Unicaja is set to launch, in collaboration with the Regional Government of Andalusia and Oliver Wyman, the second phase of the CREA Project, focused on implementing specific measures to boost investment and employment in key sectors. The initiative begins with the creation of two working groups (one on defence and dual-use technology and the other on manufacturing), in which some 40 Andalusian companies and institutions will participate. The aim is to define financing solutions and an operational roadmap before the end of the year.
The CREA Project (Sustainable Economic Growth in Andalusia) is a pioneering initiative launched between 2024 and 2025 by Unicaja, in collaboration with the Regional Government of Andalusia, Harvard University’s Growth Lab and Oliver Wyman, and involving more than 150 Andalusian companies. The aim was to analyse the factors influencing economic growth in the region, identify opportunities for productive diversification, estimate companies’ financing needs and propose measures to help unlock the region’s potential. All of this was carried out using pioneering methodologies based on microdata.
As for the second phase of the CREA Project, it will involve the launch of two sectoral working groups. The first will focus on defence and dual-use technologies, and the second will target the manufacturing industry and other industrial sectors of strategic importance to Andalusia, with particular attention to activities such as agribusiness, chemicals and energy.
In the field of defence and dual-use technologies, Andalusia is already home to one of the country’s main industrial hubs: over 25,000 jobs and more than 250 companies with significant capabilities in the aerospace, land, naval and cybersecurity sectors.
With regard to the manufacturing industry and other strategic industrial sectors, according to projections from the first phase of CREA, these could generate around 200,000 additional jobs by 2030, with average wages higher than those in the current economy.
Each group will bring together representatives from the public and private sectors, with an expected participation of between 15 and 20 companies and institutions. Based on a shared assessment, actions will be defined that can lead to more investment, greater competitiveness and more employment in the region. A minimum of three working sessions per group over a six-month period is envisaged.
Goals of the second phase
This second stage has a dual aim: on the one hand, to identify actionable short-term measures and medium- and long-term structural recommendations to accelerate business growth. On the other hand, to explore public-private partnership products and instruments that facilitate financing and investment in key sectors capable of creating jobs and prosperity for the Andalusian economy, including mechanisms such as loans, guarantees or other co-investment vehicles.
The groups will be led by Unicaja and the Regional Government of Andalusia, through the departments responsible for employment and industry, which will play a central role in chairing, guiding and driving the work forward. Oliver Wyman will act as technical coordinator and secretariat for the groups, responsible for preparing materials, moderating sessions, gathering additional information through cross-checking interviews and compiling the conclusions into one or more final reports. The aim is to have the results published before the end of the year.
During the first phase of the CREA project, more than 130 specific products and services were identified, representing growth opportunities for Andalusia, with an estimated additional funding requirement of around €8,000 million to diversify the Andalusian economy. Furthermore, the conclusions noted that, in a scenario of productive transformation supported by policies and public-private collaboration, Andalusia could generate more than 500,000 quality jobs by 2030, half of which would be linked to industry. The Regional Government of Andalusia and the various private sector stakeholders have already begun to implement some of the proposed measures.
In this new phase, each organisation will bring a distinct dimension to the project. Unicaja will make its knowledge of the Andalusian economic fabric and its financial expertise available to CREA 2. The Regional Government of Andalusia will contribute its capacity for institutional dialogue and its willingness to work alongside businesses to identify obstacles that may hinder investment and job creation. For its part, Oliver Wyman will offer its technical analysis, independence and methodological rigour to translate the joint work of the parties into concrete and useful proposals that define a short- and medium-term action plan.
With this second phase, Unicaja, the Andalusian Government and Oliver Wyman are reinforcing their commitment to a collaborative agenda focused on the economic development of Andalusia, supporting the project’s progress by sharing analyses, results and events related to CREA.
