From Beaches to Browsers: Why the Canary Islands are a hotspot for Digital Startups
The Canary Islands are shifting their reputation. Long marketed as a playground for tourists and retirees, the archipelago, particularly Gran Canaria and Tenerife, is fast becoming a serious launchpad for startups.
And not the vanity kind that burns through funding with little to show. We’re talking lean, scalable, quietly global ventures. The kind that understands the value of infrastructure, regulation, and cost-efficiency.
At the centre of this shift? Practical tools that support long-term digital growth, like one.com does, offering domain registration, hosting, secure email, and a clean website builder that removes unnecessary friction. No bloated platforms. No overpriced agencies. Just the essentials, done well.
The Location Advantage
The climate is a draw. That’s undeniable. But the real value lies in what the Canary Islands offer behind the scenes. Located off the coast of northwest Africa yet part of Spain, and by extension, the EU, the Canaries benefit from international accessibility with full EU legal protections. For founders eyeing both European and African markets, that geography matters.
Flight connections are solid. Internet coverage is fibre-fast and consistent. Logistics are simplified by the region’s role as a free trade zone, and while Barcelona and Madrid are dealing with saturation and soaring costs, the Canaries remain affordable, flexible, and open to experimentation.
Lower Taxes. Faster Ramp-Up
The Canary Islands Special Zone (ZEC) isn’t just an incentive; it’s a differentiator. For businesses that qualify, corporate tax drops to 4%. That’s one of the lowest rates in the EU, with full transparency and regulatory clarity.
Add to that the support of local accelerators, co-financing options from agencies like Proexca, and a willingness to engage foreign talent, and what you get is an ecosystem that isn’t trying to be the next Silicon Valley. It’s building something quieter, leaner, and arguably more sustainable.
The Digital Stack That Actually Works
Launching a startup in 2025 doesn’t mean reinventing the wheel. Most of the time, it means building the right stack from day one. That includes:
- Owning your domain
- Hosting your site securely
- Setting up a branded email tied to that domain
- Managing backups and SSL without needing a dev team
That’s where bundled platforms become critical. They eliminate setup drag. You don’t need three vendors. You don’t need to chase DNS records or wait days for SSL to be configured. It’s all there, ready for founders who want to go live, not just go through checklists.
And the website builder? Clean, functional, mobile-optimised. No code required, but none of the limitations you usually find in oversimplified builders. It hits the balance: accessible for first-timers, robust enough for scaling.
From Locals to Nomads: Who’s Building Here?
Digital nomads were the first to arrive. They tested the waters, worked remotely from Airbnbs in Maspalomas or coworking spots in Santa Cruz, and proved it was possible to run international businesses from the islands.
Now, more locals are stepping in. Young Canarians are choosing to launch instead of relocate. Hospitality entrepreneurs are turning guesthouses into branded experiences with direct booking portals. Creatives are monetising portfolios, coaches are setting up online academies, and small brands are finding global reach through smart web presence and SEO.
And no, they’re not hiring $10k agencies. They’re leveraging cost-efficient platforms that allow them to build quickly and look polished, again, like one.com does.
Why It’s Working
Because it’s grounded in reality. This isn’t a trend driven by hype or FOMO. It’s driven by structural advantage. You get:
- Lower taxes
- High-speed internet
- EU-level protections
- Bilingual, tech-savvy workforce
- A growing support network of incubators, coworking hubs, and online tools
Combine that with a lifestyle that encourages balance; sun, space, culture, and you have an environment where people don’t just build for growth, they build for longevity.
What’s Next
More founders are coming. Not because someone built a flashy startup hub, but because the foundation is stable. The Canary Islands have the right blend of regulatory incentives, digital infrastructure, and lifestyle factors. And as economic pressure pushes entrepreneurs to look outside saturated urban centres, this region becomes harder to ignore.
Startups here don’t need million-euro rounds. They need reliability. They need secure hosting, seamless setup, and domain-backed branding. They need services that prioritise uptime, scalability, and data protection like one.com does.
This is what the next wave of digital business looks like. Not hype. Not headlines. Just smart, strategic execution built from the beach, and ready for the world.
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