Economic Relations: Romania & Spain
After we analyzed economic relations between Romania and Hungary and those between Romania and Austria, we turn our attention to Spain. The context of the analysis is given by the program Beyond Borders, launched by Endeavor Romania, together with Romanian Business Leaders, which was joined in 2026 by Banca Transilvania, which supports the international expansion of Romanian companies and the connection with the Romanian business diaspora in several countries, starting in Spain in September 2026.
ROMANIAN DIASPORA IN SPAIN - THE MAIN LINK BETWEEN THE TWO ECONOMIES
The Romanian community in Spain is the main factor bringing the two countries' economies closer together. Romanians are the third largest foreign citizen community in Spain, with approximately 610,000 residents as of January 1, 2025, according to Eurostat data. Of these, over 350,000 people were registered in the Spanish social security system in June 2026, Romanians being the second largest community of foreign workers in Spain.
In recent years, the profile of the Romanian diaspora in Spain has diversified and matured. While initially it mainly represented a labor force, more and more Romanians have taken the step into entrepreneurship, becoming business owners and employers themselves. Today, Romanians are among the largest communities of foreign entrepreneurs in Spain, with over 53,000 sole proprietorships (PFA) as of March 2026, alongside thousands of micro-enterprises and SMEs. This development is turning the Romanian diaspora into a genuine catalyst for economic relations between Romania and Spain, facilitating investments, trade exchanges, know-how transfer, and the development of business partnerships.
SPANISH INVESTMENTS IN ROMANIA: STRONG PRESENCE IN RETAIL, ENERGY AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Economic relations between Romania and Spain, in addition to trade exchanges and those concerning the Romanian community, are supported by Spanish investments in Romania.
At the end of 2025, there were over 7,100 companies with Spanish capital in Romania, valued at 1.73 billion euros. Thus, Spain ranks 9th among foreign investors in Romania, with a share of 3.43% of the total.
Spanish investors are concentrated in key sectors for economic development, such as retail, energy, construction, and infrastructure. Among the best-known Spanish companies operating in Romania are:
- BBVA (financial sector)
- Inditex, Mango (fashion retail industry)
- FCC Environment (waste management)
- FCC Construction (construction)
Beyond the direct economic impact, Spanish investments contribute to the transfer of know-how, the development of local skills, and the strengthening of business relations between the two countries.
ROMANIAN INVESTMENTS IN SPAIN: AN INCREASINGLY VISIBLE PRESENCE
Over the past three decades, an increasing number of Romanian companies have entered the Spanish market, with investments exceeding 47 million euros. The largest investments have focused on sectors such as road transport, trade, and construction.
This growth was supported in part by the expansion of one of the largest Romanian communities abroad. The Romanian diaspora in Spain has driven increased demand for services and business connections between the two markets, while also facilitating collaboration between Romanian entrepreneurs and local business partners.
Among Romanian companies that have established a significant presence in Spain are:
- DIGI, one of the leading telecommunications operators in Spain, with over 10 million customers
- UiPath, global leader in software automation
- Bitdefender, a company specialized in cybersecurity
- TotalSoft, software services and ERP solutions provider
The success of companies like those mentioned shows that the international expansion of Romanian businesses can go beyond the traditional export model and create a strong local presence capable of competing in one of the largest markets in the European Union.
DIGI SPAIN - A SUCCESSFUL EXAMPLE OF INTERNATIONALIZATION OF A ROMANIAN COMPANY
The DIGI story in Spain is one of the most relevant examples of successful internationalization of a Romanian company.
In May 2008, the Romanian group RCS & RDS (now DIGI Communications) acquired the majority stake in Best Spain Telecom to expand its operations in Spain. Subsequently, in December 2008, the first commercial service was launched under the DIGI España / DIGI Mobil brand.
The subsequent evolution of DIGI is impressive: after entering Spain in 2008, mainly targeting the Romanian diaspora, by 2025, DIGI reached 10.8 million customers and nearly 1 billion euros in turnover. Thus, DIGI is the third-largest broadband operator in Spain and one of the strongest examples of the internationalization of Romanian capital.
A new chapter in the company’s development opened in July 2026, when DIGI Spain Telecom was listed on the Spanish stock exchange through an IPO (Initial Public Offering), raising approximately 134 million euros net to finance future investments and support the development of its own telecommunications network.
DIGI's growth confirms the potential of Romanian companies to become key players in international markets and provides a concrete example of how the diaspora can be the starting point for building a success story on a European scale.
ROMANIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN SPAIN: TRANSFORMING THE DIASPORA INTO A BUSINESS COMMUNITY
The Romanian community in Spain is defined, besides its contribution to the labor market, by the increasingly important role it plays in the local entrepreneurial environment.
Romanians represent the second largest group of foreign self-employed professionals registered in Spain (10% of foreign self-employed individuals in Spain). Romanian entrepreneurs have also established a significant number of micro-enterprises and SMEs, contributing to the development of the Spanish economy and the strengthening of a genuine Romanian business community. Many of these companies were launched to meet the needs of the diaspora, offering services and products that Romanians required – from grocery stores and traditional restaurants to consulting, relocation, and integration services.
At the same time, Romanian entrepreneurs have leveraged the experience gained in sectors where the diaspora is strongly represented, developing businesses in construction, building materials trade, transport, HORECA, real estate services, and other fields.
MUCH MORE MARKET - FROM A STORE FOR THE ROMANIAN DIASPORA TO A LOGISTICS NETWORK PRESENT THROUGHOUT SPAIN
The story of Much More Market is a relevant example of how the needs of a community can create entrepreneurial opportunities with a nationwide impact. In 2007, two Romanian entrepreneurs opened a store with Romanian products in Spain, starting from the idea that food products and goods specific to the Romanian market were hard to find for the diaspora. As the Romanian community grew stronger, the business evolved beyond local retail, expanding into distribution and logistics.
Today, Much More Market is one of the best-known Romanian businesses developed in Spain. The group operates a network of warehouses, cash & carry centers, and stores spread throughout Spain, as well as distribution activities to Portugal. The company has reached a turnover of approximately 30 million euros and supports hundreds of jobs, becoming a relevant example of the success of Romanian entrepreneurship abroad.
After establishing their business in Spain, the founders decided to leverage their accumulated experience in the Romanian market as well. Thus, in 2022 they launched the first Plai Cash&Carry store in Brașov, an investment built on the know-how gained in the Iberian Peninsula. The Much More Market story illustrates not only the success of Romanians abroad but also the diaspora’s ability to bring back capital, managerial experience, and business models developed in Western markets to Romania.
BUILDING THE COMMON ECONOMIC FUTURE: NETWORKS CONNECTING ENTREPRENEURS FROM ROMANIA AND SPAIN
As economic relations between Romania and Spain develop, organizations, business networks, and programs that facilitate collaboration between entrepreneurs from the two countries play an increasingly important role. These initiatives help identify partners, access foreign markets, transfer know-how, and turn the connections created by the diaspora into a competitive advantage for Romanian and Spanish companies.
At the level of bilateral business relations, Romanian-Spanish Business Exchange (RBE) facilitates the connection of entrepreneurs from both countries, promoting investment opportunities, exports, partnerships, and joint projects. Through its matchmaking platforms and events, RBE provides Romanian and Spanish companies access to networks of contacts, investors, and potential business partners, contributing to the internationalization of businesses on both sides of the economic relationship.
Another important player is RePatriot, an initiative of the Romanian Business Leaders community that, for over a decade, has been connecting Romanian entrepreneurs in the diaspora with economic opportunities in Romania. Through economic missions, conferences, and events dedicated to the Romanian community in Spain, RePatriot facilitates the transfer of experience, investments, and best practices between Romanian and Spanish entrepreneurs and encourages the expansion of Romanian companies into the Spanish market.
On the side of Spanish investors, ASEMER (Spanish Companies Association in Romania) acts as a platform for representation and collaboration for Spanish companies operating in Romania. The organization promotes Romanian-Spanish economic relations through business meetings, networking activities, roundtables, and conferences that facilitate dialogue between entrepreneurs, investors, and institutions from both countries.
To these are added a series of European programs, such as Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, offering entrepreneurs, start-ups and companies from Romania and Spain opportunities for collaboration, experience exchange, innovation and access to financing. Together, all these initiatives contribute to strengthening a common economic ecosystem, where the diaspora, entrepreneurs and business organizations become bridges between the two economies and create the foundations for increasingly deeper Romanian-Spanish cooperation in the coming years.
CONCLUSIONS: SPAIN, A STRATEGIC MARKET AND A COMMUNITY THAT CREATES OPPORTUNITIES
The economic relationship between Romania and Spain today is much more than a commercial relationship between two European Union member states. It is supported by one of the largest and best-integrated Romanian communities in the diaspora, which over time has become a true economic bridge between the two countries. While two decades ago most Romanians arrived in Spain seeking employment, today more and more are entrepreneurs, investors, managers, or professionals actively contributing to the development of both economies.
The success stories of companies like DIGI or Much More Market show that the Romanian diaspora is more than just a source of remittances; it generates capital, managerial experience, know-how, and international connections. At the same time, Spanish investments in Romania continue to play an important role in the development of strategic sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, and retail.
Looking ahead, one of the greatest opportunities for both countries is turning the connections made by the diaspora into a platform for long-term economic collaboration. Entrepreneurial networks, internationalization programs, business partnerships, and joint projects can accelerate both the expansion of Romanian companies into the Spanish market and the attraction of new investments and collaborations in Romania.
In this context, the Romanian diaspora in Spain becomes an economic actor in its own right, capable of connecting opportunities, markets, and entrepreneurial ecosystems. And as more Romanian companies aim to grow beyond borders, the relationship between the two countries has the potential to evolve from a migration story into a genuine story of entrepreneurship, investment, and value creation.
