Keys to financing and scaling innovative companies: CDTI, NEOTEC and internationalisation

One of the major challenges for innovative companies is identifying the funding programmes that best fit their stage of development and aligning them with their growth strategy. This is especially important in the early stages, when the technology or business model is still being validated, as making the right decisions at this point can be key to moving forward more solidly.

In this context, the ONE Platform organised this webinar last Friday, 17 April 2026, focused on offering a practical overview of CDTI funding lines, the role of the NEOTEC programme in the creation and consolidation of technology-based companies, and the opportunities linked to international technological cooperation.

Public funding to drive business R&D&I

The first block of the webinar was devoted to providing context on the main business R&D&I funding lines managed by CDTI. Emilio Iglesias Cadarso, Head of Area in the Department of Institutional Promotion and Territorial Cooperation, explained the role of the organisation as a key agent in supporting companies that develop their own technology.

During his speech, a general overview was given of the instruments available, the business profiles they are aimed at, and the importance of aligning funding with a clearly defined technological strategy and a coherent business plan.

NEOTEC as a boost for technology-based companies

Within the set of CDTI support schemes, the NEOTEC programme played a prominent role. This block addressed its role in supporting small innovative companies. As Emilio Iglesias said, “the aim of NEOTEC is to finance the activity of startups that are less than 3 years old and develop their own technology”.

In addition, several key aspects of the programme’s suitability were shared, including the type of projects it is aimed at and the relevance of aspects such as defining the technological challenge, planning growth, and ensuring consistency between the technical proposal and the business strategy.

Eureka and European partnerships to grow through collaboration

The second block of the webinar focused on European partnerships and the opportunities offered by technological collaboration on an international scale. Óscar Fernández Moyano, Head of the Department of Technological Cooperation at CDTI, explained how initiatives such as Eureka and Eurostars work, both aimed at promoting collaborative projects between companies from different countries, highlighting instruments such as Clusters.

One of the standout instruments of the Eureka initiative is the Eureka Clusters, which, as Óscar mentioned, “seek to ensure that the major industry players in the sector in the country act as drivers together with the countries involved in the cluster in order to promote technological cooperation projects in the sector.”

This part provided guidance on the value of these programmes, the role of companies within consortia, and the importance of aligning technological objectives with the requirements of European calls, especially when seeking to scale innovation beyond the domestic market.

Internationalisation and technological cooperation

The third block was devoted to international technological cooperation projects, led by Patricia Sánchez Pacheco, technician in CDTI’s Department of External Technological Action. During her presentation, she addressed the options for bilateral, multilateral and unilateral projects, as well as how they fit into the internationalisation strategy of innovative companies.

Patricia highlighted the role of CDTI as an organisation supporting business innovation, underlining its open approach and its focus on the real needs of industry. She also explained that CDTI actively promotes the international dimension of technology companies, noting that “we carry out a series of actions aimed at increasing and energising international technological cooperation, also supporting the international deployment of those technology companies, especially SMEs, and identifying new market opportunities for Spanish technology companies”.

This part of the webinar helped attendees better understand the logic of international cooperation in R&D, highlighting issues such as identifying partners, technological complementarity, and planning projects with an impact on global markets.

Real experiences from NEOTEC beneficiary companies

One of the most valuable parts of the session was the block devoted to real experiences from companies that had benefited from the NEOTEC programme. In this space, Germán Castillo, on behalf of Kemchain Solutions, and Nieves Rúiz, representing Nanobots Therapeutics, shared their journey, the main lessons learned, and the impact this funding has had on boosting their technological developments.

In his speech, Germán Castillo focused on the complexity of recruiting certain key profiles required by the programme, such as staff with a PhD. As he explained, “it is not easy to find someone who already has a PhD, is available, and agrees to join a company with a contract looking two years ahead”, and he therefore recommended that “if you are clear that you are going to apply for NEOTEC, it is essential to start looking for the PhD profile as early as possible”.

For her part, Nieves Ruiz emphasised the demanding administrative management of the programme, especially regarding financial justification, noting that “the bureaucratic side is complex and makes it necessary to have the support of consultancies or specialised staff in order to deal with it reliably”.

Taken together, these testimonies offered a practical and approachable view of the programme’s impact, highlighting both its capacity to drive technological progress and the need for advance planning and a suitable management structure.

A space to resolve questions and keep moving forward

The session concluded with a Q&A session that addressed some of the main questions raised by attendees. The closing also served to highlight the usefulness of this type of event in bringing public funding closer to the innovative business ecosystem.

This webinar joins the range of training content offered by the ONE Platform, designed to support entrepreneurs and companies in their processes of growth, innovation and internationalisation.

Want to know all the details? You can watch the full webinar video and access a step-by-step guide to the main recommendations shared during the session.

If you do not want to miss upcoming sessions, check the webinar agenda of the ONE Platform.