New Barcelona Growth Centre to boost company and job creation

Barcelona (ACN).- The MediaTic’building in the 22@ Innovation District of the Catalan capital will now be known as the ‘Barcelona Growth Centre’, also becoming a meeting place for entrepreneurs and businesses. Such an announcement was made by Mayor Xavier Trias to the fifty attendees of the Barcelona Growth Board meeting, which took place at the City Council on Thursday. Currently, the 8-floor building hosts initiatives such as the Mobile World Capital Foundation, the Agency for Barcelona Brand, the Open University of Catalonia and the Barcelona Mobile Startup, among others. To convert the building into a platform for businesses, the City Council and the Chamber of Commerce will set up an office of assistance to entrepreneurs on the ground floor, which will act as a “facilitator” to create new companies.

Mayor Xavier Trias closed the meeting of the ‘Barcelona Growth Board’ by thanking all the attendees, amongst whom were the President of the Port of Barcelona, Sixte Cambra, the President of Fira de Barcelona, Josep Lluís Bonet, the President of Abertis, Salvador Alemany, or the Director of the Consumption Agency of Catalonia, Alfons Conesa. Trias explained that approving the Barcelona Growth Centre was the first step in the creation of new companies and the reduction of unemployment rates that have been dragging down the city and Catalonia since the beginning of the crisis. The new building has already welcomed 5 of the 30 initiatives of the ‘Barcelona Growth Board’, designed with similar priorities in mind.

Focusing on strengthening the new technologies sector, notably the mobile phone

The Mayor of Barcelona highlighted the variety of businesses based in the city, which contribute to increasing its value at international level. He also stressed the successful commitment of the Catalan capital to new technologies and especially to the mobile phone industry. Trias explained that Barcelona was already recognised internationally as a leader in this sector. Indeed, the city will continue being Mobile World Capital until at least 2018 and hosts the Mobile World Congress each year, attracting an increasing number of visitors with every new edition. Nevertheless, according to Trias, Barcelona must continue strengthening its position as an international leader in all digital technologies.

Welcoming start-ups and acting as a business incubator

In the coming months the ground floor of the building will be remodelled to set up an office for assistance to entrepreneurs. This office will be run by Barcelona Activa municipal business agency with the cooperation of Barcelona’s Chamber of Commerce. It will act as a platform to provide services and advice to people who wish to open their own businesses. The aim is to make Barcelona an “easy place to do business” and “a facilitator to create companies”, according the people who attended the ‘Barcelona Growth Board meeting.

The second and fourth floors of the building will be dedicated to the creation of new companies, hosting start-ups and business incubators. On the second floor, the ‘Mobile Startup Barcelona’ will welcome a minimum of seventeen international innovative start-ups in the field of mobile technology. Such companies will have the opportunity of receiving a €50,000 grant to launch their projects. The Corporate Startup Barcelona will be located on the fourth floor, acting as a business incubator for projects created in Barcelona, mostly in the industrial sector, or in social services.