects will be 24 months. And the support may be extended to 70% in small industrial research companies projects with an upper limit of 800,000 euros per individual beneficiary. Projects must have, among others, foreign participation of at least 50% of its capital stock.
The budget allocated to the present 2021 call comes to 5,000,000 euros and will be financed from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.
The call for proposals is open for two months for the submission of applications.
SPEGC offers consultancy to companies interested in the present call.
The information can be accessed through the following link.
Repeople Conference kicks off in Gran Canaria
'Repeople Conference 2021', Europe's largest conference on remote and distributed work, took place in Gran Canaria on November 23rd. The event, hosted in Gran Canaria for the last 5 years and now co-hosted with other Canary Islands, serves as a professional industry gathering and a great mean to promote the Canaries’ appeal to a demanding global workforce that wants to actively participate in the location decision-making process.
Through workshops, working sessions and conferences for teams, individuals and corporate professionals, the 200 attendees from more than 25 countries will be able to get a head start on this growing and increasingly in-demand global employment trend. It is an event that truly brings together professionals from all over the world who share a common goal: Making remote work accessible to all and benefitting from the great opportunities for those destinations that are gradually positioning themselves as remote work hotspots. Gran Canaria, as such, is a leading and unique hub for distributed teams, digital talent and talented professional and is increasingly at the top priority list for global relocation managers.
Two out of the 16 scheduled sessions relied on the participation of ‘Best in Gran Canaria’/SPEGC. Our team was able to present the many advantages of setting up base on the island. As a matter of fact, the first panel ‘Tax Structures for Remote Workers’ covered topics such as the 24% flat rate for inbound expatriates that relocate to Spain and the potential of the Canary Islands Special Zone regime to best tackle the global permanent establishment issue. A combination of both elements, plus ongoing reforms, will mean a better framework for remote work relocating to the Canary Islands. In the second panel, ‘Tech Jobs are everywhere now: Where will innovation happen?’ saw a discussion between public entities of Gran Canaria (SPEGC & PROEXCA) and two of the venture capital builders of the island. SPEGC introduced its policies towards local upskilling and its training commitment with strategic sectors on the rise.
The ‘Best in Gran Canaria’ initiative promotes Gran Canaria as a destination for business and investment and provides soft-landing support for any investor including companies that test, scale-up and deliver technological solutions from Gran Canaria.
Best in Gran Canaria launches a new document aimed at its international clients in the maritime sector: 'The Gran Canaria Maritime Scorecard’
The launch of this two-pager is designed to provide companies and organizations involved in investment attraction with a thoughtful document that draws together information on the maritime sector in a schematic form, focusing on the advantages of locating port or maritime operations in Gran Canaria. This is a novel element in the promotion of the island: a single document containing data on impact and opportunities linked to the port community in Gran Canaria and to the largest port in the mid-Atlantic: the Port of Las Palmas.
The Scorecard, published exclusively in English for now, aims to provide practical information for companies that are considering operating from Gran Canaria. It is a dynamic, flexible, user-friendly document, divided into five main sections:
- Advantages of operating from Gran Canaria. A list of the main attributes of Gran Canaria and the Port of Las Palmas (geostrategic position, centrality in regional communications, extensive national and international connectivity, first-class infrastructure, a highly qualified local talent pool and the best tax system in the EU for commercial and innovative activities).
- The Port of Las Palmas: Gran Canaria’s port. Using icons, this section describes the physical and climatic features of the port and the services it offers, with special emphasis on transhipment and processing of goods, global logistics, ship repair, offshore services, cruiser tourism, bunkering, and rescue and emergency capabilities.
- Low taxes: a variety of instruments for each project. Gran Canaria has its own economic and fiscal regime, compatible with European regulations, making it possible to benefit from lower taxes on business profits and business investment incentives.
- A growing hub for digital activities and R&D: the ideal place to develop, test, scale and finance disruptive projects. This section contains the various tax credits for industrial R&D projects, as well as soft finance from the Gran Canaria Island governing body (Cabildo de Gran Canaria).
- The island’s tech and maritime resources. Gran Canaria’s capabilities and range of organizations associated with research and innovation are presented here. These resources extend beyond the Port of Las Palmas and establish Gran Canaria’s Blue Economy macroprofile.
Finally, the document introduces the new Best in Gran Canaria digital resources, including the ‘Moving to Gran Canaria: The complete relocation guide’, Best in Gran Canaria brochure, Tax Guide and R&D leaflet, among other documents, which can be found in QR format.
This Maritime Scorecard, available to all agents in Gran Canaria involved in attracting companies and businesses, aims to outline a global, open, safe island devoted to marine/maritime business. We invite you to use this document and share it on social media with all of Gran Canaria’s potential clients.
Gran Canaria is the home of the Port of Las Palmas and an opportunity for growth in the Blue Economy.
Gran Canaria is growing as a base for distributed teams: the success of the workation model among Swedish companies
The ‘Workation’ concept combines the virtues of a leading holiday destination with the possibility of remotely working from the island, and it has been a real game-changer for the island’s offer, raising thus the engagement of housing/accommodation providers, add-on services and the island’s customers. The major beneficiary has been Gran Canaria as a safe, flexible, dynamic destination where life and work can be integrated in a unique way.
The efforts of hotel and non-hotel establishments, with the leadership of employers’ associations and the Gran Canaria Tourism Board, have made it possible to adapt spaces in a record time and successfully implement proposals aimed not only at encouraging more extended visits to the island, but at attracting complete work teams.
For years the island of Gran Canaria has consistently been among the top 20 international destinations for digital nomads (most recently, in October 2021, it was ranked thirteenth in the world, and it also led the national rankings, according to nomadlist.com). The combination of natural conditions, climate, cost and quality of life and a vibrant community of nomads and remote workers had been uplifted by local service providers as a work destination for distributed teams, who move to the island for periods of between two weeks and three months. Though it is not a completely new development, since Gran Canaria has always been a destination for professional retreats, the factor that makes a difference for companies is the possibility of basing their teams here for even longer periods, and several enquiries along these lines have been received by the ‘Best in Gran Canaria’ initiative and the island’s Economic Development Agency (SPEGC). For companies, distributing teams and basing them in Gran Canaria represents a way of improving productivity and rewarding their staff; for workers it is an obvious attraction and an improvement in their living standards.
In the past week, six Swedish companies in sectors primarily related to digital production and commercial distribution have been in Gran Canaria trying out the Workation concept on the spot. The companies have been enjoying some days of intense work on the island, as well as a series of meetings with various stakeholders in the local ecosystem.
‘Best in Gran Canaria’ took part with the delegation of Swedish companies in the closing day for an in-depth discussion and overview of the business and investment opportunities connected with the island and the facilities available for companies and their teams to find themselves in the best possible business environment. ‘Best in Gran Canaria’ resolved significant concerns about tax incentives, procedures for getting established on the island (‘Moving to Gran Canaria – Relocation guide’ and or signature softlanding support) and other support/consultancy services for companies.
‘Best in Gran Canaria’ participates at the world’s leading tech & start-up event: Web Summit
2021 is the third year in a row that Gran Canaria participates in Web Summit, led by the ‘Best in Gran Canaria’/’Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria’ (SPEGC) team.
Objectives remain duly unchanged: promoting acceleration and financing opportunities for innovative projects in the seed phase, as well as attracting projects based on tax advantages and local talent for those start-ups that are looking into their up-scaling or growth phase in the Spanish/LATAM/Southern European markets. Likewise, our team seeks to explore possible use cases that find in Gran Canaria the ideal location for testing and development of innovative solutions: there is a wide range of prototyping opportunities, related to but also beyond the tourism industry (data, VR/AR, gamification) and beyond the exploitation of data and artificial intelligence in marine-maritime activities, which are some of the core verticals in the island’s growth plans.
Web Summit takes place from the 1st to the 4th of November in the capital of Portugal, and allegedly remains as the largest international conference in the field of innovation and start-ups. After being held in a virtual format last year, it returns to a venue format with large areas of exhibition, roundtables, conferences and keynotes by remarkable tech-experts.
A representative group from the Canary Islands is actively participating at the Canary Islands’ stand, where local start-ups will gather to pitch their solutions to investors and potential partners. ‘Best in Gran Canaria’ has joined the delegation with the clear-cut aim to raise awareness and engagement with the island’s innovation ecosystem and present the financing streams and public support for companies and professionals that choose Gran Canaria as their test, development, sales and growth base.
Invest in Spain 2021
Icex-Invest in Spain, launches the yearly call of their 'Investment Program of foreign companies in R&D activities' with the main objective of promoting the development of new R&D activities by foreign capital companies that are already established or have plans to set up an R&D base in Spain.
The beneficiaries will be firms established in Spain or with plans to open up an R&D Centre/Unit in the country, that carry or pretend to carry R&D projects and whose foreign capital represents at least 10% of the shares, both hold directly or indirectly.
The projects subject to aid must be carried out between January 1 and December 31, 2022 in one or more Spanish regions. Geographical bias applies as only 7 regions are eligible, including Canary Island. As a matter of fact, the Canary Islands is the region with the highest allocation of funds (700,000 euros).
The amount of aid per beneficiary may amount to a global maximum of 200,000 euros (Minimis regime applies) and will cover a maximum percentage of the investment made.
In addition to targeting already established foreign capital companies with the ability to attract new R&D projects associated with their Spanish subsidiary, this call is aimed at attracting R&D projects from foreign capital companies that have not yet been registered in Spain. This flexibility is especially relevant in the Canary Islands, where the combination of this financing with other regional / island support instruments for R&D and with the ‘R&D tax credit’ (up to 75% of the eligible expenses), can automatically boost any R&D project that is developed in Gran Canaria.
The deadline for application submission November 12, through the Virtual Office of (ICEX). More information under https://www.investinspain.org/en/we-help-you/smart-technology-fund/previous-calls/call-2022
Gran Canaria attends the Offshore Technology Days (OTD) fair in Norway with a dedicated stand
Offshore Technology Days (OTD) took place October 19th to 21st in the Norwegian city of Stavanger, the global capital of offshore energies. The focus of the event was to present the current and future market situation, growth prospects and new technologies and services related to the offshore energy industries, through seminars, keynotes and meetings between companies.
The joint action is framed under the umbrella of the brand 'Best in Gran Canaria', and includes several institutions and entities members of the initiative, as well as Canary Islands companies that have joined the trip in commercial prospecting tasks. All of them, together with the SPEGC, are making use of the island's resources in Stavanger, including a stand in collaboration with the Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster. Gran Canaria will thus be represented by public entities, research institutions & industrial cluster. This strategic has the support of the Norwegian counterpart in investment promotion and business innovation facilitation, Innovation Norway.
The Oceanic Platform of the Canary Islands (PLOCAN) participates in this event as a unique scientific infrastructure and global reference centre for blue talent, allowing for the realization celebration of disruptive R+D+i projects linked to energy and the marine-maritime sector.
On the other hand, the Canary Islands Marine-Maritime Cluster (CMC) has set itself the primary objective of promoting the internationalisation of Canary Islands companies and the global dimension of the different marine-maritime sub-sectors (port infrastructures and services, marine renewable energies and maritime transport).
The participation of 'Best in Gran Canaria' in OTD aims to raise awareness of the advantages associated with carrying out R&D&I projects in Gran Canaria, promote collaboration and partnership frameworks between the Canary Islands and Norwegian companies and entities, accelerate knowledge of the local ecosystem in global markets and consolidate the technological, research and investment relationship between Norway and its main partner in southern Europe, Gran Canaria.
Gran Canaria hosts the headquarters of a new international animation studio
The president of the Gran Canaria Island Council, Antonio Morales, has inaugurated this afternoon the first filial of the French animation studio Fortiche Production in the Canary Islands. The delegation will count on a team of around twenty professionals dedicated exclusively to the animation department.
The managing director of the Sociedad de Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria (SPEGC), Cosme García; as well as members of the initiatives 'Gran Canaria Film Commission' and 'Best in Gran Canaria', accompanied the president during the opening ceremony.
During the presentation, Morales, who thanked the management of Fortiche Production for choosing Gran Canaria as the island headquarters for their studio, emphasised the Council's commitment to the audiovisual industry. "The tax advantages in the Islands include different figures that are an incentive for the attraction of national and international companies and an incentive for the diversification of economic activity, which the Council has complemented with its own services and advisory and support programmes to provide a tailor-made solution before, during and after the landing of the company on the island," he said.
In this sense, Antonio Morales explained that for the coming 2022 the opening of new additional spaces is planned to meet the demand of the companies already located on the island and of the new ones that will be installed. "Our objective is to provide companies with all the necessary resources for them to choose Gran Canaria as their headquarters and, in this way, nourish our labour market with specialised professionals and make companies grow with them".
The SPEGC manager thanked the teams of the 'Gran Canaria Film Commission' and 'Best in Gran Canaria' initiatives for their efforts, as both initiatives work every day to promote the island and the Gran Canaria brand abroad, making investors, companies and entrepreneurs consider and value the island as a benchmark. "This work and effort is demonstrated on days like today, when we welcome new companies that strengthen the business fabric of the island," he added.
Fortiche Production is a Paris-based animation studio, created twelve years ago by Pascal Charrue, Jérôme Combe and Arnaud Delord. Since then, the company has refined a unique graphic style and a mix of 2D/3D media, to great acclaim in the animation industry.