Málaga wins international competition and hosts Vodafone European R&D Center of Excellence

Málaga won an international competition involving seven cities from five countries and will host Vodafone’s European R&D center of excellence. A facility that the operator says will create more than 600 jobs, including many highly skilled ones.
This center comes after Google decided to open a space there dedicated to cybersecurity research, and Globant did the same with one dedicated to artificial intelligence.

This new European center will be dedicated to the research and development of new generation technological solutions and digital services, such as 5G or IoT.

That is why Málaga was chosen

According to Vodafone, a competition was held between January and March to determine the location of this new center.

Seven cities from five European countries participated in this call. All had to answer various questions about the city’s lifestyle, the availability of talent with the necessary technical skills and working conditions, and other questions related to transportation, public assistance and bonuses, connections with universities, or the attractiveness of each location for talent.

In making its decision, Vodafone makes sure that it has not only conducted an analysis of the cities, but has also sought the opinion of international companies that are already present in each of the cities that have chosen the center.

Finally, Vodafone has chosen Malaga to host its hub. The Andalusian city was the one that prevailed in the competition because it offered the best combination of all the selection criteria, according to the operator.
Vodafone has not given figures on the amount of investment that will mean the creation of this center, whose location is currently being decided.

Project tractor

The operator hopes that this European Vodafone Business Center will enable Málaga to create highly qualified jobs and also boost the city’s economic activity and digital ecosystem. An ecosystem that also includes companies like VirusTotal or Freepik.

“The Vodafone Hub will help Spain and the city of Málaga continue to be a national and international benchmark in attracting and promoting business projects and creating products and services based on innovation and new technologies.”

Colman Deegan, CEO Vodafone Spain