Canary Islands allocates two million to investments for cooperatives and worker-owned companies

The Canarian Employment Service (SCE) has announced the 2026 grants aimed at financing investments by social economy enterprises, with a budget of 2,000,000 euros. The call was approved by a resolution dated September 16, 2026, by the president of the organization, Jéssica del Carmen de León Verdugo, and its summary was published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (Boletín Oficial de Canarias) no. 202, dated October 8, 2026 (announcement no. 3492, BDNS 931597). The grants are awarded on a competitive basis and are aimed at cooperatives, labor companies, and integration enterprises throughout the archipelago.

Regulatory and Budgetary Framework

The regulatory bases were approved by Order no. 1169/2026, of September 4, of the Ministry of Tourism and Employment, published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands no. 186, dated September 16, 2026. The order repeals the one from November 21, 2022, and establishes a regulation of an indefinite nature, with financing thresholds and administrative simplification measures.

The funding is provided by the credit assigned to budget application 2026.50.01.241K.770.02, PEP element 207G0381 “Creation and consolidation of social economy enterprises and self-employment,” for an amount of two million euros. The call is part of the “Social Economy Support System” line of the SCE Strategic Grant Plan 2025-2027 and the Law 3/2022, of June 13, on the Social Economy of the Canary Islands.

On September 11, 2026, the SCE already published another social economy call, endowed with 300,000 euros, for the incorporation of worker-members and for training and promotion activities.

Amounts and Eligible Expenses

• General investments: 50% of the acquisition cost of the eligible assets, with a limit of 100,000 euros per beneficiary.
• Acquisition of buildings, works or technical installations and land by cooperatives or labor companies: 40% of the cost, with a limit of 200,000 euros per beneficiary.
• This percentage may be increased up to 50% when the investment is made in La Palma, El Hierro, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, or Lanzarote and is intended for the establishment of a headquarters or is directly related to the entity’s activity, with a limit of 150,000 euros.
• Minimum investment cost: greater than 2,000 euros, IGIC (indirect canary tax) excluded.
• The limits may be exceeded up to 100% if the applications do not exhaust the budget and the remainder is redistributed.

Eligible for subsidies are, among others, land, already constructed buildings, computer equipment, technical installations, machinery, tooling, office furniture, new industrial vehicles, renovation works, and software applications with a perpetual license. Used assets—except for specific exceptions—, luxury items, signage, and maintenance costs are excluded.

Deadlines, advances, and aid regime

• Application submission period: ten business days from the day following the publication of the summary in the BOC.
• Submission exclusively electronically, through the electronic office of the Public Administration of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands (procedure 11076).
• Execution of actions: until September 30, 2027, in the case of advance payment.
• Advance of up to 100% of the amount if the entity proves it does not have sufficient resources, without the need for guarantees.
• Resolution within a period of three months from the end of the application period; administrative silence constitutes a rejection.
• De minimis limits: 300,000 euros (EU Regulation 2023/2831), 40,000 euros (717/2014), and 50,000 euros (1408/2013); 750,000 euros for integration enterprises (2023/2832).

The processing of the procedure corresponds to the Sub-directorate of Social Economy and Entrepreneurship of the SCE. The evaluation is carried out using a scale: up to 20 points for the creation or maintenance of permanent employment, with additional points when the person hired is a woman, and up to 10 points for each of the remaining criteria, including equality, the labor integration of groups with difficulties accessing employment, new employment sources, R&D&i projects, sustainability reports, and inter-cooperation between entities.

Impact for the sector

The call mobilizes two million euros at a time of regulatory renewal for the Canarian social economy, following the entry into force of Law 1/2026, of April 8, the comprehensive law for the promotion of the social economy. The design of the aid prioritizes the creation and maintenance of permanent employment and increases the subsidizable percentage in the non-capital islands, where the cooperative fabric faces higher investment costs. For cooperatives, labor societies, and integration enterprises with pending fixed asset projects, the calendar is tight: they only have ten business days from the publication of the summary to submit their application electronically.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 202, of October 8, 2026, V. Announcements, Other announcements, pp. 36591-36592 (official reference: announcement no. 3492; BDNS 931597).