The private foundation CTA (Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía) celebrates its first 20 years in 2025, dedicated to promoting innovation, technology transfer, and projecting the image of Andalusia as an innovative region generating technology, talent, and progress. CTA will turn 20 on October 10, 2025, and throughout this year will celebrate its anniversary with a special adaptation of its corporate image and a series of commemorative actions.

CTA supports companies, universities, technology centers, public administrations, and other entities to maximize the return on their R&D efforts and has been contributing to the technological development and progress of the region for two decades. It acts as a catalyst for innovation and a link between different agents in the R&D&I ecosystem, having also energized University-Company technology transfer and cross-sector projects among companies and entities from various economic sectors.

Bringing the innovation to market

The president of CTA, Beltrán Pérez, explains that “CTA advises companies to plan an innovation strategy, from identifying their R&D&I needs to formulating projects to address them, or finding partners and the necessary funding to carry them out.” “In this way, companies manage to bring their innovations to market, which, on the one hand, allows them to remain competitive and continue generating wealth and employment, and on the other hand, enables them to address the major challenges facing society,” adds the president of CTA.

Member companies of the CTA cluster account for 3.6% of the national GDP and maintain nearly 300,000 jobs in Spain, according to a 2022 PwC report on the impact of this entity. Currently, CTA comprises more than 185 companies of all sizes and economic sectors.

CTA has promoted over 6,000 innovative projects, facilitated technology transfer and public-private cooperation, assisted companies in initiating and maturing their R&D strategies, identified technological partners, secured funding, and established itself as a reference partner in international innovation projects. Thus, it contributes to generating innovation in and from Andalusia with impact at regional, national, and international levels.

More than €595M of private investment mobilized in Andalusia

CTA offers its own incentive program, compatible with public programs, through which it has already granted nearly €208 million to more than 820 business R&D&I projects that have mobilized private investment in innovation in Andalusia exceeding €595 million. Additionally, these projects have subcontracted more than €100 million to 391 research groups from universities, hospitals, and other public research centers in Andalusia.

Furthermore, CTA has leveraged its accumulated knowledge and experience to shape a series of support services that help accelerate innovation for startups, large corporations, administrations, universities, and other innovative entities. Specifically, it provides support services for technology transfer, securing funding for tech startups, Innovation Public Procurement processes, internationalization of R&D&I, or developing an innovation strategy.

Strategic partner in international collaborative innovation projects

Additionally, CTA has established itself as a strategic partner in international collaborative innovation projects. It has already participated in more than 60 international projects, both funded by the European Union and by multilateral organizations, and has collaborated with more than 500 entities from 45 countries. CTA puts this valuable network at the service of its patrons and clients, Andalusian companies, and other innovative entities. Moreover, within these EU-funded projects, CTA participates in some cascade funding projects, allowing it to bring opportunities to the Andalusian business fabric through aid calls from the EU.

In November 2024, it was reported that Spain currently ranks as the third country in the European Union for grants obtained from Horizon Europe, the EU program for funding research and innovation. In this context, Andalusia is the fifth Spanish region in returns, and CTA is the second private entity in Andalusia with the highest return from this program.

In short, CTA is a powerful innovation cluster, with great capacity to generate opportunities and connect agents in the Andalusian innovation ecosystem, as well as to stimulate innovation and promote cross-sector projects that help Andalusia in the challenge of future competitiveness, making it a land of wealth and well-being.