Catalonia is the first startup hub in Southern Europe with 1,300 startups that generate 13,800 jobs

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atalonia currently has about 1,300 startups that generate close to 14,000 jobs. These are data from the platform Barcelona & Catalonia Startup Hub created by ACCIÓ, the Catalan government agency for business competitiveness. Both in volume and quality, it is the reference directory for Catalan startups.

Once these figures were made public, the Minister of Business and Knowledge, Ángeles Chacón, highlighted "the importance of the entrepreneurial ecosystem for the competitiveness of territories". In this regard, she assured that "in recent years, there has been an explosion of startups in Catalonia and Barcelona: 5 years ago Catalonia did not appear in any ranking, but today Catalonia has consolidated itself as one of the five main hubs of entrepreneurship, technology and knowledge in Europe".

For the consellera, "startups are a relevant agent that joins the generation and transfer of technology". "We want Catalonia to be perceived as a first-rate technological hub where to do business and invest", she stressed.

38% OF FOUNDERS OF CATALAN STARTUPS HAVE PREVIOUSLY CREATED OTHER COMPANIES

Among the data collected by this ACCIÓ platform, it stands out that 26% of these workers are foreigners, mainly from other Western European countries (46%), South America (26%), Eastern Europe (9%), the Asia-Pacific region (7%), Africa-Middle East (6%) and North America (6%), who are mainly dedicated to the functional areas of technology (27%), sales (22%), management and strategy (20%) and operations (17%). In the case of founders, 15% of professionals come from other countries. Globally, 38% of founders of Catalan startups have previously created other companies.

Regarding sectors, Catalan startups related to technologies linked to industry 4.0 stand out with 17% of the total, followed by life sciences (13%) and mobile & software (11%). The main business model for these companies is ecommerce/marketplace (45% of the total), ahead of development and manufacturing (23%), software as a service –SaaS– (22%) and subscription (20%).

DISTRIBUTION OF CATALAN STARTUPS BY SECTORS

In terms of funding, 3 out of 4 Catalan startups have obtained private funding. Of these, specifically, 21% have received investment rounds exceeding one million euros.

AN INTERNATIONAL ECOSYSTEM

Barcelona is positioned as the leading startup hub in Southern Europe by number of companies, and in fifth position in all of Europe behind London, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam, according to the Ranking of Europe's biggest startup hubs in 2017 prepared by EU-Startups.

In fact, Barcelona is considered the third preferred hub by startup creators, as 20% of European founders would choose this city to establish their emerging company after London and Berlin, as indicated by the Startup Heatmap Europe 2018 ranking.

Regarding funding, Barcelona is the fourth European city by volume of investment received in startups, according to Atomico

THE BARCELONA & CATALONIA STARTUP HUB

The 1,300 Catalan startups are the companies identified in the Barcelona & Catalonia Startup Hub directory, a digital platform that acts as a meeting point for Catalan startups, with the aim of positioning the Catalan ecosystem in the world and promoting investment attraction. This directory includes companies with a maximum of 10 years of life, with scalable, repeatable business models applicable in global environments and oriented towards rapid growth.

Startups wishing to be part of the Barcelona & Catalonia Startup Hub must meet the following requirements:

• Be a company established in Catalonia with a product ready to sell (except biotechs) and less than 10 years old
• Be a scalable company with high growth potential
• Be founded by ambitious entrepreneurs highly committed to their growth
• Have a high level of innovation or technology
• Be focused on a global market
• Have a company NIF (self-employment proposals are not accepted)