In this way, Barcelona has earned a place on the list of the biggest start-up “ecosystems” in Europe, which includes such cities as Cambridge (at 466 million euros), Amsterdam (at 313 million euros), and Dublin (at 291 million euros). Moreover, experts are talking about the growing financial attractiveness of the Catalonian capital for technology-sector professionals both from other European countries and around the world.
Nevertheless, Barcelona’s investments remain inferior to those of such enduring leaders as London, which has acquired the reputation of a long-term European champion for investments reaching 5,300 million euros (11 times higher than the statistics for Barcelona). Other “champions” include Berlin (at 1,700 million euros), Paris (at 1,300 million euros), and Tel-Aviv (at 887 million euros).
“Barcelona has always been a leader among Spanish cities in terms of the numbers and sizes of start-ups. Beginning in 2013, the start-up numbers in Barcelona have been two to three times higher than those of Madrid,” Jaime Novoa, an investor, claims. In 2017, 52% of all the funding for this sphere in Spain has been invested into Barcelona-based start-ups. The total sum of investments in Barcelona’s start-ups exceeds not only the similar indicators of the Spanish capital, but also the amounts invested in some countries as a whole, including Italy and Russia.
This year, Barcelona will have to reaffirm the viability of its companies, including LetGo, the current investment leader, and its competitor, Wallapop. Additionally, analysts maintain that in order to be able to compete with Berlin and Paris, Barcelona should develop start-ups in the fields of financial and medical technologies.