Catalonia stands out as the main startup region in Southern Europe, and still has a long way to go. The Generalitat is determined to continue boosting the ecosystem, and it does so with a clear underlying objective: to get as close as possible to solely structural unemployment, as defended by the Minister of Business and Labor, Miquel Sàmper.
Sàmper (Terrassa, 1966) reviews the objectives set by the Generalitat regarding the entrepreneurial field and the measures that the Government is promoting to achieve them. With a degree in Law and Political Science, the minister is committed to continuing to propel entrepreneurship to reach levels of ecosystems like those in Nordic countries or Germany: “We are at a good moment that we should all know how to take advantage of.”
— The Generalitat has set the goal of reaching 3,000 startups by 2030.
— Yes, we want to go from the 2,285 startups we have now to 3,000. We set this goal because startups usually impact disruptive areas, and also because of their connection with digital talent. The turnover of the world of new technologies and the digital field in Catalonia is already above 40,000 million euros, and the sector is employing almost 200,000 people. Last year alone it grew by 40,000 contracted people, which is almost equivalent to three Seat workforces. Generated in just one year! And this digital sector is nourished mainly by startups and entrepreneurship.
— What measures does the Government promote to boost this entrepreneurial field?
— Within the Catalonia Leads Plan, we make a clear commitment to the growth of Catalan companies, with a budget of 50 million euros. We make these resources available to companies so that they can develop their business plans, with concrete objectives, which also include advancing equality between women and men within this field. In addition, for the first time we have opened pre-acceleration lines for emerging companies, with 1.7 million euros, which we will increase, so that companies can grow.
— In practice, how do companies benefit from these lines?
— The Generalitat basically channels it through four points: through Acció; with funding from Avançsa and the Institut Català de Finances, and aid to self-employed individuals that we manage from the Department. And it is that self-employed individuals are also people who undertake, and we allocate 28 million euros to this group this year. With all these lines, we aim to convey to entrepreneurs that we are by their side and that we know they are not the future, but rather the present, and an immediate present.
— How do you assess the evolution of the ecosystem?
— Incredible traction is being generated. In fact, the entrepreneurial activity rate (TEA) in 2024 was the highest in the historical series. This rate, which includes individuals driving a company in its initial phase, stood at 8.6% in 2024. It is above the Spanish average of 7.2%, and is increasingly closer to the European average of 8.8%, as indicated by the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2024 report, promoted by the Department and the Diputació de Barcelona, and prepared by the Institut Metròpoli and the UAB.
— According to the GEM, those who want to undertake in the next three years are also increasing.
— This figure has grown two points and stands at 15.4%, also the best data since it has been analyzed since 2004, and only one point from the EU average, which is 16.4%. These data lead us to position ourselves as the best startup ecosystem in Southern Europe, although not in Europe as a whole. We are not yet at the same level as regions like Germany and the Nordic countries.
— Should we aspire to reach that level?
— Yes, because the capacity to undertake generates companies, and companies generate employment. The answer is yes, yes, and yes.
— Is employment the ultimate goal?
— Exactly. Behind each of the policies we promote, what is the intention? To generate employment, and to get closer to having only structural unemployment; that the only ones who do not have a job are those who do not want to or cannot work. My dream is that, the day I finish my work here, in Catalonia there will only be structural unemployment.
— And that whoever wants to work, works.
— And we are on the way to achieving it. Catalonia has been the European region that has grown the most in 2024, with 3.6%, compared to an average of 3.3% in Spain and with growths of 1.1% in France, for example. It means that we are in a very positive economic moment, and that we should all be able to know how to take advantage of it.
— What has led us to this good moment?
— We have a network of companies, workers, technological centers, universities, a social concertation system… all these elements form an ecosystem that allows Catalonia, in addition to its climate and quality of life, to be well-positioned and continue growing.
— One of the brakes on this growth is, according to entrepreneurs, bureaucracy. How is the Generalitat working in this regard?
— The Government created a working group to reduce bureaucracy, and not only for the business sector, but for citizens in general. We cannot waste so much time on procedures that in other places are done with much more agility. This is a black spot we have in Catalonia, and we must be able to find mechanisms to make all this much more agile, such as the *Finstreta Única Empresarial (Single Business Window) promoted by the *Department so that everything enters through the same channel and is managed more quickly.
— Another need for startups is access to investment and talent.
— We generate a lot of talent, both in universities and in Vocational Training. And we need to emphasize this, because we want to greatly boost FP. If university talent is necessary, FP talent is essential. But we not only generate talent, but we are able to retain it. In fact, two out of three people who come from outside have been in Catalonia for more than three years, and this means that we retain a lot of talent.
— It is generated, retained, and also attracted.
— Yes, and to enhance this, we are now also launching a specific program, given the context in the United States. We have opened the Barcelona Talent Bridge program, which seeks to attract research personnel from the United States, with a budget of 30 million euros.
— International talent benefits the ecosystem, but it can exacerbate the increase in housing prices and gentrification.
— The Government's objective in this area is to generate 50,000 public housing units by 2030. It is not easy, but work is being done throughout the territory so that everyone can have a home. Talent is something we need, it is essential, and we should never expel it. Anyone who comes to Catalonia with the will to work —and I am not just talking about the highest level of talent— must be able to feel welcomed. Our obligation is to generate employment so that everyone can have a job.
— This objective goes beyond Barcelona.
— We are fully convinced that we must reach all of Catalonia; it is an obsession for me. That Barcelona and metropolitan Barcelona grow is perfect, and there are companies that need to be close to the port or the airport, but for those that do not have this logistical need, we want to take them further, as has been done with the AI gigafactory that we want to be located in Móra la Nova. We must generate shared prosperity that reaches all people, without distinctions, and also all of the territory.