Startup accelerators and incubators in Spain in 2026: programmes, equity, funding and residence for foreign founders

A startup accelerator in Spain gives a founder a programme, investors and sometimes money — from nothing to €1 million in exchange for equity or a right to invest later. An incubator works with an idea and is usually free. Both are open to foreigners, but to live in Spain and run your startup here you need a residence permit — most often the startup visa via the UGE with an ENISA report.

Below: how an incubator differs from an accelerator, which programmes are active in 2026 and on what terms, what taking part really costs, how an accelerator fits with the startup visa, and which tax incentives founders and their investors get.

Incubator or accelerator: what is the difference

In Spain the two words are often mixed up, and many organisations run both. It is more useful to look at the company’s stage and at what the programme expects from the founder.

Almost every large city has its own incubator, and getting in is not hard: show a sensible project and meet the formal requirements. Selection for strong accelerators is tougher — they look at metrics, the team and the answer to “why now”.

Startup accelerators and incubators in Spain in 2026

The table lists programmes whose terms we checked in November 2026. It is not a ranking: each has its own stage and logic, and terms change from one intake to the next, so read the current call before applying.

The main point of the table: in Spain “accelerator” covers very different deals. Lanzadera is a programme with an investor next door; Decelera and funds such as Mission and Kfund are investors with a programme attached; SeedRocket and La Nave give no money and take no equity; Wayra invests when a startup can become a Telefónica supplier.

What has closed or changed by 2026

• Google for Startups Campus in Madrid closed on 31 December 2025; Mad Tech Campus has taken its place at Matadero.
• BBVA Open Innovation became BBVA Spark — banking services and venture debt for startups, not an accelerator.
• Demium closed its incubators in 2023 and in 2026 became the Mission fund; the old “€100,000 for 20%” deal no longer applies.
• Decelera moved from small tickets to a model of up to €1 million per company.
• Antai is a studio that creates companies itself and hires founders: you cannot apply with an outside project.

What taking part costs: equity and dilution

Accelerator money always has a price, and it is worth converting it into a company valuation before signing. An example: an accelerator invests €100,000 for 10% of the company. That values the company at €1,000,000 after the investment, or €900,000 before it. If a fund then takes another 20% in a seed round, the founders are left with 72% instead of 90%.

Besides equity there are other instruments: warrants (Founder Institute takes about 2.5% in warrants), a right to join a future round (this is how Decelera works) and convertible loans. They do not dilute at once, but they take part of the next round — count them in the cap table just like shares.

In practice, founders who have been through several programmes give the same advice:

• do not give away equity at pre-seed if there is no money in return — only training and a desk;
• find out in advance how many days a week the programme expects you on site: at Lanzadera it is full time, which is hard to combine with other work;
• do not sign a one-year exclusive with a grant consultant, and check whether their fee can be paid from the grant at all: the cost of preparing a NEOTEC application, for example, cannot be paid from the subsidy;
• tell funds and accelerators only the truth: the ecosystem is small, and a lie found in due diligence closes doors for a long time.

Accelerators and the startup visa

Taking part in a programme does not by itself give the right to live in Spain. A non-EU founder who wants to move and run a startup here usually needs the entrepreneur residence permit — the startup visa. It is issued by the UGE after a mandatory ENISA report on the business project (Articles 69–70 of Law 14/2013).

The law sets three criteria for the report: the founder’s profile and the role of each partner, a business plan with financing and sources of investment, and the project’s value for Spain, including innovation. Accelerators and awards are not mentioned in the law, so a programme helps indirectly:

• money from an accelerator or angels is a documented source of financing for the business plan;
• in the ENISA questionnaire, winning or reaching the final of a competition at least at regional level is one of the objective grounds for innovation, like the Pyme Innovadora label (see our guide to the startup visa business plan);
• metrics built during the programme are the best argument for scalability.

You can apply for the startup visa without leaving Spain if you are here lawfully (Article 69.1). In practice, short programmes — the week-long Decelera, bootcamps, six-week accelerators — fit into a 90-day visa-free or visa stay, while long ones such as Lanzadera can only be done in visits without a residence permit.

Taxes: what founders and investors get

The Beckham regime for founders

Since 2023 the Beckham regime is open not only to employees. Under Article 93 of the Personal Income Tax Law it also covers an entrepreneur who moves with a residence permit under Law 14/2013 after an ENISA report, and a highly qualified professional working for a certified startup (empresa emergente). The condition is not to have been Spanish tax resident in the five years before moving. The rate is 24% on income up to €600,000 a year, and wealth tax applies only to assets in Spain; the regime covers the year of the move and the following five, and a spouse and children under 25 can join it. Details: our Beckham Law guide.

The empresa emergente certificate

The certificate under Startups Law 28/2022 is issued by ENISA free of charge; the decision takes up to three months, and silence means approval. It gives:

• 15% corporate income tax in the first profitable year and the following three;
• employee stock options tax-free up to €50,000 a year instead of the usual €12,000 (Article 42.3.f of the Personal Income Tax Law), with tax on any excess deferred until the shares are sold or listed, but for no more than 10 years (Article 14.2.m);
• for investors, a 7-year window from incorporation for the tax deduction instead of 5.

How the certificate and investors fit with an ENISA loan is covered in our ENISA financing guide.

The 50% deduction for angel investors

A Spanish tax resident who invests in the capital of a new company deducts 50% of the amount from the state share of their income tax, on a base of up to €100,000 a year (Article 68.1). Conditions: the company’s equity is no more than €400,000, the shares are acquired on incorporation or in a capital increase within the first 5 years (7 for an empresa emergente), they are held for more than 3 and less than 12 years, and the investor together with their family may hold no more than 40% of the capital. An example: investing €60,000 gives a deduction of €30,000, provided the state share of the tax for that year is at least that amount. For a founder this is an argument with angels; for the investor it is part of tax planning, covered in our guide to taxes for wealthy families in Spain.

How to prepare your application

1. Be honest about your stage. Without a product and first customers, go to an incubator: a strong accelerator will screen out an application with no metrics.
2. Gather numbers that can be checked: revenue, users, retention, customer acquisition cost.
3. Prepare a 10–15 slide deck and a short pitch of 30 seconds and 3 minutes — this is the format demo days ask for.
4. Put your capital in order. A Spanish S.L. can be set up with capital from €1, but founders’ shares, shareholder loans and options should be documented before you talk to an investor — how to put money into the company is covered in our guide to shareholder loans and SL capital.
5. Apply to several programmes at once, but go through one at a time: a team cannot handle two intensive programmes in parallel.
6. If you need to relocate, start the visa at the same time as the programme application: the ENISA business plan and the accelerator application are built from the same numbers.

Public grants and loans for startups — ENISA, CDTI’s NEOTEC, regional programmes — are collected in our guide to business grants in Spain.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between an accelerator and an incubator in Spain?

An incubator works with an idea and a prototype: training, mentors, a coworking desk, usually free and without money. An accelerator takes a company with a product and first sales, prepares it for a seed round and sometimes invests — in exchange for equity or a right to invest later.

What is the best startup accelerator in Spain?

There is no single best one: Lanzadera is strong on programme and community, Decelera and funds such as Mission and Kfund on money, and SeedRocket and La Nave are free and take no equity. Choose by your company’s stage, sector and whether you need money or contacts right now.

How much equity do accelerators in Spain take?

It varies: SeedRocket, La Nave and city incubators take no equity, Founder Institute takes about 2.5% in warrants, and programmes that invest take a stake in line with the amount invested. Before signing, convert the investment into a company valuation.

Can a foreigner join a Spanish accelerator?

Yes, most programmes accept foreign founders and many run in English. But to live in Spain and run a startup here, a non-EU national needs a residence permit — usually the startup visa via the UGE with an ENISA report.

Does an accelerator help you get the Spanish startup visa?

Indirectly. The law does not mention accelerators, but programme money documents a source of financing, and winning or reaching the final of a competition at least at regional level is one of the grounds for innovation in the ENISA questionnaire.

Can a startup founder get the Beckham regime?

Yes. Since 2023 the regime is open to an entrepreneur who moved with a residence permit under Law 14/2013 after an ENISA report, and to a professional working for an empresa emergente, if they were not Spanish tax resident in the five years before moving. The rate is 24% on income up to €600,000.

What tax deduction does a business angel get in Spain?

A Spanish tax resident deducts 50% of the amount invested in the capital of a new company from the state share of their income tax, on a base of up to €100,000 a year. The shares must be held for more than 3 and less than 12 years, and the company’s equity may not exceed €400,000.

Key points about startup accelerators and incubators in Spain

• An incubator is for an idea and is usually free; an accelerator is for a product with first sales, sometimes with money up to €1 million.
• “Accelerator” in Spain means different deals: from free programmes with no equity to funds with a programme attached.
• Convert any investment into a company valuation and the stake you will keep after the next round.
• A programme does not give the right to live in Spain: a foreigner needs the startup visa with an ENISA report.
• A founder can get the Beckham regime, the startup 15% corporate tax, and an angel a 50% deduction.

Sources

• Law 35/2006 on Personal Income Tax — Articles 14.2.m, 42.3.f, 68.1, 93
• Law 14/2013 — Articles 69–70, entrepreneur residence and the ENISA report
• Law 28/2022 on startups (empresas emergentes)
• Order PCM/825/2023 — empresa emergente certification criteria
• ENISA — empresa emergente certification
• Capital Riesgo — Lanzadera intake, September 2025
• Capital Riesgo — Decelera Menorca 2026 new model
• Capital Riesgo — Demium becomes Mission, 2026
• SeedRocket
• Valencia Innovation Capital — VIC Early Stage
• Esade BAN — terms for startups
• IESE Business Angels Network