Catalonia invested €55 million to promote 5,000 business projects last year

Barcelona (CNA).- The Catalan Government invested last year €55 million in grants to entrepreneurs. This contribution helped to create 5,000 companies in 2015. This economic aid was given under the framework of an action plan called ‘Catalunya Emprèn’ (Catalonia Start), which was launched in 2012 with the aim of bringing together all the initiatives of the different departments to guide entrepreneurs seeking financial assistance. The Catalan Minister for Business and Knowledge, Jordi Baiget, stated on Monday that the Government has decided to continue the programme into 2017 due to the success of the initiative and stressed that all the representatives of the different government departments have “reaffirmed” their commitment to maintain this unified strategy in the field of entrepreneurship.

The Catalan minister made this announcement at the opening ceremony of a seminar on entrepreneurship being held in Barcelona this week, which involves nearly one hundred technicians and advisors from different organisations and centres that collaborate under this programme to assist entrepreneurs. 

Among the initiatives that are under the “umbrella” of Catalunya Emprèn, the most relevant is the Network Emprèn, comprising 118 municipal and regional organisations linked to entrepreneurship. In 2015, these entities allocated 400 technicians to support 3,600 companies. The government investment was €4.6 million. Another initiative of the programme are the grants to the self-employed, entrepreneurs and micro businesses. This includes not only loans (232 were given last year), but also assistance in business management and personalised advice. In 2015, a total of 630 workers were given advice. 

Barcelona, ​​among the top five European cities

‘Catalunya Emprèn’ was launched in 2012 with the aim of fostering entrepreneurship and promoting business culture. The Catalan minister made a positive assessment of these years and recalled a report by Omar Mohout published in September stating that Barcelona is the fifth European city in terms of entrepreneurial projects receiving public grants worth more than €1 million. The cities in front of the Catalan capital are London, Berlin, Paris and Stockholm. 

Baiget stressed that last year Barcelona had 28 entrepreneurial projects that received more than €1 million in grants while Madrid registered only eight projects in this category. The Catalan minister also stressed the importance of these grants to consolidate the entrepreneurial culture and to allow the emergence of new companies that create wealth, competitiveness and new jobs. Among these new companies, Baiget mentioned Fractus, Privalia, 'wallapop' and other from the biomedical sector such as 'Horizon' and 'Genomics'.