To support Catalan industry and businesses through public-private collaboration. With this objective, Avançsa was born four decades ago, a public entity of the Department of Business and Labor of the Generalitat that is responsible for promoting Catalunya's business ecosystem.
Since its creation in 1985, Avançsa has positioned itself as a key player in the consolidation of the business fabric in Catalunya, always with the maxim of promoting the alliance between the public and private sectors, with a clear objective: to foster the growth, transformation, and competitiveness of industry.
To this end, the entity collaborates in the materialization and support of "structural and strategic projects that fit into the broad lines that have been drawn for where the European economy needs to go in the coming times," defended the Minister of Business, Miquel Sàmper. At the celebration of these 40 years of activity, Sàmper highlighted the entity's impact: "For every euro invested by Avançsa, between three and four euros of private capital have been mobilized."
In 2024, this activity translated into the management of a portfolio valued at 153.8 million euros, and in accompanying 19 projects from various sectors, which generate more than 3,200 jobs. The entity's economic results have been positive, and in 2024 it distributed dividends to the Generalitat —its sole shareholder— for the first time, amounting to 13.5 million.
Through its Innova line, Avançsa has mobilized 175 million in private capital from a public investment of 56 million, with a multiplier effect greater than three. In addition, the Extraordinaris program, created in 2022, has allocated 13 million to boost five emerging companies, with a multiplier effect of 4.3.
"This demonstrates the strength of public-private collaboration and the potential of an instrument like Avançsa, making strategic investments that directly and indirectly help our economy," Sàmper added. The general director of Avançsa, Clàudia Canals, went further, asserting that the entity not only pursues economic objectives but also social ones: "We seek a return to society."
For this reason, the entity evaluates the projects it supports not only taking into account their profitability, but also "the quality employment they generate, their implementation in the territory and their contribution to a more solid and inclusive productive model," Canals highlighted during the event. Held at the Barcelona Stock Exchange, it featured leadership and equity expert Mercè Brey, with a presentation on the importance of moving towards more inclusive and collaborative leadership to face the challenges of the business world.