In today's article, we analyze the situation of the startup ecosystem in Catalonia, focusing on the reasons that make the city of Barcelona one of the main innovation hubs both in Europe and worldwide.
The data published last April in the analysis of the Barcelona & Catalonia Startup Hub 2020 draw the city of Barcelona as a benchmark for entrepreneurship and innovation, highlighting aspects such as experience and the dynamism of the ecosystem. The position that Barcelona occupies with respect to the main hubs of the European scene is summarized in the following points: -Barcelona is in fourth position, among the countries of the European Union, in terms of Number of startups.
Above all, those related to the field of industry 4.0 stand out, with a representation of more than 66.5% of the total number of existing startups. -Barcelona is in fifth position, among the countries of the European Union, in terms of number of scaleups (companies that have raised more than 1M USD such as Colvin or Signaturit) and in terms of Number of future unicorns (companies valued between 250,000 and 1 M USD such as Paack or TravelPerk) .In recent years, Barcelona has managed to train four of the unicorns on the national scene (Letgo, Glovo, Edreams and Adeventia).
These successes motivate local investors and business angels but also international funds. -Barcelona remains, for the fourth consecutive year, the second hub in the European Union preferred by entrepreneurs to set up their start-up, ahead of cities such as Amsterdam or Munich. It holds the same position in terms of the total number of foreign founders.
Barcelona is a city able to attract international talent: in Barcelona, 26% of the workers and 20% of the founders of the startup ecosystem are of foreign origin. -Between 2016 and 2020, Barcelona has managed to attract 2,818 M euros of investment in startups, making it the second hub in the European Union for funding in the seed phase (investment rounds between 500,000 and 2M euros), and in the third in terms of total number of investment rounds raised. In the same vein, according to data provided in a study by IESE and La Caixa, Catalan start-ups attracted between 2018 and 2019, one third of the total funding raised in Spain and Portugal.
Regarding the general characteristics of the Catalan entrepreneurial ecosystem, the Analysis of the Barcelona & Catalonia Startup Hub, 2020, highlights the following points:
- El Female talent is increasingly representing the world of startups. The presence of women in founding teams stands at 23.4%, above the European average (17.6%).
- 45% of founders have experience in the world of entrepreneurship and has previously created a start-up.
- Regarding the current situation of startups: 69% of companies say they have managed to increase or have no significant changes in their activity due to Covid-19.
- As for the sectors preferred by startups, 60% of them are concentrated in activities related to Information and Communication Technologies, Leisure and Health; and they choose, for the most part, business models dedicated to e-commerce and the marketplace (42%). This latest trend is closely followed by the development of SaaS models (32%).
But what are the main reasons that make the city of Barcelona an attractive place for entrepreneurship and innovation?
International events and networking opportunities
Since 2006, Barcelona has been chosen, without interruption, as the venue for the Mobile World Congress, a global event that attracts more than 100,000 attendees annually, including 2,400 renowned companies and speakers dedicated to technologies and digitalization.
In addition, since 2014, Barcelona has also hosted the 4 Years from Now (4YFN) initiative, dedicated to entrepreneurship and innovation, which has more than 20,000 visitors annually.
Both events, together with others held at national and local levels such as (Advanced Factories, the Barcelona Cybersecurity Congress or the IoT Solutions World Congress) have allowed us to promote an ecosystem of innovation and technological startups capable of developing pioneering disruptive projects at an international level. The fact that Barcelona is one of the most visited European cities, with more than 10M annual travelers (including both tourists and business travelers), makes it a meeting point and reference for networking between professionals from different fields.
Prestigious university system
The city's university system, in which the main business schools at European level are concentrated and which offer, on multiple occasions, programs to support entrepreneurship for their own students, is capable of attracting national and international talent. In addition, universities in Barcelona also rank first in rankings for technical careers such as engineering and computer science.
Along the same lines, alliances such as the one formalized this month of May between Catalonia and Quebec for research and innovation, which includes in its program the involvement of universities, research centers and technological startups for the development of joint projects, facilitate the transition between the academic and professional worlds and position Barcelona as an internationally competitive city, capable of leading the resolution of global challenges.
Dynamism of the different ecosystem actors
In the Catalan ecosystem, there are currently more than 100 Ventures Capital that actively invest in local startups, throughout their different life stages.
Public entities also play an important role in financing innovative projects developed in the city. The Barcelona City Council, through the Barcelona Acelera program and with the objective of boosting the entrepreneurial ecosystem, will inject a total of 10 M euros in six different venture capital funds over the next few years, allowing around 150 emerging companies in the city to benefit.
In addition, organizations such as Barcelona Activa (Barcelona's economic development agency) offer incubation programs for startups in their earliest stages, technical advice, networking events and support programs specialized in creating innovative startups in specific sectors, such as the Sport-Up dedicated to the sports industry.
Development of innovation projects
Barcelona is the city chosen, by national and international organizations, to develop important innovation projects. Thus, among the most recent projects, the 5G Catalonia pilot, a public-private initiative led by Cellnex Telecom and the MásMóvil Group (which will collaborate with 6 other companies) to promote innovative solutions based on the development of a new generation of mobile networks, capable of improving sectors such as transport, security or commerce. The project, which will undoubtedly contribute to the digital transformation of Barcelona, represents a great opportunity for the city's economic development, as this is one of the first cities to be able to benefit from one of the technologies that will lead the connectivity of the future.
