According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), in March 2026 Spain recorded a 34.9% year-over-year increase in the creation of limited liability companies (SLs). This increase can be attributed, in part, to the support for young entrepreneurs offered by various institutions. For example, in 2024, the financing line for young entrepreneurs offered by Enisa (a public entity operating under the Ministry of Industry and Tourism) had a dedicated budget of over €20 million.

Currently, numerous forms of aid are available to support youth entrepreneurship, with the aim of facilitating business creation, consolidation, and growth. To help you find the options relevant to your situation, this guide reviews the main forms of support available.

Key takeaways

• In Spain, numerous support programs are available to young entrepreneurs, such as grants, mentoring, and free training.
  
• The maximum age for applying for support aimed at young entrepreneurs varies depending on the program, but in no case does it exceed 40.
  
• In addition to the age requirement, there are other criteria for support programs. These vary from one program to another and can include such requirements as holding Spanish nationality, being unemployed, presenting a viable business plan, or having a newly established business.
  

Requirements for applying for support for young entrepreneurs in Spain

Accessing grants and other forms of support for young entrepreneurs—those who have recently started a business or plan to start one in the coming months—requires meeting a series of criteria, which vary depending on the issuing body and the type of support.

We’ve prepared a summary of the most common criteria so you can check whether you’re eligible for grants or equity loans:

• Nationality or residence: For foreigners wishing to start a business in Spain, most calls for applications accept either Spanish nationality or legal residence. It’s advisable to check the support program’s terms and conditions, as some forms of aid include conditions regarding residence in a specific autonomous community.
  
• Applicant age range: Support for young entrepreneurs is typically aimed at individuals between the ages of 18 and 40, although age is one of the requirements that varies the most. For example, the Generación IN program sets the age limit at 29, whereas Injuve Grants for Young Creators extends the limit to 35.
  
• Company age: For a business to be considered newly established, its registration in the Commercial Registry must be no more than two to three years old. For example, Enisa’s equity loans for entrepreneurs under the age of 40 are available to startups that have been in business for a maximum of 24 months.
  
• Registration in the Youth Guarantee program: A requirement for many forms of aid is that the applicant be enrolled in the Youth Guarantee program, an initiative focused on promoting the entry of young people into the workforce.
  
• Employment status: To qualify for grants aimed at setting up a business in Spain—specifically those promoting self-employment—the young entrepreneur must be unemployed; in the case of entrepreneurship grants, they must have recently established a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
  
• Absence of outstanding debts: The beneficiary must be current on all payments to the Tax Agency and Social Security, in accordance with the terms established by regulation. A granted and active deferral can serve as proof of being up to date with obligations; therefore, it’s advisable to request this certificate before submitting an application.
  
• Documentation: To formalize an application, you must submit a set of documents that vary depending on the type of aid sought; for example, the company’s articles of incorporation or a business project proposal might be required.
  

National aid for young entrepreneurs in Spain

As revealed by the Nantik Lum Foundation, nearly 70% of young people in Spain believe that starting a business is complicated. To simplify this process and promote youth entrepreneurship, the General State Administration and other entities offer financial aid as well as advisory or support services.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the most useful forms of aid available at the national level:

Enisa equity loans

Through its Young Entrepreneurs program, Enisa offers equity loans to foster the development of recently established small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and startups in Spain, provided that more than 50% of the company is owned by individuals aged 40 or younger.

These loans—which have a maximum amount of €75,000 for companies with no operating history—are granted only if the business project is highly innovative or possesses characteristics that distinguish it from the competition.

National Young Entrepreneurs Competition

The Youth Institute (Injuve) supports entrepreneurs aged 35 or younger who are developing innovative business projects in Spain.

To qualify for funding from the National Young Entrepreneurs Competition, the business venture must be between one and three years old and be based on a profitable business model capable of long-term sustainability.

Injuve Grants for Young Creators program

The Injuve Grants for Young Creators program is aimed at people aged 35 or younger whose business projects fall within the cultural sector. To foster growth, Injuve provides grants of up to €10,000, depending on the type of project and the budget required to carry it out.

Generación IN program

Action Against Hunger, a Spanish nongovernmental organization (NGO), provides guidance to young people, helping them acquire the knowledge and skills needed to start a business. In addition, it offers financial grants of up to €2,200 to facilitate the launch of businesses.

To be eligible for Generación IN program grants, the beneficiary must be between 18 and 29 years of age, unemployed, and registered in the Youth Guarantee program. From 2019 to 2024, 1,724 young people received a grant from Generación IN, driving the creation of 128 businesses—most notably the popular Madrid restaurant La Llorería.

Avanza Joven program

The Nantik Lum Foundation organizes the Avanza Joven program for individuals aged 18 to 30 with innovative business ventures. Once the idea’s viability has been analyzed, it’s validated and brought to fruition through ongoing mentorship.

In addition to free training and guidance, the program rewards the best projects with technological devices valued at up to €1,200.

Flat-rate contribution for self-employed workers

Although not exclusively designed for young entrepreneurs, the flat-rate contribution is a very useful benefit for anyone beginning self employment.

This benefit consists of a reduced Social Security contribution that applies during the first 12 months of activity; this period can be extended by another 12 months if you anticipate that your annual net earnings will fall below the statutory minimum wage (SMI). Please note that the flat-rate amount can vary from one fiscal year to the next and that an extension is not automatic; it must be explicitly requested.

To qualify for the flat-rate contribution, you must be registering with the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) for the first time, or you must not have been registered during the preceding two years (or three years if you have previously claimed this benefit). Furthermore, you must apply for the flat rate at the time of registration.

Lump-sum payment of unemployment benefits

Lump-sum payment of unemployment benefits allows you to receive the benefit as a single payment to finance the launch of your business.

Although you can request a lump-sum payment of 100% of your remaining unemployment benefit, the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) will pay out only the amount you have substantiated as a necessary investment; the remaining balance can be used to subsidize your self-employment Social Security contributions.

To apply, you must have at least three monthly unemployment benefit payments outstanding, not have received a lump-sum payment in the previous four years, and submit the application before starting your business activity.

Note that you’ll need to substantiate the investment with invoices and bank records, so it’s best to avoid cash payments.

Regional support for young entrepreneurs

At the regional level, specific aid is offered to meet the needs of young people in each area. For example, one of the grants for starting a business in Catalonia awards €15,876 to people aged 18 to 29 who are launching a professional project and are registered in the Youth Guarantee program.

Andalusia offers similar grants, such as the €9,000 award from the Innovactiva program, aimed at young entrepreneurs in the region. Additional grants are regularly announced, such as the Consolida Joven program, which is designed to support young entrepreneurs and provide them with the resources needed to develop their business ideas.

Support is also available in the other autonomous communities, such as the grants that Castilla-La Mancha provides to young people wishing to pursue a professional career in agriculture.

Given that Spain has 17 autonomous communities and two autonomous cities, the list of regional grants for young entrepreneurs is extensive and subject to frequent change. For this reason, we recommend using the public grants and incentives search tool to find the options that best suit your situation.

Common mistakes when applying for and making the most of support for young entrepreneurs

Because young entrepreneurs lack experience, they often make mistakes when navigating the complex bureaucracy involved in applying for grants and other forms of support. Let’s look at the most common mistakes so you can try to avoid them:

Submitting the application without being current on payments

It’s common for young entrepreneurs—due to a lack of knowledge or experience—to delay filing quarterly value-added tax (VAT) returns or paying self-employment taxes in Spain, such as the monthly Social Security contribution. As established in Article 13 of the General Subsidies Act, any outstanding debt to the authorities precludes access to subsidies.

Not having a business plan

Entities awarding grants and other forms of aid typically require a business plan demonstrating that the business idea is viable. When developing a compelling business plan, it’s recommended to conduct market research to determine demand and analyze the competition in order to devise a competitive pricing strategy.

In some instances, it’s necessary to develop a revenue plan that outlines the strategies to turn the market opportunity you’ve identified into a source of profit.

Failing to check notifications

It’s important to check the notifications you receive from the public administration in order to handle them within the legally established time frame. As stipulated by Law 39/2015, if you do not access an electronic notification within 10 calendar days, it’s deemed rejected.

Additionally, if an entity requests that you modify your application (for example, by providing additional documentation), the statutory deadline is 10 business days. If you fail to comply with this requirement, your application can be deemed withdrawn by express resolution.

It’s important to note that some calls for applications set different deadlines for making modifications, attaching additional documentation, or responding to requests from the organizing body, so it’s advisable to review the specific guidelines.

Failure to properly substantiate expenses

Once financial aid has been awarded, the young entrepreneur will have to substantiate business expenses. Certain errors commonly occur during this process, such as documenting cash payments or submitting a simplified invoice instead of a full invoice.

According to the Institute for Grant Management, incorrect substantiation of expenses is a leading cause of the loss of financial aid that has already been awarded.

Claiming ineligible expenses

Another common mistake is claiming expenses that are unrelated to the business project. Most financial aid covers expenses strictly necessary for business operations, provided those expenses do not exceed market value. Furthermore, it’s mandatory to demonstrate that the financial contribution is allocated to the items specified in the terms of the call for applications.

One of the ineligible expenses that young entrepreneurs often try to claim is VAT, which cannot be covered by subsidies if the business offsets or recovers it (for example, through the VAT refund mechanism).

Similarly, Article 31.8 of the General Subsidies Act explicitly excludes direct taxes (such as personal income tax) from eligible expenses.

Applying for new grants while a mandatory repayment of another grant is outstanding

It’s common for young entrepreneurs to obtain funding from multiple grants. In some cases, it might be necessary to repay a grant if requirements or deadlines are not met—for example, if the business ceases operation before reaching the minimum period of activity stipulated in the terms of the grant.

In such a situation, a new grant cannot be obtained until the previous one has been repaid: under Article 13.2(g) of the General Subsidies Act, no party can benefit from a subsidy if it has not repaid other aid subject to mandatory reimbursement.

Can various forms of aid for young entrepreneurs be combined?

Combining different types of aid is not only possible but also very common: a single project can simultaneously take advantage of general startup measures—such as the flat-rate contribution for self-employed workers and the lump-sum payment of unemployment benefits—and apply for grants from programs specifically aimed at young people, whether at the national or regional level.

In fact, some forms of aid are explicitly designed to be combined or linked together. Regional zero-rate programs typically require applicants to have previously availed themselves of the national reduced contribution rate or to be benefiting from that reduced rate at the time of applying for the aid:

• Among the requirements for the Community of Madrid’s Tarifa Cero (Zero Rate) program is the specification that eligibility extends to self-employed workers “who have benefited from a reduced contribution rate [...] starting from the effective date of their registration, for the following 12 full calendar months.”
  
• For its part, the Government of the Balearic Islands states in the information regarding its Zero-Rate Social Security Contribution for Self-Employed Entrepreneurs program that beneficiaries must “be subject to the reduced Social Security contribution rate.”
  

When combining aid for young entrepreneurs, it’s important to keep these three rules in mind:

• Check for incompatibilities in each call for applications: The regulatory guidelines specify which other forms of aid are compatible with a given grant, and some expressly exclude other grants from the same agency.
  
• Do not exceed the cost of the activity: Article 19.3 of the General Subsidies Act stipulates that the total of grants, aid, income, and resources allocated to a single activity cannot exceed its cost. If the aid received exceeds the cost of the activity, the excess amount must be repaid.
  
• Always disclose other forms of aid: Article 14.1 of the same law requires you to inform each agency of any other grants, aid, income, or resources received for the project. Declaring the amounts of other aid as soon as it’s awarded is the simplest way to avoid having to repay funds.
  

Note that the order of procedures also matters when combining forms of aid: you must apply for the lump-sum payment of unemployment benefits before registering with the RETA, whereas you request the regional zero-rate contribution after having opted for the national flat-rate contribution.

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FAQs about grants for young entrepreneurs in Spain