Business fair 'BIZbarcelona' begins with 30% more accreditations than last year

Barcelona (CNA) – The BIZBarcelona festival, a fair for ‘solutions for SMEs and entrepreneurship’ officially opened its doors at the Fira de Barcelona fairground facilities in Montjuïc on Wednesday. Already, the number of accreditations has increased by 30% compared to last year, according to director of the event Aleix Planas, and there has been recorded a significant presence of young people in search of solutions to start their business or company. One of the great advantages of the BIZBarcelona event is the proximity of all the sources one needs to speak to and consult in order to start a business, according to the entrepreneurs CNA spoke to, as one is able to speak to all the people necessary in the span of a few hours rather than a few weeks. However, not only young people are attending BIZBarcelona – in fact, quite the opposite. The fairground is already host to people of all age ranges, including seniors, who are looking to find inspiration for their business and entrepreneurial ideas; “it is a very heterogeneous crowd”, stated Planas, adding that BIZBarcelona is a true picture of reality.

The beginning of the event already saw a significant presence of young people in search of solutions to start their business or company. This year is expected to be much better than last year, and so far the number of accreditations has increased by 30% compared to 2015, according to Aleix Planas, the director of the event. The entrepreneurs CNA consulted at the fair stressed the great advantage that one should be able to find at BIZ, because in one morning one can talk to all the stakeholders involved in the process of starting a business, instead of the weeks it would take outside of the fair.

The BIZBarcelona Fair is one of events organised by Fira de Barcelona, the Catalan capital’s trade fair organisation, which welcomes young visitors seeking more advice, contacts and financing to start their business or make it grow.

Indeed, visiting entrepreneur Jaume Freixa explained to CNA that by visiting the Catalan Finance Institute (ICF) stand at BIZBarcelona he was able to talk to three different organisations to find funding in only one hour. “What would have taken several days can be done here in half a morning”, stated Freixa, who wants to create a service company in the internet world.

“A very heterogeneous crowd"

However, BIZBarcelona is not only a fair for young people. The director of the fair, Aleix Planas explained that yes it is a fair with many young people, but that it also appeals to people over 50 who have lost their jobs or are studying or want to start their own business, or even seniors who have been dismissed with compensation and are looking for information on business franchises. “It is a very heterogeneous crowd”, stated Planas.

One of these seniors is Michael Figini, 61 years old, who, while queuing in a space dedicated to the assessment of the social economy, explained that he came to BIZ to seek advice on how to create a work cooperative. Figini’s goal is to launch the first workspace for people who make wine at home. “Just as there are people who make their beer at home, there can also be people who develop a quality wine at home”, said Figini.

The fair’s director emphasises that, ultimately, BIZBarcelona is a true picture of reality, one where young people can’t find a job, due to the high unemployment rate, along with people over 45 without work.

Planas stated that this profile of the young or elderly person finds conferences by experts to get motivation, different forms of financing and contacts with entrepreneurs at BIZ. In short, he says, they find a space full of relationships necessary to build a new business or make it grow.

Novelties at BIZBarcelon

What’s more, this year BIZ has also incorporated a space dedicated to the assessment of the social economy, how the formula of companies such as cooperatives and corporations that give priority to human capital over financial capital work; “this also happens to be an important tool for building a company”, stated Planas.

The BIZBarcelona Fair will be open from Wednesday until Friday, between 9:30 am and 7 pm. During this time there will be over 200 conferences, involving more than 350 speakers, 85 exhibitors and 19 activities for networking or for relationships between entrepreneurs. The event was opened on Wednesday by Barcelona’s Mayor Ada Colau, the Minister for Business and Enterprise Jordi Baiget, and the Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Dolors Bassa.