An event held to help Welsh businesses learn more about the trading opportunities with Spain has been hailed a huge success by NatWest’s Managing Director of Business and Premier Banking Marcelino Castrillo.

Mr Castrillo was joined by the Spanish Ambassador to the UK, Carlos Bastarreche, at the BeTheSpark organised event in Cardiff. Supported by NatWest Cymru, 100 local businesses and key stakeholders were in attendance to hear from key note speakers including Invest in Spain ICEX and a special panel Q&A.

Closing today’s Joining Forces – Entrepreneurship Across Borders event we welcome Marcelino Castrillo, MD for Business & Premier Banking @NatWestBusiness who shares insight into how NatWest are supporting innovation-driven Entrepreneurship throughout Wales & the UK ✨ #BeTheSpark pic.twitter.com/Hez30rl0TE

— BeTheSpark (@BeTheSpark) June 27, 2018

With a population of more than 45 million people Spain is home to the world’s fourteenth largest economy and the free event helped Welsh SMEs learn how they can tap into this thriving network through new markets, exports and investment opportunities.

Mr Castrillo said:

“Wales has a rich heritage of entrepreneurism and innovation within business and as a bank we are proud to be supporting its SMEs to grow and explore new trading opportunities on an international level.

“Engaging with European markets like Spain and the eco-systems within them represent important and exciting opportunities for many of these companies to grow and diversify their businesses. We want to help them explore and engage with these markets, which is why we are delighted with how successful the event was.

“The response from businesses within the region was hugely encouraging and the feedback from both them and representatives of Spain INCEX and the Spanish Ambassador has been overwhelmingly positive, which bodes well for the future. We are looking forward to working with all parties concerned including BeTheSpark to further develop these opportunities.”

Caroline Thompson, CEO BeTheSpark, said:

“This event was a great example of the BeTheSpark movement in action. We welcomed organisations and individuals from across our five stakeholder groups to the event to gain valuable insight and tap into and expose the exciting new business opportunities between Spain and Wales.

“We had the opportunity to hear directly from key influencers and decision makers within the Spanish ecosystem who shared their ambitions to encourage and support more innovation-driven entrepreneurship across borders. The event aligned perfectly with BeTheSpark’s vison of creating a more visible, simple and connected ecosystem within Wales and beyond and we are grateful to NatWest Cymru for their work supporting our efforts.”