Successful Tech Hubs:
Barcelona
Barcelona[1] is the 2nd
most populated city in Spain, with 1.6 million inhabitants. It is a very
historical and traditional city in Europe, with great arquitecture and culture.
It is one of the world’s leading tourist, economic, trade fair and cultural
centers, and it’s influence in commerce, education, entertainment, media,
fashion, science, and the arts all contribute to it’s status as one of the
world’s major global cities. Barcelona is a leading smart city in Europe and a
transport hub, with the seaport, an international airport, an extensive
motorway network and a high-speed rail line with a link to France and the rest
of Europe.
Barcelona Tech City[2] directs
it’s activity towards entrepreneurship, startups, small and middle sized companies
that develop their activity in the digital business from Barcelona,
concentrating in developing the strengths of the ecosystem: promoting business
competiveness, connect talent with the business world and connecting big events
related to entrepreneurship in the tech sector that are celebrated in Barcelona
in the local ecosystem. Barcelona has been selected as Mobile Capital of the World[3], and is
working to empower citizens and professionals with new digital skills and to
transform education for young people through the use of mobile technology. It
is pioneer in digital transformation, with the goal to accelerate the globalization
of the entrepreneurial ecosystem, fostering growth and scalability. It is
focused in strategic sectors such as tourism, commerce, transport, health and
public services.
Collaborative consumption[4] is on
the rise, Barcelona being a place where you can share a taxi with a stranger,
have dinner at a professional chef’s house or live like a local when you are
traveling. Peer to peer platforms have struck an important balance between
serving a community in need of support and a reliable source of income, and a
local tourism industry in need of innovation. The city is highly influenced by
mass tourism, big hotels and cruise liners that dominate the urban landscape.
This has given rise to a proliferation of travel start-ups, an example being
trip4real, which connects local residents directly with travelers. Low overhead
costs caused has helped Start Ups thrive despite economic adversity and the
significant lack of support networks for entrepreneurs. The surge in co-working
spaces, collaborative spirit and expat energy have contributed towards what has
become a tight-knit community not afraid to shake things up.
The city has rapidly become an
entrepreneurial hub, with more than 150 startups sprouting in the last few
years, making it one of Europe’s strongest startup ecosystems. Examples of
recent success include: ReviewPro, Wallapop, EDreams and Caixabank. Not only
Spain’s most successful start-up companies emerged from the Barcelona scene,
but also established names have begun to choose the city as a European base to
draw in developer talent. Swedish King.com (behind Candy Crush Saga, opened a
creative development center in Barcelona, while Spanish Telefonica has built a
research and development operation center there. The success in the field comes
from it’s ability to attract international talent. With a fantastic climate and
location, and easy access to a pool of highly qualified resources, Barcelona
appears as an ideal spot to launch a Start-Up and scale it in Europe.
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