Bizbarcelona makes key resources for competitiveness available to economic actors.

The New Barcelona Post converses with Lorenzo Di Pietro, general director of Barcelona Activa, the main promoting entity of Bizbarcelona and the Saló de l'Ocupació, fairs focused on the competitiveness of Barcelona's SMEs and the improvement of employment opportunities.

The executive explains what business leaders can expect from the next edition, which will be held on October 15 and 16 at Fira de Barcelona's Montjuïc venue. Key topics such as talent research, business growth, and digital and ecological transition will be addressed.

--- Bizbarcelona already has a good track record in the city and is a reference for many SMEs in the country. What new things can we expect this year at the event?

--- Bizbarcelona is the reference fair for SMEs, self-employed professionals, and commerce in Barcelona, a space that represents the local and real economy of the city. From the City Council, and especially from Barcelona Activa, we maintain our commitment to the city's business fabric as an essential economic actor and promote this event to provide it with tools, resources, and knowledge for its growth. Bizbarcelona offers SMEs, businesses, and self-employed individuals the necessary resources to strengthen their competitiveness and face the dual digital and ecological transition. The objective is to ensure that this transformation is also accessible to SMEs and micro-enterprises, providing tools and opportunities that help them adapt and grow in a constantly evolving economic environment.

--- For what other challenges do you want to provide resources, tools, and knowledge?

--- Talent. Just like technology and sustainability, talent continues to be, and will be, a key element for the competitiveness of companies. And that is why we have prepared a specific program on the incorporation of talent into SMEs. In addition, from the City Council, we promote a very broad policy for the promotion of Vocational Training, especially dual VET. Bizbarcelona is an opportunity to highlight all the resources available in the city that facilitate contact between VET students and SMEs looking to incorporate new talent. And we want to complement this approach with another key element: financing.

--- How will it be addressed?

--- Again, the economy in general, and SMEs in particular, need financing to be able to grow, specialize, address new markets... And that is why we have also prepared a series of sessions around financing instruments focused on business growth.

"The objective is to create a true marketplace where SMEs are protagonists, acting simultaneously as clients and suppliers"

--- This is absolutely essential. For companies to be competitive, they need skilled people. For this reason, together with Bizbarcelona ---and it's no coincidence---, the Saló de l'Ocupació is held, which responds to the need of SMEs and the productive fabric to attract qualified talent. Thus, the Saló de l'Ocupació is the showcase for the talent available in the city. Our vocation is to connect supply and demand: Bizbarcelona represents competitive companies and the Saló de l'Ocupació, qualified people. From Barcelona Activa, we offer a wide range of stable training, with short courses for quick updates and longer professional reorientation programs (up to 6,000 places annually), to improve employability and facilitate job placement. In addition, we adapt this training offer to the strategic sectors that are generating quality employment.

--- Do I understand that the fact that Bizbarcelona coincides with the Saló de l'Ocupació gives you the possibility of generating a transfer between demand and supply of employment? . --- Exactly. That's why we propose two different fairs, as they are aimed at different audiences, but they could be one, since they are two sides of the same coin. There can be no competitive companies without qualified professionals, nor useful training if it does not lead to quality work. In this sense, Bizbarcelona and the Saló de l'Ocupació are absolutely complementary and each one makes sense thanks to the other.

--- Currently, what is most lacking in the field of talent? What do SMEs ask for most?

--- SMEs show a clear tendency to incorporate new professionals, especially in the field of digital talent, both in basic and advanced profiles. They also continue to demand profiles linked to sales in digital environments. In short, all positions related to digital transformation, which we already mentioned at the beginning, have a transversal impact on all companies. That is why this will be one of the central themes of Bizbarcelona.

--- A point that can be positive is the possibility for many companies that do not know each other to do so and generate synergies. Given that it is not always easy, how do you work to encourage it?

--- Indeed, this is another of Bizbarcelona's purposes. We want to provoke an encounter between companies spontaneously, and at the same time in a planned way. On the one hand, we have networking spaces for entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals to meet. But, in addition, we also have an interesting space like the Village, where there is a series of exhibiting companies, many of which are also SMEs, that have solutions for other companies to incorporate into their daily and strategic management. The objective is to create a true marketplace where SMEs are protagonists, acting simultaneously as clients and suppliers, and where the supply and demand of products and services converge, ranging from digital solutions to sustainability proposals.

Bizbarcelona will feature more than 75 exhibiting companies, a hundred conferences with 170 speakers, 45 workshops, and ten networking spaces

--- As in any exhibition, during the two days of Bizbarcelona, all the value and promotional offer of the city's economic fabric are concentrated, highlighting the work done throughout the year. In the case of the Barcelona City Council and Barcelona Activa, we have a reference facility: the Business Support Office (OAE), located in the MediaTIC building of 22@. From there, we offer, both in person and virtually, a wide portfolio of services for SMEs, ranging from strategic advice to talent incorporation and access to financing. This offer is stable, but flexible, as it constantly adapts to the needs and economic context of the city. A recent example is the creation of a specific window to inform about tariffs and their impact on businesses and the local economy.

--- What economic sectors should be promoted in the city? Do spaces like Bizbarcelona help you make this need known among entrepreneurs and encourage some to expand their business?

--- From the City Council, we have the Barcelona Impulsa 2035 plan, an economic agenda that identifies the strategic sectors for the city, that is, those that generate and will generate quality employment and will add value to both Barcelona and its citizens. We promote these sectors comprehensively through all municipal economic promotion policies. We are talking, for example, about the care economy or the blue economy, which we promote and make known from all economic promotion spaces in the city. That is why, in Bizbarcelona and the Saló de l'Ocupació, there are also specific capsules that highlight the presence and potential of these sectors.

--- What are the participation expectations for this year's Bizbarcelona?

--- We have very good expectations. We already have 75 exhibiting companies confirmed, which is a large volume, in addition to 28 collaborating entities, 160 programmed activities, including a hundred conferences with 170 speakers, 45 workshops, ten networking spaces, and a personalized advice space to answer questions and address queries related to business management. We are talking about figures that make us expect a spectacular edition.