The consolidation of Barcelona's digital ecosystem is not only explained by the thousand startups established in the city. The presence of technology centers of foreign multinationals also reaffirms the city's prestige as the largest innovation hub in southern Europe.
Yesterday, it was learned for the first time that there are a total of 96 foreign companies that have chosen to install a digital center in Catalonia, 99% in the metropolitan area of Barcelona, a city that concentrates 78% of the total. Among the prominent hubs are those of Microsoft, Google, Intel, Pepsico or Sanofi. The data comes from a study prepared by the Mobile World Capital Foundation in collaboration with Barcelona City Council and the Generalitat.
According to the Tech hubs overview report, the arrival of these centers has skyrocketed over the last five years, even during the pandemic. “Technology is taking more and more prominence in the economy and companies are hunting for talent all over the world. Barcelona has managed to position itself thanks to its entrepreneurial and university ecosystem", remarked yesterday Francesc Fajula, director of the MWC foundation and Jordi Arrufí, of the Barcelona Digital Talent association, accompanied by Albert Castellanos, CEO of Acció and Laia Bonet, third lieutenant of Mayor's office.
Indeed, the reasons that lead these companies to settle in the city are, in this order, access to talent, the digital and business ecosystem, costs and taxation. "Barcelona competes at the same level as Madrid and Lisbon and a little behind Paris and London", announced yesterday the authors of the report, which also detailed that the companies disburse an average of 6.3 million euros to open their hub in the city. By country, the majority come from the United States, Germany and France and by sector, from video games, infrastructure and health.
Once installed in Barcelona, these centers generate a turnover of 1,405 million euros per year, according to data from 2022. Meanwhile, employment reaches a total of 15,354 people. However, not all reside in Catalonia. The rise of teleworking during the pandemic has caused around 30% of employees to work outside of this community. Another result that confirms the internationalization of the teams is that four out of ten employees are foreigners, mainly from Europe (60%), South America (29%) and Asia (6%).
By gender, 30% are women, a percentage slightly above the average for the technology sector, as is the average salary of this community of workers, which stands at 56,000 euros per year, compared to 41,000 euros in the digital sector.
The study forecasts are optimistic. In 2025, the authors of the report expect these companies to exceed 2,000 million euros in turnover and 20,000 workers.
