This technopolis celebrates its three decades with figures that were inconceivable when it first started running in 1992: 653 companies of 21 different countries, an annual turnover of €2.7 billion and almost 25,000 jobs
Málaga TechPark closed last year with an employment growth of 9.7% over the previous year. This translates to 24,396 jobs, 2,158 more than in 2021, where 54% of the workforce are men and 46% are women. There are 653 companies located in the park, 66 of them being foreign companies from 21 different countries.
Among the most recent incorporations are the DayOne hub of La Caixa, Aire Networks (Grupo Aire), the Cybersecurity Global Hub of Babel, the Diagnostic Hub of Grupo Echevarne, FEV (Germany), Capgemini (France) with a specialised Cyber Defence Centre and a Cloud services Centre, Málaga Excellence Technology EY (UK), Quantexa (UK) and the Innovation Hub Oracle (U.S.).
The number of the TechPark employees working on Research and Development was 2,790 in 2022, 24.61% more than in 2021.
Málaga TechPark has also registered a significant upturn in turnover. It increased 19.37% in 2022, reaching €2.7 billion per year. The total turnover since the beginning of the park’s activity is €35.008 billion.
The Information Technology sector (Electronics, Information, Computing and Telecommunications) is still the leader in the park, as it virtually comprises 33% of the companies, 57% of the employment and 48% of the overall turnover of 2022.
For the tax year 2022, the company’s profits after taxes were €3.7 million over the €662,000 in profits in 2021.
This balance of results was disclosed at the board of directors of Málaga TechPark, which was celebrated this week. Carolina España, minister of Economy, Finance and European Funds at the Regional Government of Andalusia and president of Málaga TechPark highlights that the technology park “is the flagship of Málaga’s economy and one of the main driving forces of Andalusian economy: it has made Málaga a paramount European focus of technology, located in a space that offers multiple possibilities of development. Thirty years after its start, its distinguishing features are innovation and internationalization. Neither Málaga nor Andalusia would be what they are today without Málaga TechPark.”
Figures of investment
Minister Carolina España explains that “the total investment of the tax year 2022 has reached €25.6 million, a rise of 40% compared with 2021. Private investment has experienced a significant growth of 60%, reaching €21.6 million, which is 85% of the total investment in the tax year 2022. On the other hand, public investment has been €4 million.”
Since Málaga TechPark’s beginning, the total investment in the construction of the park per se and its buildings, as well as in the equipment that is needed to develop the companies and institutions projects, has been €954.6 million. 80%—€762 million— comes from private investment and the remaining 20% comes from public investment—€192.6 million—.
Carolina España adds that the R&D investment by companies and institutions of the park in 2022 “rises €155 million, an upturn of 62.86% over the previous year. Furthermore, the number of R&D employees increases 24.61%, standing at 2,790 in 2022. Public funding to R&D has almost tripled in 2022 compared with 2021, reaching €19.372 billion. Málaga TechPark is a symbol of progress in research and technology, and that is the right path to keep making history”, says the minister.
Real-estate investment and strategic projects
Regarding Málaga TechPark’s real-estate investment, it is important to highlight the end of the Rosalind Building construction, with 3,700 m² of high-quality office space. The tender of construction of a new building with 3,800 m² of building surface stands out in the expansion area. These two buildings aim to attract innovative companies in the field of digital technologies so that their technology can be used to increase security and sustainability.
Along with Endesa and Málaga City Council, the project Málaga TechPark #eCityMálaga has been in development throughout the year 2022. The project has now a total of 38 new integrations. With this initiative, they are working on the development of projects regarding the city, the ecosystem, the digitalisation, the urban space and the circular economy.
The Malaga TechPark Execs Executives Club has kept on working on the different defined work groups. New companies which are leaders in their field, such as Idneo, Capgemini and Grupo Aire, among others, joined this club in 2022.
Moreover, Málaga TechPark and the University of Málaga (UMA) move forward in the development of the University Science and Business Park by signing a collaboration agreement, which will allow them to continue with the strategy of joining common spaces to integrate knowledge and research with the business network. Minister Carolina España emphasizes “the relevance of strategic collaboration with different institutions and academic communities.”
On the other hand, 2022 was also the year when the Instituto Ricardo Valle de Innovación Foundation (INNOVA IRV) was presented. It is an institution whose goal is to become a technological center that contributes to knowledge promotion and its implementation in the development and in the competitive potential strengthening of companies in the technology and innovation sector.
Málaga TechPark participated actively in different international networks throughout 2022. The park took part in European projects such as MakeMyFuture, Tourism 4.0 and B-Skills. It also took over the presidency of the Ibero-American Network of Science and Technology Parks.
The minister Carolina España claims that “Málaga TechPark will keep providing us with constant and outstanding progress in an exciting future that will definitely meet the expectations. The Regional Government of Andalusia will continue to support the incorporation of national and international companies with specific measures, in order to increase the park’s relevance around the world.”