CaixaBank awards 20 rural entrepreneurial projects throughout Spain within the ‘Land of Opportunities’ project, a programme to root populations and create employment in the rural world

• The bank held an event in Madrid with the entrepreneurs selected from around the country and, for the first time, is organising a fair in the Matadero cultural and arts centre (Madrid) to announce the initiatives
• CaixaBank launches the sixth edition of the programme that, in 2026, will be reaching every province and will create an online platform for entrepreneurs
• Since the programme began in 2021, Land of Opportunities has accompanied more than 7,000 entrepreneurs, given awards to 670 projects and signed 193 collaboration agreements with Rural Development Groups (RDGs) and social entities that work for rural integration

CaixaBank awarded 20 rural entrepreneurial projects from throughout Spain with its programme ‘Land of Opportunities’, which is focused on promoting the creation of employment, supporting rural entrepreneurship and rooting population in unpopulated areas.

A total of 188 entrepreneurs from 40 provinces went selected and awarded at county level in 2025, out of the nearly 2,600 entrepreneurs that participated in the programme. Twenty have participated and have been given awards in the final ceremony of the Land of Opportunities programme that, in collaboration with the Spanish Network of Rural Development (REDR) and Rural Talent, was held in the House of Readers of the Matadero cultural and art centre in Madrid. 

Seven projects were given special Awards: 

• ‘Rural World Speaker Award’ to projects with impactful communication, becoming real ambassadors of the rural world:
  
  • Barco Natura — River and Bird Tourism (Ceclavín, Cáceres), river tourism experience concentrating on bird observation and, soon, of the stars when sailing in electric vessels.
  • Vida Trashumante (Santiago, Pontones, Jaén), a project that unites a migrating herd and an ecological olive grove in Jaén and a single cycle gives rise to grazing lambs and premium extra virgin olive oil.
  • Pinaroca (Nava de la Asunción, Segovia), a farm used for the extensive production of goose's eggs with animal well-being and sales through gourmet channels.
• ‘Impact in Rural world Award’ to projects with a major impact in the territory and in its residents, and in the dynamisation of the region:
  
  • Gurevet (Mezkiritz, Navarre), veterinary services for pets throughout the Chartered Community, above all, in the rural areas.
  • Anxoves Cap de Creus (Llançà, Girona), an initiative centred on the recovery and promotion of the traditional salt-cured product of anchovies, with handcrafted and sustainable techniques.
• ‘Future in the Rural World Award’, to projects with a broader vision of the future, a better growth plan and greater specifics in its action plan:
  
  • Naturfera (Torresandino, Burgos), an initiative for the raising of red earthworms to transform organic residues through vermicomposting in natural fertilizer.
  • Laser Maintenance Solutions Renewable Energy (Reinosa, Cantabria), a company specialised in cleaning and surface restoration using laser technology, without the use of abrasive products or contaminants.

The State Secretary of Agriculture and Food, María Begoña García Bernal, participated in the event; as did the general secretary for the Demographic Challenge, Francesc Boya; and the director of Social Activity of CaixaBank, Josep Parareda; among others.

Land of Opportunities is a programme that recognises and supports rural entrepreneurship through grants, training, accompaniment and visibility with which CaixaBank shows its commitment to the demographic challenge and the rural world. ​In addition, for the first time in this fifth edition, and to promote local projects, a fair was held in the Matadero cultural and art centre with the aim of announcing the products and services of the twenty selected entrepreneurs nationwide. The rest of the awarded projects are:

• Cultivo Desterrado (La Algaida, Cádiz), a project that recovers and highlights the navazo, the system of agriculture along the coast of Cádiz, with more than 800 years of history.
• La moza de las redes (Lena, Asturias), an entrepreneurial initiative focused on online digitisation and visibility of businesses in rural areas.
• Son Pere Jaia (Sa Sorda, Campos, Balearic Islands), a project that transforms the grape juice of fresh grapes via the fermentation, aging in a boot and maturation in wine.
• Betsaida Jorge (Fuencaliente de la Palma, Santa Cruz de Tenerife), an initiative aimed at creating garments made by hand with crochet.
• La Cabra Tira Al Monte (Villalba de la Sierra, Cuenca), extensive livestock raising of goats for the production of meat and cheeses. 
• Raices del Cerrato (Baños de Cerrato, Palencia), a project that combines ecological agriculture of seasonal products with activities based on artistic trades.
• Oli Cometes (La Pobla de Cérvoles, Lleida), a project of immersive tourism in the culture of olive oil, with a visit to the property and the mill and learning about the characteristics and process of making high quality olive oil.
• Aloe Vitae (Alfafara, Alicante), a project centred on the marketing of cosmetic products made from with ecological Aloe Vera.
• Espai Vital (Vall d’Alba, Castellón), well-being centre that offers activities such as yoga, pilates and health workshops for all the ages in the rural world.
• ‘Cieza of León’ Rural Cottage (Llerena, Badajoz), tourist accommodation in the old quarter of the Badajoz town that combines comfort, authenticity and cultural, culinary and natural experiences.
• La Proyectual Diseño (Baños de Río Tobía, La Rioja), a design studio that plans and executs comprehensive refurbishment in the rural world.
• Midomo (Zarzalejo, Madrid), workshops for children, young people and families and special training under construction of geodetical domes (architectural structures with the shape of a semisphere) and wooden structures.
• El Horno de Pedro By Amaia Meléndez (San Martín de Unx, Navarra), a pastry workshop with home sales that recovers transitional Navarre recipes with local ingredients. 

In addition, the programme promotes personalised mentoring with volunteers from the Association of CaixaBank Volunteers and, in this edition, it has launched ‘University’ Tandem, a programme led together with the platform U4Impact to unite university talent with rural entrepreneurship through final theses (TFG) and master's theses (TFM) of students that focus their projects on the challenges posed by rural entrepreneurs. 

2026 call for submissions

CaixaBank has also announced the launch of the sixth edition of Land of Opportunities that, for the first time, aims to reach all provinces and create an online platform for entrepreneurs.

The company will launch simultaneously the local calls in May in collaboration with the Rural Development Groups of each geographical area, and the final award is expected to be announced in June. The call is for entrepreneurs whose activity takes place in a municipality with a population of less than 5,000 inhabitants, although in some regions municipalities of up to 10,000 inhabitants will be accepted if they have turnover of less than 300,000 euros a year.

The potential for growth and of creation of rural employment, innovation, social impact and the viability of the initiatives will be key aspects when assessing and selecting the entrepreneurial ideas to benefit from the programme.

Five years of the programme

Since CaixaBank Social Activity launched Land of Opportunities in 2021, the programme has backed more than 7,000 entrepreneurs and has signed 193 collaboration agreements with Rural Development Groups (RDGs) and social entities that work for rural integration to further rural entrepreneurship and the labour market entry in these areas.

In collaboration with the RDG counties, the Spanish Network of Rural Development (REDR) and the developer of Rural Talent entrepreneurship, the programme has also awarded 670 projects in its five years.

CaixaBank Land of Opportunities 

Land of Opportunities is a CaixaBank Social Activity programme that was created with the aim of supporting entrepreneurship, creating employment and offering opportunities for the future in rural areas. The academy wishes to directly help rural entrepreneurs with projects in operation, detecting their potential and needs and offering them financial support, training and accompaniment.

All with the support of the Rural Development Groups (RDGs), which have in-depth knowledge of the economic background of the territories concerned, and relying on the synergies created with other areas of the bank: from accompaniment and the mentoring (CaixaBank Volunteers), to financing (MicroBank and AgroBank) and creating a community of entrepreneurs throughout the country (in the training programmes launched thanks to Rural Talent, with the bank's support).

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