Bavaria is positioned as the ideal base camp for Basque companies in Germany, offering access to a dynamic business ecosystem and strategic cooperation opportunities.
A delegation from Basque Trade & Investment (BasqueTrade), the agency for the internationalisation of Basque companies integrated in the SPRI Group, has carried out a strategic visit to Bavaria, with the aim of strengthening institutional ties, exploring new opportunities for business collaboration and consolidating a common vision in Europe.
Led by its CEO, Nagore Bonilla, the mission focused on strengthening cooperation with key players in the Bavarian economy, a market that shares with the Basque Country a solid industrial base, a commitment to innovation and its own identity. In this context, Bavaria is positioned as the ideal base camp for Basque companies in Germany, offering access to a dynamic business ecosystem and strategic cooperation opportunities.
Strategic partnerships and institutional cooperation
The agenda started with two key meetings:
Meeting with Bayern International and Invest in Bavaria.
The delegation met with Christian Weber, Geschäftsführer (Managing Director) of Bayern International, and Ulrike Hoffmann, Executive Director of Invest in Bavaria, to identify concrete investment and foreign trade opportunities. They discussed how Bavaria can serve as a gateway to the German market, facilitating the access of Basque companies to new business opportunities and promoting synergies between the industrial ecosystems of both regions.
Meeting with the Bavarian Ministry of Economy, Development and Energy
In this meeting, held with Markus Wittmann, Director of International Economic and Investment Relations of Bavaria, and Martin Grossmann, Ministerial Councillor and Head of the Europe and Trade Fairs Division, avenues for institutional cooperation and strategic positioning in Europe were explored. The conversation revolved around the alignment of industrial and technological policies to strengthen the competitiveness of both regions, as well as the possibility of working on joint initiatives to influence the European agenda.
Later, at the headquarters of Basque Trade & Investment in Germany, the delegation held a meeting with Matthias Konrad, Director of Innovation Networks and Digitalisation at Bayern Innovativ, and Ulla Uebler, Head of Internationalisation at the same entity. Bayern Innovativ, as a key entity in the connection between industry, science and public administration in Bavaria, is a strategic partner in the search for synergies in industrial innovation, digitalisation and access to European R&D programmes.
The day ended with a meeting with Wolfram Winter, CEO of Three Winters Studio and professor at the Macromedia University of Applied Sciences, where possibilities for collaboration in strategic communication and international promotion of Basque industry were analysed.
Innovation and the entrepreneurial ecosystem: new opportunities for collaboration
The second day began with a visit to UnternehmerTUM, the largest entrepreneurship and startup acceleration centre in Europe. During the meeting, Itziar Ayerbe presented the most outstanding initiatives of the innovative ecosystem in Munich, with special attention to models of technology transfer and collaboration between startups and industry. The Basque Country and Bavaria share a common vision on the importance of digitalisation and artificial intelligence in industrial transformation, which opens up new opportunities for the joint development of initiatives in this field.
To close the mission, the delegation organised a meeting with Basque companies established in Germany, a space for exchanging experiences and networking designed to strengthen the Basque business community in the German market and generate new business opportunities.
Towards a common strategy in Europe
This mission represents a firm step towards building a closer bilateral relationship between the Basque Country and Bavaria, based on structured collaboration in key sectors and greater coordination in European forums.
The shared will is to work together in the development of industrial and innovation policies that reinforce the competitiveness of both regions. In a context of global transformation, the Basque Country and Bavaria aspire to position themselves as key players in the definition of European industrial strategy, influencing key decisions on digitalisation, sustainable mobility and energy transition.
With this agenda, Basque Trade & Investment reinforces its commitment to the internationalisation of Basque companies and the consolidation of the Basque Country as a strategic partner in the Bavarian industrial and innovative ecosystem, with Bavaria as a base camp in Germany.
