Two out of ten Barcelona start-up founders come from abroad

Two out of ten founders of start-up companies in Barcelona come from abroad, while the figure for foreign employees of such companies increases to one out of four, 26%. 

The reason behind this is the city’s attraction to new talent from other countries, as well as the "prestigious university atmosphere in Barcelona," according to a new study by the TBS business school.

The capital hosts 1,700 new companies, the fifth-highest number of any European city, the business school study says. The city is also the third most popular place for entrepreneurs to start a business.

The future of the city will also be brighter as the Catalan capital will host more unicorn businesses – privately held startups valued at over €1 billion – such as the smart electric vehicle charging company Wallbox. 

Health startups investment reach new record

Investment in health startups in Catalonia climbed to a record high of €238 million in 2021 in spite of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, spurred on by venture capital which accounted for 79% of the total funding. 

These figures were revealed by a report presented on January 26 by health and science associations Biocat, CataloniaBio & HealthTech, as well as the Catalonia Trade & Investment group ACCIÓ.

They estimate that around 83% of the funds raised have come from international investors. 

Programme to bring emigrants home

Barcelona reactivated a programme in November aiming to welcome back home some of its talented youth who emigrated to other countries in search of professional opportunities.

The programme is known as ‘Retorn amb Oportunitats’, Catalan for ‘Return with Opportunities’, and is run by the Barcelona City Council through the businesses and development group Barcelona Activa and the council’s department of youth. It resumed after its first launch during the first quarter of 2020. 

The initiative aims to encourage qualified young people living abroad to return. Following the economic crisis of 2008, Barcelona and Catalonia saw an exodus of human talent.