Catalan companies present their products worldwide at the Mobile World Congress

Barcelona (ACN).- A total of 53 companies are present at the ‘Catalonia’ stand that the Catalan Government has set up at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), for “established companies with international sales to newly-created start-ups”. Larger Catalan companies already dispose of their own stand at the MWC, the world’s largest event in the mobile phone industry, which was launched on Monday in Barcelona for the 9th consecutive year. Joan Tarradellas, the CEO of ACC1Ó - the publicly-owned agency in charge of promoting the innovation and internationalisation of Catalan companies - highlighted the heterogeneity of the companies present at the ‘Catalonia’ stand, which work on different fields: some for instance are specialized in developing applications related to the biomedical sector, while others are devoted to electronic payments, social networks, or urban mobility and ‘smart cities’. Despite such diversity, all agree to say that the MWC, organised as part of Barcelona’s Mobile World Capital project, is a great opportunity to introduce their products worldwide. In this new edition, more than 77,000 visitors are expected to discover the latest applications, products and technological advances related to the mobile phone industry.

Joan Tarradellas pointed out that this year, the number of companies which had demanded to attend the ‘Catalonia’ stand of the MWC had increased by two or three times. “There is a lot of competition to participate in the fair and this year, the Catalan stand hosts 53 companies that form a very interesting mix” explained the CEO of ACC1Ó. The Catalan Government, which is in charge of the stand, selects companies each year for their “innovative and international” profile, he said.

Many of the 53 companies present at the ‘Catalonia’ stand have already attended previous editions of the MWC. Tarradellas praised such a fact and added that other companies had disappeared from the ‘Catalonia’ stand “because they have grown” and now dispose of sufficient resources to have their own space next to international companies in the MWC halls at Fira de Barcelona’s Gran Via and Montjuïc venues.

Expanding the companies’ international presence

Tarradellas also highlighted that the organisers of the MWC expected an increase in the number of contacts and business deals closed between international and Catalan companies in the ‘networking’ zone that was set up in the Gran Via venue, where the largest part of the MWC takes place. According to the CEO of ACC1Ó, there is a “change in trend” and most companies have acknowledged that they have increased their presence in the international market.

For instance, the Product Manager of Medtep, Esther Zafra has held that the fair is doing “fantastically” because “many people are discovering the brand and have several meetings on the agenda. It is an opportunity to continue expanding our market beyond the 70 countries where we are already present”, she stated. Meanwhile, the Director of Healt&Sport Lab, Lluís Capdevila, explained that he had met with Samsung representatives who are “showing interest” in applying one of the Catalan company’s sports analysis systems to the new biometric bracelet presented by the Korean group during the MWC.

A variety of innovative sectors

Apart from being of different sizes, the Catalan companies present at the MWC are specialised in a variety of fields. Lluís Capdevila explained that his company sells products to monitor athletic performances, intended both for professionals (the basketball team of FC Barcelona are amongst their customers) and for amateurs.

Esther Zafra said that her company presented an application for professionals in the medical field as well as for patients so they could track the evolution of several diseases. “The application is easy to understand for the patient and used to gather all their medical information and make it available to professionals in the health sector”, she explained.