The 'fintech' gain volume in Catalonia and exceed 220 million in turnover

Catalan startups linked to the financial sector are strengthening. The fintech ecosystem globally invoiced 221 million euros in 2024, a 60% increase compared to the previous year, when they collectively totaled 137 million. This increase occurred despite a decrease in the number of fintech operating in Catalonia, which went from 100 in 2023 to 78 last year, a decrease that was not reflected in either invoicing or captured investment.

In fact, while the 78 fintech represent 3% of the total startups in the Catalan entrepreneurial ecosystem, they account for 9% of the total invoicing. "They are fewer, but they invoice more," emphasizes Acció's Senior Startup Manager, Oriol Sans. And the figure expands in the case of captured investment: startups linked to finance raised 246 million in 2024, 20% of the total, in a year marked by the megaround closed by Sequra. In 2023, fintech attracted 68 million in investment, 10% of the total captured by the Catalan entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Thus, fintech operating from Catalonia, whether born in the city or international firms that choose to locate mainly in Barcelona and its surroundings, have gained weight even as their number has decreased. This decrease from a hundred startups to the current 78 is due to multiple reasons, including closures but also acquisitions and cases where they have exceeded 10 years of trajectory and are no longer listed as startups. In fact, the Catalan ecosystem has 31 scaleups in the fintech sector, 7% of the total of startups that have scaled and are growing rapidly.

Furthermore, the number of fintech can be enlarged depending on where the boundary is placed with other areas, such as proptech and insurtech, since technology companies linked to the real estate and insurance sectors are closely related to those in finance, as Sans highlights from the Generalitat's agency for business competitiveness.

This strengthening of fintech in Catalonia occurs in parallel with the "clear commitment made by the Generalitat to the sector," with the creation of the Barcelona Finance Hub, located in the Stock Exchange building to accommodate and energize the financial innovation ecosystem. The hub, managed by the coworking company Aticco, will help boost the sector, and will allow startups to "grow better than they would on their own," Sans argues.

In this sense, the Finance Hub stands as "a dynamic meeting point where synergies are constantly generated," according to Aticco co-founder Gabriel Espín. "We want the entire entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem of the financial sector to pass through the Barcelona Finance Hub," highlights Espín, whether in events, meetings, networking gatherings, talks, and business speed datings. The hub, directed by Quino Fernández, opened its doors in July, and now boasts "a high occupancy rate."

"Last year was a good year for Catalan fintech, both due to the opening of the Barcelona Finance Hub and Sequra's funding round," Sans emphasizes. The round raised a total of 410 million euros, 205 of which came from investors, while the rest was from convertible loans: "A megadeal like this is a sign of the ecosystem's maturation."

"And a startup that raises such an amount of investment does not emerge from a desert, but rather from an ecosystem where there is necessarily talent," Sans adds. "It means that the world can be reached from Catalonia, and that it makes sense for investors to bet on Catalan startups."

Fintech Diversity

"A company that grows with a mega-round becomes a school for future entrepreneurs and founders," which contributes to energizing the ecosystem as a whole. In it, startups focused on various areas stand out, such as the neobank Qonto; the open banking solution Unnax, and Belvo, which "can become a unicorn" with its platform for securely sharing financial data, focused on Latin America.

The field of financial innovation is very broad, encompassing everything from neobanks to tools for managing payments, crowdfunding platforms, and proposals to facilitate investments, such as Equito. The startup, founded in 2021, allows investing in fractional real estate properties through its app and tokenization and expects to close 2025 with a turnover of at least three million euros. "With the growth we are registering since the beginning of the year, we could reach five million," according to its founder Robin Decaux. In fact, the company incorporated 10 employees during 2024, and has already added ten more so far this year, bringing the total staff to 25.

The company is preparing its internationalization starting with Portugal, from a Barcelona positioned as "one of the most attractive places in the world to develop startups", due to its ecosystem and the talent it is capable of attracting, according to Decaux. Iqana, a solution that facilitates cryptocurrency management for family offices, investors, and high-net-worth individuals, relies on this same ecosystem. The startup, now with six employees, aims to multiply its 2024 turnover tenfold, as highlighted by its founder, Quim Allard, without detailing last year's figures.

And from large fortunes, to small and medium-sized companies. Monei is a payment gateway focused on SMEs and businesses, as explained by its founder Alex Saiz. With a turnover of around three million in 2024 and 20 employees, the fintech plans to open up to all of Europe soon: "Barcelona is a benchmark and indirectly generates additional reputation for us."

This positioning of Barcelona is also key when it comes to attracting international fintechs to the Catalan ecosystem, where companies such as Dojo, Stenn and Neverless have landed in recent months. "Barcelona is very well positioned globally and in Europe as an ecosystem and as a digital hub," reiterates Sans, who emphasizes that this positioning stems from a long-standing financial tradition in Barcelona. "Barcelona was key in the Mediterranean trade revolution, even with medieval institutions, and all of this required financing," he summarizes, concluding: "We have the tradition, we have the universities, we have the talent and we have the startup ecosystem."