Access to financing is one of the great challenges for the Catalan business fabric, especially for SMEs and startups that want to grow or promote new projects in a context marked by economic uncertainty and structural changes derived from the green and digital transition. How can the public sector, commercial banking, and private capital collaborate to facilitate access to credit and foster productive investment? What formulas is the financial sector using to balance risk and profitability?
These will be some of the topics that will be discussed at the second Eixample Talks: the challenge of business financing, which will take place on November 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Pimec headquarters (Viladomat, 174, Barcelona). The event is part of the series of meetings Eixample Talks: the meeting of the public and private worlds, promoted by Pimec and The New Barcelona Post, with the aim of fostering dialogue and collaboration between sectors to address the country's major economic challenges. Seating is limited and prior registration is required to attend.
The session will feature a round table composed of Clara Campàs, director and co-founder of Asabys, an investment fund specialized in health and life sciences; Emma Montserrat, territorial director of Bankinter in Catalonia, with extensive experience in commercial and corporate banking; and Antoni Vallès, business director of the Institut Català de Finances (ICF), who will provide the vision of the Catalan public bank and its business support instruments.
The institutional welcome will be given by Pere Cots, director of the Strategic Consulting and Financing Area of Pimec, and the session will be moderated by Elena Busquets, director of The New Barcelona Post.
The debate will emphasize the financial health of Catalan companies and the formulas they currently have to access credit. In addition, the different financing models with which ICF, Bankinter, and Asabys work will be presented, and a space for reflection will be generated to help identify common strategies to boost economic activity, especially at a time when liquidity and confidence are key factors for business competitiveness.
At a time when access to credit is limited, especially for startups, venture capital funds have consolidated as a key tool for entrepreneurs. Led by Asabys Partners co-founder, Clara Campàs, the session will address how specialized funds can complement traditional banking and help consolidate innovative projects and growing sectors, such as biotechnology. With a PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and a degree in Pharmacy from the University of Barcelona, Campàs has an extensive career that has combined research in oncology with business management —assuming executive positions at the biotechnology company Advancell and the pharmaceutical company Kern Pharma.
Currently, Campàs is part of the board of directors of several international companies in the biomedical sector, such as Ona Therapeutics, Origo Biopharma, Sidekick Health, Nuage Therapeutics, and Augustine Therapeutics.
For her part, Emma Montserrat, Bankinter's territorial director in Catalonia and deputy general sub-director of the entity, will explain how private banking continues to present itself as a great ally for companies and entrepreneurs to start and consolidate their trajectory.
With more than two decades of experience at Bankinter, Montserrat has held various management positions in the Barcelona and Madrid delegations, specializing in the Corporate Banking area, a division she led for five years to support companies in their growth plans. Since the beginning of the year, Montserrat has held the position of territorial director of Bankinter in Catalonia, taking over from Eduard Gallart.
From the public sector perspective, Antoni Vallès, business director of the Institut Català de Finances (ICF), will present the options available to the Catalan public bank to facilitate access to financing for freelancers, SMEs, large companies, and associations. With extensive experience of more than three decades in the financial sector, Vallès has held the position of director of the Business Development area of the ICF for ten years.
A graduate in Economic and Business Sciences from the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), Vallès has also held various management positions in entities such as Catalana Occident, Caixa Penedès or La Caixa.
Like the other sessions in the series, Eixample Talks will be held in transmedia format, with in-person attendance and subsequent dissemination in video-podcast format, to facilitate reach and impact beyond the physical meeting.
The Eixample Talks series is an initiative of Pimec and The New Barcelona Post, with the collaboration of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Bankinter, the Port de Barcelona, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (CON), Mustmedia and LLYC.