Japanese companies explore Gran Canaria’s opportunities in video games and animation
A delegation of 13 prominent Japanese studios from the video game, animation, and live-action sectors visited Gran Canaria this week to explore opportunities for developing productions and building synergies with the local industry.
Organized by Proexca with the institutional and logistical backing of the Economic Promotion Agency of Gran Canaria (SPEGC), the mission presented Gran Canaria as a prime destination for audiovisual, gaming and animation projects, while connecting Japanese firms with the island's professional ecosystem. The primary objective was to explore opportunities for collaboration and corporate establishment, backed by a value proposition combining tax incentives, local talent, and specialized infrastructure.
An environment to grow and develop content
The visiting companies learned about the combination of talent, specialized services, and infrastructure available across Gran Canaria. For video game and animation studios, this environment offers significant potential for partnerships in content creation, software development, and production services.
In the live-action sector, the island’s offering pairs purpose-built facilities -such as Gran Canaria Platós- with diverse outdoor locations and favorable year-round climate conditions that facilitate continuous filming.
Incentives for audiovisual and technology sectors
The itinerary included a presentation on the Canary Islands Economic and Tax Regime (REF) and the pathways for setting up operations through the Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC).
Subject to applicable requirements, international audiovisual productions can access tax deductions of up to 54% on the first million euros of eligible expenditure incurred in the Canary Islands, and 45% on amounts thereafter. Meanwhile, technology projects benefit from targeted tax credits for R&D and technological innovation, depending on the nature of their activity.
The trade mission established key contacts for future partnerships between Japanese companies and the Gran Canaria business community, spanning both content production and technological development.
As a real-world case study of a successful setup in Gran Canaria, the delegation gained firsthand insight into the experience of Gigglebug Entertainment, an international animation studio operating on the island since 2024. Its management and technical team shared their 2D animation workflow, which balances developing proprietary intellectual property with high-profile service work for major global brands, including titles such as The Unstoppable Yellow Yeti and 101 Dalmatian Street (Disney), Best & Bester (Nickelodeon), The Last Kids on Earth (Atomic Cartoons) and the animated feature Merry Little Batman (Warner Bros. Animation).
Looking for a hub to develop your video game, animation, or audiovisual projects? Contact Best in Gran Canaria to discover what Gran Canaria can offer your company.
Gran Canaria strengthens its appeal for startups and tech companies at Canarias Destino Startup
The Canary Islands' entrepreneurial ecosystem gathered last week in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria to congregate at the fourth edition of Canarias Destino Startup, the flagship event for startups, investors, and companies committed to innovation and entrepreneurship across the archipelago.
The Gran Canaria Economic Promotion Agency (SPEGC), the driving force behind the Best in Gran Canaria initiative, was present at the event to highlight the island's unique competitive value as a destination through the presentation ‘Advantages and Opportunities for Tech Companies in Gran Canaria’. Attendees also learned about available resources-such as advisory services, identifying incentives, and financing options-designed to support the establishment and growth of tech companies and the scaling of startups.
Through the Best in Gran Canaria initiative, businesses and projects considering establishing themselves on the island have access to comprehensive guidance and support provided by the SPEGC to facilitate their landing and integration into the local tech ecosystem.
Are you considering setting up your tech company in Gran Canaria? Get in touch with Best in Gran Canaria and tell us about your project.
Discover why Gran Canaria should be your next destination for business investment
The Society for Economic Promotion of Gran Canaria (SPEGC) promotes investment in the island through the Best in Gran Canaria initiative, highlighting the advantages Gran Canaria offers for business development, investment and the launch of new projects.
The combination of connectivity, talent, quality of life and a stable business environment makes the island an attractive location for companies, entrepreneurs and professionals. This is complemented by Gran Canaria’s climate and natural environment, its cultural and sports offer and the possibility of combining professional activity with a high quality of life.
These advantages are included in the updated Best in Gran Canaria dossier, a publication bringing together useful information for companies and professionals considering establishing, investing or developing their activities on the island.
Among other aspects, the document highlights the tax and investment incentives available in the Canary Islands, Gran Canaria’s geostrategic location, its air and maritime connections, its business and technological infrastructure and the availability of local and international talent.
Together with specialised services and infrastructure for business and innovation activities, these characteristics strengthen Gran Canaria’s appeal as a location for companies and international projects.
The updated Best in Gran Canaria dossier, available here, provides an overview of the main advantages and opportunities the island offers for investment, business establishment and the development of new projects.
Gran Canaria takes center stage in the global cruise industry
This week, the Port of Las Palmas becomes the spotlight of the international maritime community by hosting Seatrade Cruise Med 2026, one of the world's most influential cruise industry trade events
The Canary Islands, once a frontier cruise circuit, are now standing at the heart of industry growth: 2026 saw indeed a year-round activity that surpassed the 2-million passenger threshold in the combined Port Authority of Las Palmas records.
Gran Canaria, home of the Port of Las Palmas, maintains market leadership in business, investment & cruise activity.
Gran Canaria plays a central role in this success, consolidating its position as a leading cruise destination and maritime services base in the Atlantic. The Port of Las Palmas alone welcomed 1.1 million cruise passengers in the last year (Aug 2025 - July 2026), up +9.8%, while it also stands out for its high volume of homeport operations and exceptional passenger satisfaction.
Home to Europe’s largest cruise terminal, Las Palmas Cruise Port offers the infrastructure, innovation, and sustainability credentials needed to support the next era of cruising. Launched last winter season, the purpose-built €40 million cruise terminal provides a seamless, secured and digitized 14,000 m² facility featuring three boarding bridges and capacity to serve up to five vessels simultaneously. Equipped with cutting-edge tech to streamline operations and enhance guest experience, the terminal sits steps away from the city center, serving as the gateway to the island's diverse natural resources and experiences.
Now that you are in Gran Canaria, let's start a whole new conversation
Seatrade Cruise Med 2026 will bring together over 2,000 professionals from 97 countries, along with 180 exhibitors representing cruise lines, shorex operators, shipping agencies, tech companies, passenger service providers, and destinations
They will arrive at an island with a strategic value far beyond standard port operations. The Las Palmas port-hub is a one-stop-shop for bunkering (including sustainable biofuel blends) and ship repair, and it offers solutions in logistics, supplies, ground handling and other shorex services. Gran Canaria also provides an unmatched environment for tech companies, startups, and service providers to establish operations or develop pilots or launch global products and services -supported by unique financial incentives, including up to 45% tax credits for technological innovation and a 4% corporate tax rate.
If you are wondering why Gran Canaria boasts the highest average stay, why it shines as a premier homeport destination, why it is a must-call in all regional itineraries, why it is home for grand events, and why tech companies, startups, and shorex operators choose the island to scale their operations... see you at Seatrade Cruise Med!
Four projects supported by the Marine & Maritime High Tech Incubator, selected by the Spanish Ports 4.0 funding programme
The second call from the Plan to Promote Entrepreneurship for Innovation in the Port Sector (Ports 4.0) being promoted by the Spanish ports authority (Puertos del Estado) will finance 30 pre-commercial projects throughout the country, of which eight are backed by the Port Authority of Las Palmas. Four of these projects, which have obtained a combined total of close on 1.4 million euros between them, received advice from the Economic Promotion Agency of Gran Canaria (SPEGC) - a body run by the Island Council of Gran Canaria - under the specialised service offered by the Marine & Maritime High Tech Incubator to help Spanish companies and startups in the maritime and naval sector gain access to this funding initiative.
The Silex project presented by Apsu Agua Limpia S.L. aims to develop a prototype microwave reactor capable of absorbing combustion gases from ship engines and transforming them into salts with a neutral impact on the environment, thereby reducing the greenhouse gas emissions produced by seagoing vessels.
The Carbon Wave Gauge project by Vázquez Torres Ingeniería, S.L. and Automation Designs and Custom Applications, S.L. seeks to develop a portable system for precisely measuring swell and tides in real time using carbon fibre threads.
In turn, the Beta-Blue project by Tiamet Energy S.L. will develop undimotor (wave) power prototypes for installation on maritime buoyage systems. The company will also make use of spaces owned by the Port Authority to test the system in a real environment.
The fourth project to have received funding from this call for proposals is Smart Coast AI Solutions 4.0 by the consortium set up by QAISC (Qualitas Artificial Intelligence and Science, S.A) and Plocan. The project aims to design and develop new technology solutions applied to the coast and port-maritime space based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) capable of efficiently and sustainably automating maritime transport.
Gran Canaria offers the ideal maritime-marine ecosystem for developing a wide range of productive and business activities related to this sector: ship repair, port services, power generation, logistics, transport and off-shore services are just some of the areas in which data analytics and artificial intelligence technology solutions are playing a major role.
Against that backdrop, the High-Tech Incubator for Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence applied to the maritime-marine environment promoted by the Island Council of Gran Canaria via SPEGC is a benchmark centre in Spain that supports entrepreneurs and SMEs engaged in innovative projects tied to these fields of technology. It offers technical support and technological-business guidance through integrated incubation and acceleration programmes, custom advice and consultancy, workshops, testing and experimentation opportunities in real environments, cloud computing services and work spaces, among other things.
Gran Canaria improves its competitiveness in the marine- maritime sector with new programs and spaces for companies and entrepreneurs
Gran Canaria is the ideal destination for the development of companies and projects related to the marine-maritime sector, given its strategic position between Africa, Europe, and America, its natural and economic characteristics and its role as a logistics and industrial hub of the Canary Islands archipelago.
Gran Canaria's advantages in the sector lie in the activities linked to the Port of Las Palmas (bunkering, ship repair, offshore wind, cargo traffic, cruise ships or crew changes), the attractive tax incentives and the presence of blue research spaces, such as The Canarian Oceanic Platform, which provides efficient access to the ocean in an environmentally sustainable way.
To all this, with the promotion and financing of Promoción Económica de Gran Canaria and Cabildo de Gran Canaria, there are two new offers that will boost Gran Canaria's competitiveness to hold blue economy business projects: the new services of IAT Marino Marítima are launched and the new spaces of Centro de Innovación Marino Marítima get started.
The novelties that reinforce Gran Canaria as a leading destination:
Marine-maritime IAT
The High Technology Incubator in Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence, IAT Marino Marítima is a national reference center to attend entrepreneurs and SMEs that develop innovative projects in the artifitial intelligence and conected technology fields, with potential for local, national, and international projection and represents a decisive impulse for companies to be provided with technical support and technological-entrepreneurial accompaniment in their process of project acceleration and generation of new business models.
In addition, it has specialized advisory and consulting services in the areas of business, internationalization, legal and tax advice, finance, and technology consulting; group and specialized workshops and programs, testing and experimentation opportunities; promotion programs and knowledge dissemination actions; cloud computing services; and promotion of collaboration between the entrepreneurs of the different projects, companies and collaborating entities.
Marine-Maritime Innovation Center
The building has meeting and office rooms, recreation areas and training rooms. The minimum stay will be six months and the maximum three years, with the possibility of an extension.
The Marine Maritime Innovation Center is located in the Fundación Puerto de Las Palmas Building, in a privileged location in the Port-City environment, within the space recently renovated by the SPEGC. It is a strategic location within the port area of the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, perfectly communicated with the rest of the city's services, as it is located next to the Santa Catalina bus station and Maritime Avenue, which connects with the Gran Canaria Airport.
Taxation and financing: a unique framework in Gran Canaria
Canary Island enjoys a special Economic and Fiscal Regimen (REF) that contributes to business development:
- Free Trade Zone: with its special conditions of tax exemption and customs simplification.
- Deductions applicable to RD&I expenses: which can reach up to 75. 6% of the eligible expenses executed in the Canary Islands.
- Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC): 4% corporate tax rate.
- Tax deduction for the production of physical goods: 50% reduction in company tax, applicable to businesses producing fishing and industrial goods.
- Deduction for investment in fixed assets: reduction of company tax equivalent to 25% of the amount destined for the acquisition of fixed assets.
- The Canary Islands Investment Reserve (RIC): the tax burden can be reduced by up to 90% of the company’s profits.
The Canary Islands benefit from other incentive instruments of investment such as the Special Regime for Ships and Shipping Companies in the Canary Islands.
To receive personalized information on the different instruments of the SPEGC, such as financing or advice, you can access the Business Support Service (SAE) of the Sociedad de Promoción Económica of Gran Canaria.