UGGASA

What UGGASA does

UGGASA (Urola Garaiko Garapenerako Agentzia, S.A.) is a publicly-owned regional development agency headquartered in Legazpi, Gipuzkoa, Basque Country, Spain. Founded in 1994, it operates as a Sociedad Anónima under the oversight of the Urola Garaia Mankomunitatea and serves the four municipalities of the Urola Garaia comarca (Ezkio, Legazpi, Urretxu, Zumarraga). Its mandate is to coordinate regional economic development through six service areas: Employment and Labor Orientation, Entrepreneurship Support, Industry and SME Development, Sustainable Development, Tourism, and Equality. Core programs include the HAZILAN youth employment program (now in its 8th edition with a digital competencies focus), Txertatu Merkatuan for low-qualified youth, the Bolsa de Empleo job bank, the Sortzen Cowork incubator, the Urola Garaia DIGITALA SME digitalization program, and the Guardia Garaia climate refuge network. The agency is a member of the GARAPEN network of 19 Basque regional development agencies and aligns its work with the Urola Garaia 2030 regional competitiveness strategy.

UGGASA's revenue model is entirely public institutional funding. It receives financing through multi-year conventions with the Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia (Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa), the Eusko Jaurlaritza (Basque Government), and European structural funds including the European Social Fund (FSE), which co-finances programs such as HAZILAN (50%) and Txertatu Merkatuan (91.89%). A specific 2026-2027 convention with the Foru Aldundia provides 120,000 euros for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy poverty alleviation. All services are provided free of charge to citizens, job seekers, and businesses. The agency employs approximately 8 staff and operates without commercial revenue, venture capital, or private equity. Its go-to-market is direct service delivery at the Legazpi headquarters and Centro de Empleo, supplemented by workshops, a digital platform (uggasa.eus), email newsletters, and social media.

Name

UGGASA

Legal name

UGGASA, Urola Garaiko Garapenerako Agentzia, S.A.

Website

https://uggasa.eus

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UGGASA is a publicly-owned regional development agency in Legazpi, Basque Country, serving the four municipalities of the Urola Garaia comarca with free employment, entrepreneurship, SME competitiveness, sustainable development, and tourism services, funded by the Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia, Basque Government, and European Social Fund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Regional Development Services

NAICS

Educational Support Services (6117), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Economic Growth, Trade & Private Sector Development Programs (BPADABAF)

Keywords

• Regional development services
• Employment placement programs
• SME competitiveness support
• Entrepreneurship incubation
• Sustainable development consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Legazpi

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Institutional Funding: UGGASA operates as a publicly funded development agency receiving financing from the Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia (Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa), Eusko Jaurlaritza (Basque Government), and European structural funds including the European Social Fund (FSE) and Fondo Social Europeo.

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

UGGASA is a public regional development agency that delivers free employment, entrepreneurship, business competitiveness, sustainable development, and tourism services to the Urola Garaia comarca in the Basque Country. Its core offerings include the HAZILAN youth employment program, the Txertatu Merkatuan program for low-qualified youth, a regional job bank, SME digitalization and innovation programs (Urola Garaia DIGITALA, Hazinnova), and a regional competitiveness strategy (Urola Garaia 2030). All services are provided at no cost to citizens and local businesses, funded through public institutional grants and European structural funds.

Product overview

UGGASA (Urola Garaiko Garapenerako Agentzia) is a regional development agency offering a portfolio of integrated services organized around six main areas: Employment and Labor Orientation, Entrepreneurship Support, Industry and SME Development, Sustainable Development, Tourism, and Equality. The core employment services include the HAZILAN program (with specialized editions like Digital Competencies), the Txertatu Merkatuan youth program, and a Job Bank for labor intermediation. The business development portfolio features Urola Garaia DIGITALA for SME digitalization, the Programa de Competitividad y Transformación Empresarial, the annual Foro Industrial event, and industry support services. Sustainable development offerings include climate action programs and energy transition support, while tourism services promote the region as a Smart Tourist Destination. The HAZILAN programs provide personalized training and internships, the entrepreneurship services include coworking facilities and support networks, and the regional strategy Urola Garaia 2030 coordinates all these initiatives toward shared competitiveness goals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• HAZILAN Urola Garaia An employment program for qualified unemployed individuals aged 20-44 with higher education, providing personalized training, transversal competencies development, and supervised 200-hour practical internships in local companies and institutions across Urola Garaia. Targets labor market insertion of qualified youth.
• Txertatu Merkatuan A youth employment program for individuals aged 16-30 with low qualifications who are unemployed and not in training, providing labor orientation, sociolaboral formation, and practical training workshops including warehouse auxiliary certification. Co-financed at 91.89% by the European Social Fund.
• Bolsa de Empleo (Job Bank) A regional job placement service managing employment offers, candidate registrations, CV storage, labor intermediation, and selection process management, connecting job seekers with local companies in Urola Garaia.
• Lan Orientazioa (Labor Orientation) Personalized employment assistance including Lanbide registration support, career objective definition, motivation and skills development, CV and cover letter creation, and training information and guidance for job seekers.
• Ekintzailetza (Entrepreneurship Support) Entrepreneurship support services including the Sortzen Cowork shared workspace in the Sortzen business incubator, entrepreneurial training programs, and coordination with regional entrepreneurial networks in Urola Garaia.
• Urola Garaia DIGITALA A digitalization program for SMEs in Urola Garaia helping businesses become more agile through digital transformation processes and digital skill development.
• Industria eta ETEak (Industry and SMEs Support) Support services for industrial companies and SMEs including competitiveness programs, digitalization support (Urola Garaia DIGITALA), cybersecurity training, innovation programs (Hazinnova, Innobideak), and Industry 4.0 adoption assistance.
• Programa de Competitividad y Transformación Empresarial A comprehensive program designed to accompany local businesses in their evolution and transformation processes, providing long-term support for competitiveness improvement rather than isolated, point-in-time assistance.
• Garapen Jasangarria (Sustainable Development Services) Sustainable development services including the Guardasola Garaia climate refuge network project, carbon footprint measurement initiatives for regional businesses, energy transition support, and regional climate action planning.
• Turismoa (Tourism Promotion) Tourism promotion services for Urola Garaia including the Destino Turístico Inteligente (Smart Tourist Destination) certification, the HIRUMA project presentation, and coordination of regional tourism development initiatives.
• GIZLAN - Red de Inclusión Sociolaboral A sociolaboral inclusion network coordinated by UGGASA that works to facilitate the labor market integration of people at risk of social exclusion, providing support and coordination among regional social agents in Urola Garaia.
• Urola Garaia 2030 - Estrategia de Competitividad A comprehensive regional competitiveness strategy for 2025-2030 aimed at achieving competitive positioning based on sustainability, equality, and economic strength, with focus on circular economy, energy, logistics, care services, and robotics sectors in Urola Garaia.

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Gipuzkoako Foru Aldundia (Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 July 2026UGGASA signed a two-year agreement (2026-2027) with the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa receiving 120,000 euros to develop renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy poverty alleviation initiatives in Urola Garaia.
• GARAPEN (Asociación Vasca de Agencias de Desarrollo)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGARAPEN is the Basque Association of Development Agencies that coordinates the HAZILAN youth employment program, co-financed at 50% by FSE. UGGASA participates as a member agency providing regional implementation of coordinated programs.
• Eusko Jaurlaritza (Basque Government)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Basque Government collaborates on regional development programs including the youth employment initiatives, providing institutional support and co-funding through various departments.
• HAZILAN Participating CompaniesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerOver 40 companies and institutions in Urola Garaia participate in the HAZILAN program offering 200-hour practical training placements to unemployed qualified youth. Includes industrial firms, cooperatives, schools, and service companies.
• Urola Garaia Mankomunitatea (Mancomunidad)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Mancomunidad of Urola Garaia is the inter-municipal body that oversees regional development strategies. UGGASA operates as its development agency implementing the regional competitiveness strategy.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GARAPEN - Asociación Vasca de Agencias de Desarrollo: The coordinating association of 19 Basque regional development agencies, of which UGGASA is a member. GARAPEN implements coordinated programs like HAZILAN and represents the network in regional policy, making it the umbrella counterpart to UGGASA's regional role.
• Debegesa: The regional development agency for the Debabarrena comarca in the Basque Country. As a fellow comarca-level development agency within the GARAPEN network, Debegesa offers directly comparable employment, SME, and industrial support services in an adjacent geographic basin.
• Beaz: The development agency for Barakaldo and the Left Bank of the Nervión river in Bizkaia. Beaz provides SME support, entrepreneurship services, and innovation programs structurally comparable to UGGASA's industry and entrepreneurship portfolio.
• Goieki: The regional development agency serving the Goierri comarca, neighboring Urola Garaia in Gipuzkoa. Goieki runs similar programs in industrial competitiveness, employment, and entrepreneurship, making it a structurally comparable comarca-level counterpart.

Others

• EUSTAT - Instituto Vasco de Estadística: The Basque Government's statistics institute. While not a development agency, EUSTAT provides the regional economic and labor market data that informs UGGASA's regional strategy work, making it a relevant data and analytics counterpart.

Broad incumbents

• IGAPE - Instituto Galego de Promoción Económica: Galicia's regional economic development agency, providing SME financing, innovation support, and investment attraction. Comparable to UGGASA at a larger regional-government scale, offering relevant benchmarking on agency design and funding mechanisms.
• Lanbide - Servicio Vasco de Empleo: The Basque Country's public employment service operating at the regional level. Lanbide offers employment registration, job intermediation, and training programs that overlap with UGGASA's HAZILAN and employment orientation services, though at much larger regional scale.
• SODENA - Sociedad de Desarrollo de Navarra: Navarre's public development company supporting business growth, entrepreneurship, and investment. As a regional-level public development vehicle, SODENA is comparable to UGGASA in mission but operates at substantially greater scale and with venture investment capability.
• IVACE - Instituto Valenciano de Competitividad Empresarial: Valencia's regional competitiveness institute supporting SMEs, innovation, and internationalization. IVACE provides regional economic development services structurally analogous to UGGASA's SME and competitiveness programs at significantly greater scale.
• SPRI - Agencia Vasca de Desarrollo Empresarial: The Basque Government's business development agency operating at a regional (vs. comarca) level. SPRI offers industrial support, innovation, and internationalization programs across the Basque Country, comparable to UGGASA's industry/SME support but at much greater scale and scope.

Market position

Strengths3 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uggasa

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UGGASA