The CIDE Network is a key tool for Canary Islands companies to transform innovation into real projects, funding, and competitive growth. mentorDay participated in the 21st Training Day of the Canary Islands Network of Innovation and Business Development Centers, held on June 18 and 19, 2026, in Tenerife, reinforcing its role as a CIDE center serving entrepreneurs, startups, SMEs, and innovative entities.
The meeting provided an opportunity to update knowledge, share experiences, and coordinate new lines of work to further promote business innovation across all the islands. For mentorDay, participating in this event represents an opportunity to improve the support it offers to companies that need to identify funding opportunities, structure innovative projects, access public financing, and connect with specialized support programs.
CIDE Network: Business innovation with real impact
The CIDE Network is an initiative promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands through the Canary Agency for Research, Innovation and the Information Society, aimed at providing innovation support services to companies, self-employed individuals and entities in the Archipelago.
Its value lies not only in providing information about grants or programs. Its true impact is in offering technical support to companies so that their innovative ideas become viable, well-planned projects with a real chance of obtaining funding.
In practice, this means helping an SME to organize a technological idea, guiding a startup towards a suitable call for proposals, connecting a company with strategic partners, or facilitating an entity to transform an internal need into a measurable innovation project.
More than 12 million euros raised for innovation in the Canary Islands
During the event, the results of the CIDE Network between October 2025 and May 2026 were presented. In that period, the Network advised 1,098 innovation projects, served 1,061 companies and generated 2,496 personalized information and support services.
One of the most significant achievements was securing €12,177,984 in investment for innovative business projects in the Canary Islands. Furthermore, the supported companies submitted 249 projects to public calls for proposals and participated in 133 innovation programs, with 131 projects approved and 79 grants awarded to date.
These results highlight an important idea for any Canary Islands company: innovation is not just about having a good idea. Innovation requires focus, documentation, planning, key performance indicators, funding, and technical support to transform an opportunity into a bankable project.
What does mentorDay, as a CIDE Network center, bring to the table?
As a CIDE Network center, mentorDay works to ensure more companies have access to free guidance, information, and support services for innovation. This support is especially useful for entrepreneurs and SMEs that want to move forward but don't always know where to start, which funding opportunity is right for their project, or how to submit a strong proposal.
MentorDay helps companies identify opportunities, refine their ideas, review their business model, find funding resources, and connect with programs that can accelerate their growth. This work aligns with the organization's practical approach: supporting entrepreneurs so they can make better decisions and move forward with greater clarity.
If a company wants to improve its competitiveness, it can start by reviewing its level of digital innovation , its execution capacity, and its financing needs. From there, specialized support allows it to transform an intention into a concrete roadmap.
Funding, public programs and new opportunities
One of the highlights of the day focused on instruments for financing innovative business projects. Among these were opportunities linked to the Canarias Financia 2 Fund, promoted by SODECAN, along with other public programs supporting innovation and business research.
For a startup or SME, accessing funding doesn't begin when an application is filled out. It begins earlier: when the company clearly defines the problem it solves, quantifies the expected impact, prepares a realistic work plan, and demonstrates its capacity to execute the project.
Therefore, before applying for a grant, it's advisable to review how the opportunity aligns with the company's strategy. At mentorDay, we recommend first working on public funding , the financial plan, the value proposition, and the indicators that will demonstrate the project's impact.
Innovation connected to the entire Canary Islands ecosystem
The 21st Training Day also served to strengthen coordination among entities within the regional R&D&I ecosystem. The CIDE Network comprises centers distributed throughout the archipelago and facilitates access to specialized services for companies from different islands, sectors, and levels of development.
During the meeting, new members were welcomed in Lanzarote and La Gomera, expanding the network's territorial reach. This proximity is key to ensuring that no company is left out due to size, location, or lack of access to specialized information.
The day also included the presentation of initiatives such as Agile Mind Scribe, MAC Skilling, SAgeHub, Enterprise Europe Network and Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, as well as a technical visit to the Technological and Renewable Energy Institute and the D-ALIX data center.
What can a company learn from this day
The main lesson for any Canary Islands company is clear: innovation must be managed as a strategic decision, not as an improvised activity. A company that wants to innovate needs to ask itself what problem it wants to solve, what impact it hopes to achieve, what resources it needs, and what support it can activate.
You also need to understand that the right support can make all the difference. Many companies have good ideas, but they don't secure funding because they don't present them clearly enough, don't adequately justify the impact, or don't connect their proposal with the right funding opportunity.
Therefore, being part of networks like the CIDE Network allows mentorDay to strengthen its ability to support companies that want to grow through innovation, digitalization, sustainability, internationalization or the development of new products and services.
Next step for innovative companies
If you have a business in the Canary Islands and are thinking about developing an innovative project, the first step isn't to randomly seek help. The first step is to organize your idea, validate its strategic fit, and analyze what kind of support you need to turn it into a solid project.
mentorDay, as a CIDE Network center, will continue working to bring innovation opportunities closer to entrepreneurs, startups and SMEs, helping them to identify resources, improve their proposals and connect with the ecosystem that can boost their growth.
Business innovation in the Canary Islands thrives when ideas find method, funding, and support. And that is precisely the value of the CIDE Network: making innovation more accessible, more practical, and more useful for businesses in the archipelago.
Why rely on mentorDay to build an impactful company?
With over 100 calls for applications, more than 3,000 companies accelerated in 40 countries, and a network of over 1,000 active mentors, mentorDay supports entrepreneurs who want to transform impactful ideas into more robust, viable, and professionalized projects. Its program combines expert mentorship, AI tools, applied methodology, and an international community, with a new call for applications every month accessible from anywhere in the world.
If you're building a purpose-driven company and want to move from intention to action more clearly, mentorDay can be a good stepping stone.
Discover our programs and start accelerating your business:
https://mentorday.es/programas/modelo-mentorday/
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