Rota and Cádiz Free Zone Agree to Publicize Free Entrepreneurship Courses

FTZ News: Rota’s mayor and the state delegate for the Cádiz Free Trade Zone signed a protocol Friday that will have the city help publicize free training on starting and running businesses.

José Javier Ruiz Arana and Fran González signed the document. The city council will publicize the courses, paying particular attention to unemployed residents, young people, and those who have had trouble finding work.

The agreement includes Emprende y Avanza, developed with the INCYDE Foundation of Spain’s Chambers of Commerce. The program is available throughout Andalusia, with 85% of its funding provided by the European Social Fund Plus through the State Program for Employment, Education, Training and Social Economy.

Rota will post notices on its website and social media accounts and distribute materials. It may also provide meeting or training space when available. The Free Zone will send the council course descriptions, registration deadlines, and requirements, then report how many Rota residents enrolled or finished the training.

Neither side commits any money. The protocol runs until Dec. 31, 2026, when Emprende y Avanza is scheduled to end, and can be extended by written agreement.

After the signing, González and Ruiz Arana visited La Plaza · Rota Tourist Hub, a municipal space in the Torre de la Merced and the upper floor of the Central Food Market. Financed with NextGenerationEU funds under the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and the Rota Destination Tourism Sustainability Plan, the hub has offices, shared work areas, multipurpose rooms, a 3D printer, and a video podcast room.

The protocol aims to widen the reach of the courses and raise the number of Rota residents who take them by linking municipal employment work with the Free Zone’s programs. Any increase in local participation will depend on how actively the city promotes the calls and how many residents apply. Whether that happens remains to be seen./.