New step to consolidate the startup ecosystem of the Catalan capital and make it grow hand in hand with two strategic sectors of the future: health and urban mobility. The president of Barcelona Tech City, Miguel Vicente, has signed a collaboration agreement with the Minister of Business of the Generalitat, Ramon Tremosa, to promote two new piers dedicated to these two industries. The idea is to replicate the model of Pier01 in Port Vell and bring together in the same space startups, large companies, universities, accelerators, hospitals and agents from the environment of these business areas.
The agreement establishes that the public agency Acció will contribute 275,000 euros until 2022 for Barcelona Tech City to enable the new spaces, which will be part of its network of specialized innovation hubs Urban Tech Campus. "From the Generalitat we must facilitate projects like these two new piers, which have a strong multiplying effect in the generation of hundreds of innovative business projects and which advance the country from a technological point of view," highlighted Minister Tremosa.
In parallel, Miguel Vicente assures that "Barcelona has the potential to be the most important technological and entrepreneurial hub in Southern Europe." "With the development of the Urban Tech Campus project, Barcelona Tech City continues to grow this ecosystem at a time when we will need more than ever to focus the economy on sectors that make us more competitive and allow us to grow," he emphasized.
Currently, Barcelona Tech City already manages two innovation hubs, Pier01 and Pier03 in the maritime area of Barcelona, as well as the social club El Palauet, on Passeig de Gràcia. Likewise, it already has approved and about to begin the works of Pier05, which will be erected in the fintech hub, at the headquarters of the Barcelona Stock Exchange. In parallel, a center for startups dedicated to logistics and mobility will be located in the Correos building.
According to data from Acció, there are currently 1,500 startups in Catalonia (2019 data), 38% more than three years ago. These companies employ 16,900 workers, 19% of whom are foreigners.