The president of the Provincial Council of Jaén, Paco Reyes, has presented the 26th Emprende e Innova en Desarrollo Sostenible 2025 Awards, organized by the Provincial Council in collaboration with the Unicaja Jaén Foundation. During the ceremony, he highlighted “the talent, work ethic, perseverance, business dynamism, and commitment to innovation of the companies in our province.”
The event was held at Casería Escalona in the city of Jaén, where the companies Monva from Mancha Real, Mechaup SL from Martos, Flexia Films from Alcalá la Real, Apisierra from Pozo Alcón, and Yusapi from Jaén were honored in each of the five categories established in this competition. Reyes, accompanied by the president of the Unicaja Jaén Foundation, Carmen Espín, and members of the Provincial Corporation, emphasized that this competition “represents sustained work over time, as evidenced by the twenty-six editions of these awards promoted by the Jaén Provincial Council, which recognize the entrepreneurial and innovative capacity of our territory, and the commitment to sustainable development.”
These awards, in his opinion, “are an accurate thermometer to measure the health and strength of our business fabric.” In this regard, he praised the “good news” that “although only five have been recognized today, a total of 34 projects were submitted by 28 participants, with high-quality initiatives that make the jury’s decision more difficult every year.”
This level of participation reflects the strong moment that businesses in the province of Jaén are experiencing. The president of the Provincial Council pointed out that “the figures speak for themselves: between February 2024 and February of this year, the number of companies in Jaén has increased by 2.18%, well above the national and Andalusian averages.” Specifically, he noted, “we have nearly 22,000 companies, 500 more than a year ago—although, of course, these are figures that can always improve.”
In this regard, he emphasized that “the province of Jaén, in addition to being the world’s largest producer of olive oil and the one that produces the highest quality olive oil, as exemplified by one of this year’s awardees, the Monva mill, also has other emerging sectors in which we are excelling, with companies leading industries such as plastics, ceramics, 3D printing, telecommunications, construction, and defense, among others.”
He also attributed this success to the five entities awarded today, noting that “success is rarely the result of chance; rather, it is usually the outcome of hard work, perseverance, dedication, and talent.” In this sense, he stressed that “this is important,” and the recognized companies “are role models for many others who may be starting out or are already operating.”
Behind this success are compelling business stories and trajectories, such as Monva from Mancha Real, recognized in the business trajectory category, which “has been a benchmark in the olive oil sector for many years, leading the way in the production and packaging of EVOO, following sustainable criteria and practices.”
Paco Reyes congratulated all these entities and encouraged them to “continue along the path of success you have started, because you are examples of hard work and commitment to our province. You help generate employment and development, create opportunities, and contribute to stabilizing the population in the territory.” “With your work, you build the province,” he concluded.