Around 500 people attended this evening the gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of CTA (Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía) at the Sevilla TechPark technology park. The event was inaugurated by the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía), Juanma Moreno; the Mayor of Seville, José Luis Sanz; the President of CEA (Confederation of Entrepreneurs of Andalusia), Javier González de Lara; the President of APD (Association for the Progress of Management), Laura González Molero; and the President of CTA, Beltrán Pérez.
Over €1.756 billion contributed to GDP and more than 35,000 jobs generated
In its 20 years of existence, CTA’s activity has contributed more than €1.7 billion to GDP and generated over 35,000 highly qualified jobs, as well as a fiscal contribution of €362 million, according to a report by the University of Seville titled “The Economic Legacy of CTA in Andalusia: An Analysis of the Impact Generated Over the Last 20 Years.”
The President of the Regional Government of Andalusia stated that “in the past, innovation was a risk, but now, the risk is not innovating,” and emphasized that “Andalusia wants to go further, and it knows how to do it, because innovation is encouraged by, for example, reduced bureaucracy, moderate taxation, political stability, and legal certainty. The result of all this is that Andalusia is increasingly becoming a key hub of innovation in Southern Europe.” Moreno congratulated CTA “for 20 years of effort, forward-thinking vision, and strong results that contribute to Andalusia’s progress through two fundamental elements: public-private collaboration and knowledge transfer, especially between universities and businesses.”
CTA President Beltrán Pérez announced that the mission of the new Strategic Plan 2026–2029 is to “evolve the Foundation’s activity to adapt to changing circumstances” and to continue being “useful from the private sector with a clear public service vocation.” He emphasized that CTA aims to “offer expert knowledge, talent, and the trust we’ve earned to help accelerate processes and align the timing of public administrations and companies, with the ambition of building a prosperous and competitive Andalusia — a land of opportunity.”
Pérez reviewed the main achievements of CTA’s first 20 years, during which the foundation has supported more than 6,000 innovative projects and funded over 840 R&D projects, mobilizing over €600 million in private investment. This has resulted in a GDP impact of more than €1.75 billion and the creation of over 35,000 jobs. The members of the CTA cluster, now numbering more than 185 companies of all sizes and sectors, represent 3.6% of Spain’s national GDP and sustain nearly 300,000 jobs across the country. He also highlighted that every euro contributed to CTA by the Regional Government of Andalusia “has returned to public coffers multiplied fivefold,” through tax revenue and social security contributions generated by the funded projects and their outcomes.
CTA, a model of public-private collaboration and innovation with impact
The Mayor of Seville emphasized that “CTA couldn’t be located in a more fitting place than this technology park, Sevilla TechPark,” and highlighted that CTA has become an example of how public-private collaboration can transform the productive sector, proving that innovation is not a promise — it is a reality that creates impact, jobs, and future.” He added, “Today, we can say that Seville is the technological epicenter of Andalusia and an international benchmark in entrepreneurship and innovation. From Seville, we want to continue leading that transformation.”
The President of the CEA congratulated CTA for “celebrating 20 years of promoting Andalusia’s technological innovation to the world, breaking down barriers and demonstrating the strength that comes from business unity, while also highlighting the essential role of public-private partnerships.” He added that “business is the institution most trusted by Andalusian society, and corporations like CTA are its stewards,” expressing his confidence that “the experience built over these 20 years will serve as a catalyst to strengthen it further and continue promoting technological innovation toward a future-led Andalusia.”
The President of the APD stated that “it is a privilege for APD to join CTA in celebrating its 20th anniversary with a joint event that reinforces our alliance and our commitment to Andalusia’s business community,” and explained that “the CTA-APD Innovation Observatory was born from the coordinated work of two organizations that share the belief that innovation is a driver of competitiveness and technological sovereignty”.
Innovation Observatory: Reactivating Europe
The event commemorating the success in promoting innovation over the foundation’s first 20 years included the presentation of the APD-CTA Observatory titled “Innovation Goal: Reactivating Europe”. The document, presented by CTA’s CEO, Elías Atienza, features nearly fifty prestigious contributors analyzing how innovation is and will be the key element for achieving Europe’s technological sovereignty, following warnings led by the Draghi and Letta reports about Europe’s loss of competitiveness compared to the US and China. Among the participants in the APD-CTA Observatory are ministers, regional councilors, business presidents and executives, scientists, experts, philosophers, and a long list of top-level profiles.
Economist Enrico Letta, author of the highly influential report on the single market that bears his name, participated in the CTA event via video, where he explained his proposals to address Europe’s loss of competitiveness against the US. In his view, “Europe is a continent of innovative people with new ideas, willing to take risks, but the problem is that they have to move to other ecosystems more conducive to innovation and with greater access to funding.” To prevent this, Letta stated that what Europe urgently needs is to complete the establishment of a single market which, in addition to integrating financial markets to provide greater funding capacity for innovation, includes the fifth freedom (of knowledge, research, and data). This single market, according to Letta, will once again turn Europe into “a land of innovation”, as it has been in other eras. His collaborator Tullio Ambrosone, director of Arel Single Market Lab, attended the event to elaborate in more detail on some of these challenges.
Paradela: “CTA has understood the challenges of the future”
The event, moderated by economic journalist Luis Montoto, also featured a reflection by innovation humanist philosopher David Pastor Vico on the need for cooperation in this rapidly changing technological environment, followed by a discussion between Cotec President, Cristina Garmendia; CSIC President, Eloísa del Pino; and the Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines, Jorge Paradela.
In his closing remarks, Paradela highlighted the lines of collaboration he maintains with CTA in areas such as green hydrogen and its role in developing the CRECE Health Industry value chain plan. He emphasized that “CTA has intelligently understood the future challenges of Andalusian society and has played a fundamental role as a catalyst for industrial innovation, connecting science and business” during its first two decades. Jorge Paradela thus underscored that CTA is “a great example of the positive outcomes that public-private collaboration delivers, demonstrating that Andalusia has a clear commitment to leading the industrial and technological transformation demanded by Europe from the south.”
