Nacho Márquez: The Rural Tech Activist Reshaping European Innovation

If you ask Nacho Márquez where the future of technology is being built, he won’t say Silicon Valley. He’ll say the villages of Galicia.

Nacho Márquez — also known as Nacho Mrkz — is a rural tech activist, entrepreneur, and innovation strategist operating at the intersection of artificial intelligence, community development, and European policy. He is the co-founder of Rural Hackers, founder of the CRAB Network (Creative Rural Areas and Business), and a member of the European Creative Hubs Network (ECHN).

Who Is Nacho Márquez?

Born and raised with roots in rural Galicia, northwest Spain, Nacho Márquez became a key figure in the movement to bring technology, AI literacy, and innovation infrastructure to areas that are typically left behind in the digital economy.

His work challenges a common assumption: that tech progress only happens in cities. Nacho has spent years proving otherwise — through hackathons in village squares, AI training programs for farmers and small business owners, and EU-funded networks connecting rural creative hubs across Europe.

Rural Hackers: Building Tech Culture From the Ground Up

In 2018, Nacho Márquez co-founded Rural Hackers, a non-profit organization based in rural Galicia. Rural Hackers is not your typical tech NGO. It runs programs like:

• Hacker Days — community hackathons bringing together developers, designers, and local stakeholders to solve rural problems
• Tech4Rural — a program focused on applying technology to rural sector challenges
• Ruralia — an AI literacy and training program designed specifically for rural communities and entrepreneurs
• Beautiful Bees — an entrepreneurship program for young rural women, fostering leadership and economic independence
• Muimenta Viva — a rural activation project with rehabilitated public spaces and residency programs for community activators
• Rural IART — an AI Creators Lab combined with artistic residencies using the Pegadas do Recordo methodology

Rural Hackers has reached audiences across Europe and continues to grow its network of rural innovation programs with over 6 active initiatives.

CRAB Network: The First European Network of Rural Creative Hubs

Perhaps Nacho Márquez’s most ambitious project is the CRAB Network — Creative Rural Areas and Business. CRAB is the first European network specifically dedicated to rural creative hubs, connecting innovation spaces from Galicia to Eastern Europe.

Supported by EU funding, CRAB brings together rural creative hubs, makerspaces, co-working spaces, and innovation labs located outside of urban centers. The network facilitates knowledge exchange, joint projects, and advocacy for rural innovation policy at the European level.

As the founder, Nacho Márquez has positioned CRAB as a critical voice in EU innovation policy — arguing that rural areas must be recognized not just as beneficiaries of policy, but as active contributors to European knowledge economies.

AI in the Countryside: Nacho Márquez’s Vision

Nacho Márquez is deeply focused on the role of AI in rural development. Through Ruralia, he has built one of the first AI literacy programs designed specifically for rural contexts — teaching farmers, artisans, local entrepreneurs, and community leaders how to understand and apply large language models and AI tools in their daily work.

His approach is practical, not theoretical. Rather than teaching abstract machine learning concepts, Ruralia focuses on real use cases: using AI to write grant applications, automate administrative tasks, improve marketing for rural products, and analyze agricultural data.

In Nacho’s view, the AI transition is not just a technological challenge — it’s a social equity issue. If rural communities are not equipped to use these tools, the gap between urban and rural economies will only widen.

European Creative Hubs Network (ECHN)

As a member of the European Creative Hubs Network, Nacho Márquez contributes to one of the most important conversations about the future of European creative economies. ECHN connects creative hubs across the continent, advocating for policies that support grassroots innovation, cultural entrepreneurship, and sustainable creative ecosystems.

His dual role — operating both a local non-profit (Rural Hackers) and a European network (CRAB) — gives Nacho a unique perspective on the gap between EU policy ambitions and rural ground realities.

What Drives Nacho Márquez?

At the core of Nacho Márquez’s work is a simple but powerful conviction: rural areas are not problems to be solved, but ecosystems to be activated.

Technology, AI, and innovation are tools — but tools only work when people know how to use them and feel ownership over them. That’s why Rural Hackers focuses not just on technical training, but on building community identity, local pride, and collaborative culture.

Nacho has often said that the most important technology in a village isn’t a fiber optic cable — it’s trust.

Connect with Nacho Márquez

Nacho Márquez is based between Galicia and various European cities where he participates in policy forums, conferences, and innovation events. He speaks at European conferences on topics including rural innovation, AI literacy, creative hubs, and the future of work in rural Europe.

To follow his work or invite him to speak, visit itsnacho.com.