Executives will be trained in AI and digital transformation with the return of DigitalXBorder.

 

The program DigitalXBorder, driven by the Spanish Association of the Digital Economy (Adigital), Institute of Foreign Trade (ICEX) and School of Industrial Organization (EOI), has announced its return in the second half of 2025 to continue its mission of boosting the competitiveness of Spanish companies through digitalization and artificial intelligence (AI).

 

These training sessions, aimed at managers and CEOs, will be held in the cities of Santander, Malaga, Cordoba and Pamplona. These sessions will address crucial topics such as technological governance, the implementation of digital tools, and the creation of growth strategies in a globalized market. The program will feature high-level speakers, including experts from global technology companies such as Google, Microsoft and IBM.

 

The importance of this initiative is underlined by recent data. A report by Adigital and Boston Consulting Group (BGC) of 2024 reveals that the the era of digital economics. already represents the 26% of Spanish GDP, which demonstrates the growing importance of this sector. However, a study by ONTSI and Red.es shows a significant gap in the adoption of AI: only 11,4% of SMEs with more than 10 employees use it, compared to 44% of large companies.

 

Since its relaunch earlier this year, DigitalXBorder has managed to attract 163 companies in the conferences already held in Madrid, Tenerife, Alicante, A Coruña, Girona, Valladolid and AsturiasThe profile of the participants is strategic, with companies that have an average turnover of 40,3 millones de euros and a degree of internationalization of the 27,6 %.

 

Elisa Carbonell, CEO of ICEX, highlighted the importance of the program: “Thanks to the DigitalXBorder program, which covers the entire Spanish geography, companies from any point in the country access a first-class digital immersion and constant updates on the latest technological developments. This knowledge allows them to make better decisions, including international scalability, in an increasingly changing environment.” Carbonell also highlighted the public-private collaboration that supports the project and the value of the networking generated in each city.

 

For its part, Diego Crescente, general director of EOI, stated that “at a time when Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation are redefining competitiveness, initiatives like DigitalXBorder allow our management companies to acquire not only knowledge, but also strategic vision to lead this change.”

 

César Tello, CEO of Adigital, added that “technological governance and digitalization continue to be major challenges for many companies, but they also represent an opportunity. For this reason, it is essential that business leaders can turn this complexity into an advantage, judiciously incorporating digital tools that boost the competitiveness and sustainability of their businesses.”

 

The program is completely free for selected companies and is co-financed by the Ministry of Industry and Tourism and the European Social Fund PlusIts goal is to equip business leaders with the vision necessary to adapt their companies to a global digital environment, design robust growth strategies, and use technology to become more internationally competitive.

 

In its previous stage, between 2018 and 2023, DigitalXBorder formed 1.167 CEOs and executives de 1.100 companies in 26 Spanish cities. 93% of the participating companies were SMEs, with an average turnover of 36 million euros and 32% of its business volume coming from exports.