Qonto will grow by double digits in Europe with Barcelona as its spearhead

After having increased its turnover by 70% and its clients in Spain by 40% in 2023, Qonto expects to continue growing at double-digit rates this year both at a national and global level. Without detailing turnover figures, the neobank focused on SMEs and freelancers aims to reach a total of one million business clients by 2025, doubling its current portfolio, as highlighted by its general director in Spain, Carles Marcos.

The French-origin fintech aspires to achieve this goal with its Barcelona center as a key point for the company, which globally has 1,600 employees. Half of these workers operate from France, and Barcelona is positioned as the company's second-largest employer, with a hundred workers operating daily from its new office, on Pau Claris street.

To these workers, 44% of whom are women, another hundred employees who depend on the Barcelona office and frequently travel to its new facilities are added. Located on three floors within the Monday coworking space, Qonto's Barcelona headquarters has an operations base that provides services to the entire company. The neobank, which offers online accounts accompanied by invoicing and accounting tools, has moved from 22@, where it opened new offices two years ago that, with the company's growth, "became too small."

Qonto's growth is not only happening in Barcelona but runs parallel to that recorded internationally by the company. Launched in 2016 in France by Alex Prot and Steve Anavi, the company currently operates in France, Germany, and Italy, in addition to Spain. The priority for Qonto is currently to continue consolidating in these four markets, which "represent the backbone of Europe, and there is a long way to go in them," according to Marco.

The fintech, headquartered in Paris, wants to reach more SMEs and freelancers through its solutions to simplify their banking and financial management. The company, considered one of the French technology companies with the most growth potential, offers tools and services such as creating and sending invoices from its app, real-time visualization of business cash flow, the ability to create multiple accounts to better divide and control expenses, and a control panel that allows tracking expenses and budgets on a single platform.

Both to continue growing in Barcelona and at a European level, Marcos highlights the importance of being embedded in Barcelona's technological ecosystem: "The sector linked to technology has grown exponentially". The company, which achieved unicorn status in 2021 with a valuation of 5 billion euros at the time, operates from Barcelona within a technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem "with a lot of potential", which also has possible future unicorns. This ecosystem also encompasses multiple fintechs, and will now add a new player: the financial hub of the Barcelona Stock Exchange, which will open in September as an innovation center after an investment of 1.5 million euros by the company Aticco.

Marcos highlights the importance of being embedded in Barcelona's technological ecosystem

Optimism in micro and small businesses

Coinciding with this anniversary, Qonto has prepared a study on the economic and banking situation of micro and small businesses in Catalonia, presented at an event with the general director of Societat Digital of the Generalitat, Liliana Arroyo, and the executive director of Business and Entrepreneurship of Barcelona Activa, Jaume Baró. The study concludes that these companies look to the future with optimism, as six out of ten companies estimate that their income will increase next year. In addition, half of the 960 executives who participated in the study, prepared with Sigma Dos, trust in a positive evolution of the economy at the state level, while 44% believe so in Catalonia.

The report, focused on companies with up to 50 employees and annual turnover between 50,000 and one million euros, also indicates that only 23% of micro and small businesses accessed financing last year, although seven out of ten claim they would have needed it. According to this radiography of the sector, banking fees are uncertain for these companies, as six out of ten micro and small businesses do not know how much they pay in fees each year.

The study also concludes that access to aid for micro and small businesses is complicated, and only 12% of them have benefited from any of the aid mechanisms, ranging from corporate tax reduction to the digital kit and hiring incentives. "What they tell us they need is for tasks such as bureaucratic procedures to be facilitated," since 25% of general and financial directors dedicate about a week a month to this type of management, a fact that Qonto is committed to changing.