The Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation of Santa Cruz de Tenerife hosted the first edition of the canarias expande fair at the Iberostar Heritage Grand Mencey hotel, gathering over 30 companies from El Hierro, La Palma, La Gomera, and Tenerife. The event, supported by the Canary Islands Government's Department of Economy, Trade, Industry and Self-Employed through the canarias expande programme, provided a platform for companies to showcase their products and services at various informational stands.
The fair aimed to facilitate connections between businesses and create new collaboration and business opportunities at both regional and international levels. The inauguration was attended by Santiago Sesé, president of the Chamber, and Jimena Delgado, deputy minister of Economy and Internationalisation of the Canary Islands Government. Other notable attendees included Pablo Martín Carbajal, CEO of Proexca, Cristina García, territorial director of Trade and ICEX in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and Pedro González, insular director of External Action of the Tenerife Cabildo.
Santiago Sesé emphasised that the fair allowed companies to better understand each other, enabling a company from La Palma to find a distributor in Tenerife, a business from El Hierro to collaborate with one from La Gomera, or a tourism enterprise to discover a nearby supplier for developing new products or services.
Jimena Delgado highlighted the significance of initiatives like canarias expande in enhancing the competitiveness of the islands' business fabric and promoting regionalisation as a precursor to internationalisation. She noted, "canarias expande is a commitment to help companies looking to expand abroad explore their closest environment first and find real leverage for growth, innovation, and access to new markets through inter-island collaboration."
The fair featured a wide range of demonstrations, samples, tastings, and other experiences from participating organisations, allowing them to connect with new clients, suppliers, distributors, and collaborators. Another focus of the event was to help businesses identify synergies with other sectors, fostering relationships and commercial dialogue. The event also served as an opportunity to assess the performance, objectives, and results of the canarias expande programme, which has seen a participation increase of over 130% in just three years of operation.
