More than seven million euros in aid and more than 1,000 companies, self-employed individuals, and professionals who have benefited from Barcelona Activa's various lines of action. This is the 2024 balance of the City Council's economic promotion agency regarding aid distributed through its Impulsem el que fas, Crea Feina, and Autònom+ lines. Its priorities are to boost the local economy, generate quality employment, and facilitate entrepreneurship in the Catalan capital.
With this triple purpose, Barcelona Activa promotes the Impulsem el que fas line, consolidated as the one that allocates the most resources, with 210 grants awarded and 3.5 million euros executed. Within this line, Barcelona Activa has reactivated about sixty empty premises in the city with new economic activities. Of the total, more than 50 will be for social and solidarity economy organizations, focused on various areas. They will include almost 30 initiatives linked to occupational activities for priority groups; more than 40 related to responsible consumption and food, and almost 20 aimed at moving towards a more sustainable tourism model, while eight premises will be allocated to companies that will improve their last-mile urban goods distribution.
Employment and new highly qualified talent line
Regarding labor insertion, the Crea Feina line has awarded more than 400 grants, with a budget of three million euros to promote the hiring of unemployed people, with special emphasis on young people, women, and people at risk of exclusion. This year, Barcelona Activa has taken a step forward in this regard and has incorporated a new modality: Crea Feina Investiga. Focused on promoting the hiring of highly qualified talent, it has facilitated the hiring of about thirty professionals in sectors such as health, technology, the food industry, renewable energies, and commerce. Within this new modality, to which 440,000 euros have been allocated, 60% of those hired have been women.
In addition to encouraging the hiring of unemployed people, Barcelona Activa also promotes entrepreneurship, with aid for self-employed individuals to lighten the expenses they must assume during their first year of activity. Through the Autònom+ line, the economic promotion agency has granted some 420 aids, with a budget of 950,000 euros destined to subsidize expenses such as social security contributions, taxes, and rent for workspaces.
These aid lines "are the result of an impact policy with a proximity vision," defended the Councilor for Economic Promotion and president of Barcelona Activa, Raquel Gil. Taking into account their impact on job creation and economic activity, these aids "have consolidated as a very important boost for quality employment and the small economy in the city."