Ceuta, a place to invest?

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"Your big opportunity might be where you are right now"

It's a famous phrase by the American writer Napoleon Hill, one of the most successful self-help and finance authours of the 20th century. It comes to remind us that it is very easy to get entangled in our problems, complain about not moving forward, about how a specific situation affects us... while Hill encourages us to focus on ways to take advantage of the moment we are living now.

When talking about Ceuta and Melilla, two Spanish cities in North Africa, they are often associated with issues such as border pressure, diplomatic conflicts… aspects that discourage them from being considered as places to invest. They are ocasional situations treated unfairly, as they tarnish the potential of 2 cities from where plenty of value could be added to the world today.

Talking about Ceuta is ironic because over centuries to the present day different civilisations (including Phoenicians, Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Castilians) came to this city attracted by its strategic location, by the nature of its land and its geographical dimension. All 3 combined made it the perfect place to control the Strait of Gibraltar, which is in the middle of the busiest sea route in the world (nowadays more than 100,000 boats pass through here each year).

In this small place of 19km2 there is a mix of mountains, city life and up to 21km of coastline. Its streets, landscapes and monuments spread authentic millenary stories that speak of how this privileged place in the northernmost point of Africa was always linked to the south of the Iberian Peninsula. Any tourist route can help us to get closer to its past times.

Ceuta remains a gateway between Europe and Africa that is to be rediscovered. The city is reinventing itself to make much more of its peculiarities (especially its recognized tax advantages within the European Union) to make it a privileged place from which to innovate and establish digital companies. All this accompanied by a rich cultural mix rooted throughout centuries of history, bringing its key special value to the world.

To attract investment there are multiple aspects that play a role: Legal framework, taxation, entrepreneurial culture of the place, young population looking to grow professionally, standard of educational centers, geographical location, quality of life, leisure activities, etc.. Many small places such as Hong Kong, Gibraltar or Singapore have shined over the years due to various factors, increasing their wealth and that of their neighboring cities.

For now the reality of Ceuta and Melilla remains very different, but they have a solid base to contribute to the world from what they are in essence: open and welcoming cities that unite cultures and ways of seeing the world. Important "green shoots" are already a reality (digital companies, startups, accelerators, entrepreneurial networks…) and they are working alongside local authorities to become a reference place for digital companies that invest in the territory, that contribute toward an entrepreneurial and digital culture.

Perhaps Hill was telling us precisely that if we have not yet reached where we want to be, it is because we still have to exploit our own potential without limiting ourselves.

Images: Fotografos Solidarios de Ceuta

P.S. In 2022 the digital platform Living Ceta promoted up to 141 events and activities that took place in Ceuta. Touristic, cultural, leisure and sport activities could all be found in a website that automated over 3700 online signups.