Euskadi launches a financial cluster to gain investment muscle

The Basque administration and various private entities have created ‘BasqueFIK’a new cluster that will work for the attraction of investments and strategic projects to Euskadi, in addition to creating an ecosystem of financial knowledge and talent and investor, with the aim of increasing the competitiveness of the territory and favor business roots and financial and economic decisions.

This new group, which joins the extensive ecosystem of Basque sectoral clusters, will also prioritize the boost to digital transformation and advanced technologythrough R&D, new technologies that will also be applied in the own investment and financing instruments.

The cluster will be chaired by Jon Ander de las Fuentesfrom the Artizarra foundation and head of MasMóvil in Euskadi and director of Euskaltel, and Fernando del Hoyofrom Kutxabank, will be its vice president.

The group is made up of mainly private entitiesalthough the Basque Government will be represented through Gestión Capital Riesgo, SPRI, and the Basque Institute of Finance, and the Provincial Council of Bizkaia, through ‘Seed Capital Bizkaia’.

The rest of the private promoter entities are ABE capital partners SGEIC, Elkargithe Federation of Voluntary Social Security entities of Euskadi, the BBK FoundationGarrigues, IKEI Research & Consultancy, Kaizaharra Business Corporation, Kutxabank, Laboral KutxaMultiverse Computing, Norgestion, Santander Bank, Governing Company of the Bilbao Stock Exchange, Artizarra Fundazioa and Tecnalia Ventures.

Private initiative and well-being

The Lehendakari, Iñigo Urkullu, presided over the presentation of this cluster and defended the “fundamental role of private initiative” in the construction of the country, since without their contribution “it would be impossible to maintain the level of well-being and quality of life” that Euskadi currently has. So,

In this idea, ‘BasqueFIK’ is “one more step in the consolidation of Euskadi as an attractive territory for investment.” Urkullua explained that this new cluster will contribute to boosting the connection between the investment ecosystem and the economic and industrial fabric of the Basque Country, because the “rootedness” of economic, financial and business decisions in Euskadi is reinforced.

Likewise, he has valued the “innovative” decision to create this cluster in a territory historically with a “strong financial ecosystem” that has the Economic Agreement“a financial culture and its own, professional and solvent sector.”

Urkullu commented that the current needs are “clear”: to generate a transversal investment ecosystem, “with a look beyond the industrywhich provides support to emerging sectors in the global economy”.