The Autonomous Communities, at the forefront of internationalization

Special Report

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The challenges faced by any company embarking on the risky path of internationalization are numerous and, in many cases, complex. Faced with this situation, companies can choose to rely entirely on their own resources, hire international trade consultants, or turn to public internationalization agencies and organizations.
While at the national level the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) is the one that supports Spanish companies in their projects in foreign markets, the various Autonomous Communities that make up the State also have institutions dedicated to this important and complex task.
Directly dependent on the regional public authorities, all these internationalization bodies implement various policies, manage funds, organize fairs and congresses, coordinate commercial expeditions and are in charge of training programs, all aimed at helping companies in their Autonomous Community that wish to embark on an international venture.

Extenda (Andalusia)
Reporting to the Regional Ministry of Tourism, Trade and Sport of the Andalusian Government, the Andalusian Agency for Foreign Promotion (Extenda) is one of the most active and prolific internationalization bodies at the regional level. During 2006, it carried out 856 promotional activities in international markets, 23% more than in the previous year, and registered 7.350 company participations, representing a 12% increase.
The agency's budget for 2006 was €25 million. The Business Promotion Units (UPN) served a total of 4.807 companies, primarily in the US and Mexico, which account for the greatest business demand. A significant effort was also made to raise awareness of the services Extenda offers through an advertising campaign, information sessions, and a new website.
As part of the Strategic Plan for the Internationalization of the Economy 2003-2006, the budget allocated by the Regional Government to internationalization increased by 50% during that period, from €16,9 million to €25,5 million. As a result, the value of exports rose from €11.205 million to €15.841 million, an increase of 41,4%, and the number of exporting companies increased from 7.940 to 8.843 (an 11% increase).
Looking to the present and the future, the Andalusian government has just presented the Third Internationalization Plan for Andalusian Businesses 2007-2010, which has been agreed upon with socioeconomic stakeholders and has a total budget of €116 million. Its objectives are: to increase the region's export base to 9.500 companies, up from the current 8.000; to consolidate the position of existing exporters, reaching 3.500 companies; and to increase private investment abroad, reaching 50 Andalusian multinationals, compared to the current 30.
To provide greater support to the services sector, which is of great qualitative importance, Extenda offers the Services Internationalization Program, which aims to increase companies' participation in projects with Multilateral Financial Institutions. The opportunities for the approximately one hundred Andalusian companies with potential in this sector focus on information technology, the environment, healthcare, tourism, agricultural development, and land-use planning.
Another important aspect is the expansion of UPN's International Network, which currently comprises 18 offices. In addition to the three openings in 2006 (Lisbon, Düsseldorf, and London), and the Shanghai office in 2007, Extenda has two expansion possibilities: emerging markets in the short term (India, Korea, Central America, Turkey, or the United Arab Emirates) or areas that require another office (the East Coast of the US or Canada).
However, despite Extenda's efforts, Andalusia's trade balance remains in deficit, which is mainly due to energy dependence: fuels represent 41% of total imports.

Asturex (Asturias)
The Principality of Asturias Foreign Trade Promotion Company (Asturex), established in late 2005 and operational since the last quarter of 2006, was created through the consensus of all Asturian stakeholders involved in business internationalization. Its shareholders include the Government of the Principality of Asturias, the Asturian Federation of Employers, and the Chambers of Commerce of Avilés, Gijón, and Oviedo. Asturex's primary objective is to integrate, in an agile and efficient manner, the support services for the direct international promotion of Asturian companies.
More specifically, Asturex aims to increase the Asturian export base (primarily SMEs), increase the geographical diversification of export destinations (until now focused only on a few countries in the Eurozone), seek new business opportunities by promoting inter-company cooperation, and increase the number of exporting sectors.
Asturex has a website (http://www.asturex.org/This website compiles information related to foreign trade, both from Asturex itself and from other partner organizations, with numerous links to pages of interest to potential exporters. It also includes a news section, updated every two weeks, as well as detailed information on all activities scheduled for the rest of the year and other services provided by Asturex.
Throughout 2007, the Asturian entity has been developing its programmed Activity Plan, which includes monographic seminars, direct and reverse trade missions, group participations in fairs, guided visits to fairs and various promotional actions.
In total, these actions concern more than 50 countries and more than 200 companies involved in foreign promotion activities, to which we should add the more than 100 companies participating in the International Meeting Point with the Network of Promoters Abroad of Asturias, held last May.

Ader (La Rioja)
The Economic Development Agency of La Rioja (Ader) is an organization with a firm commitment to implement the business and industrial reality of its Community, make it grow and position it at the level of the most developed in Europe.   
Ader is a public body of the Government of La Rioja, attached to the Ministry of Agriculture and Economic Development and responsible for developing the economic-industrial promotion policy, mainly in the field of SMEs.    
To accomplish this task, Ader provides Riojan companies with services and plans such as the SME Self-Diagnosis, Business Directory, Internationalization (information on lines of action for the internationalization of the company), New Entrepreneurial Initiatives, Strategic Furniture Plan, Industrial Property (innovation and industrial property management service, to contribute to technological development and competitiveness) or CENEO Network (link center for innovation).

Arex (Aragon)
Aragón Exterior (Arex) is a public company attached to the Department of Economy, Finance and Employment of the Government of Aragón. It provides advice and individualized support for the internationalization projects of Aragonese companies, leveraging the experience of its team in Aragón, the presence of its network of offices in more than 20 countries, and its support programs.
It also focuses on attracting foreign investment to Aragon. To this end, it widely promotes Aragon's advantages as an investment destination, acts as an intermediary to facilitate the establishment of foreign companies, and addresses the needs of multinational corporations already operating in the region.
Some of Arex's most recent projects include the launch of a telephone interpretation service (in collaboration with the company Asitel), and the implementation of a series of sectoral plans for entry into priority countries (Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America), developed with associations from the most representative sectors of the Aragonese economy.
 Arex has joined the newly formed Proexza, whose objective is to coordinate Zaragoza's international promotion policies in the tourism, economic, and business sectors. The new entity is 51% owned by the Zaragoza City Council, 28% by the Zaragoza Chamber of Commerce, and the remaining 21% by the Government of Aragon. Its initial capital is €60.200.

Excal (Castilla y León)
Enabling the internationalization of businesses in Castilla y León is the main mission of Excal, which provides companies in the region with a range of tools and resources and a large team of professionals.
The company has business centers in Budapest, Warsaw, Miami, Brussels, Madrid, and Valladolid, as well as offices in New York, London, and Düsseldorf. It offers internationalization consulting services, including promotion, investment attraction, and cooperation, facilitating the development of work agendas, lists of importers and buyers, market research, and more.
It also has foreign trade promoters in Mexico, Paris, Buenos Aires, Stockholm (Sweden), Casablanca, and Bucharest. Furthermore, in China, Israel, Russia, and Ukraine, it works closely with local strategic partners who have in-depth knowledge of the markets, language, legislation, and institutions.
Exporting companies in Castilla y León have the support of Excal Excellence, a free card that provides access to a range of benefits and discounts on products and services from Excal and its partner organizations.

Igape (Galicia)
Directly, through agreements with other entities, or through its company Xesgalicia, Igape provides support to Galician companies that are starting their internationalization process or that wish to improve their international positioning through different aid programs, or through services that it provides from its headquarters in Santiago or through its Business Promotion Centers (CPN) abroad, located in Germany, China, the USA, Poland and Japan.
This entity offers Galician companies lines of support, such as the IGAPE-ICO Financial Support Agreement, business diagnostics of internationalization capacity, international market studies, cooperation projects, direct and reverse business missions, presence at exhibitions, projects for the identification and import of good practices in internationalization, etc.
Other services that Igape provides include export credit insurance, business opportunity generation, simultaneous telephone interpretation and databases (market studies, sector notes, country guides and reports).

Department of Innovation, Business and Employment (Navarra)
The objective of this organization is to achieve significant and lasting penetration of Navarrese companies into foreign markets through the Navarrese Business Internationalization Plan. The various programs that comprise this Plan have been designed by the Trade and Consumer Affairs Service and managed in collaboration with different external partners. It has collaboration agreements with the Official Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Navarre and with ICEX (Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade).
The Department offers the following services to Navarrese exporters: Promex Start-up, Promex Diversification, human resources for establishment abroad, foreign promotion trips, part-time export managers, legal and commercial advice, pool of young foreign trade professionals, Support Plan for the Management and Marketing of the Navarrese Tourism Sector (Natur Program), subsidies for training activities, Erena Program and Training of Technicians in Foreign Markets.

Ipex (Castilla-La Mancha)
Established in 2002, the Institute for Foreign Trade Promotion has as its core objectives increasing the region's permanent presence abroad, especially in markets outside the EU; fostering the development of foreign trade professionals within companies in Castilla-La Mancha; and cultivating a distinctive regional image. Currently, the main destinations for exports from Castilla-La Mancha are Portugal, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
With an agreement signed with all the Spanish Autonomous Communities, ICEX, the Higher Council of Chambers of Commerce, and the CCAE, IPEX recently launched a joint Agri-food Promotion Plan in China. It also strongly supports new technologies, offers part-time export management services to SMEs in the region, backs the Master's program in Foreign Trade at the University of Castilla-La Mancha (Albacete), and promotes the teaching of Spanish as a foreign language (especially in Russia and the USA).

Process (Ceuta)
Ceuta boasts an excellent framework of public aid, numerous incentives, an advantageous tax regime, specific ICO financing lines, a favorable status within the EU, a first-rate port, and a population large enough to support any initiative. It's no wonder it attracts foreign investment.
Procesa has recently published "Investing in Ceuta", a guide that allows investors to learn about the unique characteristics of this autonomous city and increase external investment.

Proexca (Canary Islands)
This public company, attached to the Ministry of Economy and Finance of the regional government, has as its general objectives to promote the internationalization of Canary Island companies, strengthen the business fabric of the Islands and attract investments from strategic sectors to the Community.
The activities it carries out to achieve this goal are diverse: the only Canary Islands window for internationalization processes, information and training support, training of Canary Islands technicians in different subjects related to foreign trade, communication of actions, programs and tools, guidance, information and support to new investors, putting entrepreneurs and project promoters in contact with potential investors, promotion of entrepreneurship and investment programs in infrastructure.
In addition to its offices in the Canary Islands, Proexca has a growing network of international branches: Africa (Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, and Cape Verde), the Americas (USA, Venezuela, and Brazil), and Europe (Belgium). It also collaborates with Chambers of Commerce and various business associations.

Promise (Melilla)
From its humble beginnings over a decade ago, Proyecto Melilla (Promesa) has become the local development agency for the Autonomous City of Melilla. Throughout these years, the organization has helped create more than 2.000 direct jobs in nearly 1,000 companies across all sectors by managing grants and subsidies totaling €10 million. In addition, it has conducted nearly 600 training programs aimed at improving and updating the professional skills of more than 5.500 business owners and employees.
Promesa offers investors services such as a business center, industrial buildings, support in defining and developing projects, training, etc. It is worth remembering that Melilla enjoys a privileged tariff regime, which encourages foreign investment.

PromoMadrid (Madrid)
PromoMadrid is a public company, attached to the Ministry of Economy and Technological Innovation of the Community of Madrid, which was created in 2004 with the aim of promoting and developing the Community internationally. It has more than 50 professionals specializing in strategic sectors of the current economy, with a clear customer focus. Jesús Sainz, a state economist and trade expert, was recently appointed as its new president.
Its main functions include supporting the internationalization of Madrid-based companies, both in their export and investment activities. It is also responsible for attracting foreign investors to the region and improving Madrid's international economic image.
Among the services it offers to Madrid's SMEs, the MadridExporta program stands out, providing personalized assistance. PromoMadrid also regularly organizes conferences and seminars (through agreements with ICEX, CEOE, and the Madrid Chamber of Commerce) and business meetings, all aimed at consolidating traditional markets and opening up new ones.
PromoMadrid also carries out sector-specific promotion activities (attending more than 40 international trade fairs during 2007), provides Madrid companies with the TIEs program (Business Internationalization Technicians) and has a EuroInfoCenter, responsible for transmitting information to Madrid companies from the various programs launched by the European Commission.

Sodercan (Cantabria)
This organization has the basic objectives of promoting the internationalization of Cantabrian companies, increasing and diversifying Cantabria's export offering (new exporters, new products, new markets), supporting the initiatives of Cantabrian industrial SMEs to operate in other markets, supporting business collaboration to tackle new projects in foreign markets, consolidating and making available to Cantabrian companies the Sodercan Foreign Network in those countries considered priorities, creating employment and attracting foreign investment projects.
The countries considered "preferred" by Sodercan are China, Mexico, Guatemala, Brazil, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Romania. This internationalization organization offers services such as Fidex07 (Program for the Promotion of Internationalization and Foreign Development), Pimex, GTP (Part-Time Export Managers), Exportapyme, International Management Training programs, UAE (Grouped Export Units), the PIPE Program, and monitoring of trade missions abroad.

Sofiex (Extremadura)
The Extremadura Industrial Development Corporation (Sofiex) is an investment company that supports and complements viable business projects developed in the region, acting as a local partner and supporter for investors from all sectors. Its primary objective is to promote Extremadura as an investment destination, supporting and guiding companies that decide to establish themselves there.
Over its 20-year history, Sofiex has supported the creation of 125 business projects, generating an investment of nearly €1.070 billion and 10.200 jobs. Furthermore, throughout 2007 it has been working on a series of measures to promote the development of industrial land, and in April it opened a new permanent sales office in Lisbon.

Spri (Basque Country)
Spri contributes to the internationalization of Basque companies by promoting their international dimension as an essential factor that demonstrates their competitiveness, the key to strengthening growth and their innovative and entrepreneurial capacity. It seeks to reinforce companies' expansionist drive while focusing on training personnel with a strong international profile.
Spri has an international network in 27 countries to serve Basque companies. In 2006, it supported the internationalization of 208 projects, 25% more than in 2005, and advised companies on 528 issues. In 2007, it aims to expand its international network to priority countries such as Algeria, Benelux, the United Arab Emirates, and the Nordic countries, in addition to having opened new permanent offices in Türkiye and India.