The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Delegate, Ángel Niño, has highlighted the alliance between the City Council of Madrid and the Madrid Employers’ Confederation-CEOE (CEIM) to launch the Investor Service "which supports foreign companies established in the city, meets their needs, and promotes valuable connections for the better development of economic activity in Madrid."
Niño participated today in a meeting with companies and investors from Colombia in Madrid, organized by CEIM at its headquarters, to strengthen commercial ties and increase business cooperation and the attractiveness of the capital as an investment destination. Also present were the Colombian Ambassador to Spain, Eduardo Ávila, and the president of the Madrid Employers’ Confederation, Miguel Garrido.
"Madrid is today the economic engine of Spain, thanks to our favorable tax policies for investment, the legal security we provide, and, above all, because in Madrid we see companies as allies," Niño emphasized.
The City Council has nearly twenty entrepreneurship support programs in the capital, including ‘Bridges of Talent,’ aimed at enhancing the exchange of innovative and entrepreneurial talent with all countries in Ibero-America. "The great moment that Madrid is experiencing is largely due to foreign investments, of which Colombian companies are a great example," the councilor noted.
Niño highlighted the advantages of the capital "as an investment destination and an unbeatable location to live, start a business, study, develop professionally, and raise a family, in a safe environment with a quality of services and life that are hard to match," and encouraged participating entrepreneurs and investors to "rely on the Investor Service."
Investor Service
CEIM and the City Council of Madrid launched this service at the end of 2020, aimed at retaining foreign companies in the capital, to strengthen support for entities that drive the economy and generate employment in Madrid, as well as to help and facilitate the maintenance of their activities in the city, which have been particularly affected by the COVID crisis.
This Investor Service, carried out under the framework of the Madrid Investment Attraction (MIA) office of the City Council, contributes, on the one hand, to reinforce the entity’s role as the agency responsible for promoting Madrid as an attractive destination for new investments, and, on the other hand, it consolidates CEIM as a business meeting point and a means to retain existing investments.
During the initial months of this service, it served to assess and overcome the impact of the crisis caused by the pandemic on the productive capacity, employment, and export volume of various sectors, identifying the main problems faced by foreign companies to maintain or recover their level of activity. It also helped to gain a better understanding of the business climate in Madrid and adjust new competitiveness factors to the post-pandemic context.
Additionally, the Investor Service, fully funded by the City Council through CEIM, has focused on identifying future investment projects and studying the feasibility of developing new services or support lines.
Colombian Investments in Madrid
Madrid has been the destination for 64% of Colombian investments that have landed in Spain since 1993 (180 million euros), 68% of which were received in the last decade. This country ranks 54th among the main investors in Madrid.
31% of Colombian productive investment in Madrid is concentrated in real estate activities (56 million euros), ahead of 10.1% in wholesale and intermediary trade (18.1 million), 9.9% in the food industry (17.8 million), and 6.8% in activities auxiliary to financial services (12.2 million).
