For the fifth consecutive year, Barcelona is the third favorite city to found a startup in Europe. According to the Startup Heatmap report, London and Berlin occupy the first and second positions, while Amsterdam, Paris and Lisbon, fourth, fifth and sixth. In Spain, Madrid, in 11th position, Málaga, in 19th, Valencia, in 33rd, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (40) and Bilbao (44) also stand out.
According to the study, entrepreneurs value Barcelona for the quality-price ratio of products and services, the presence of qualified talent, the connections with the industrial sector and the facilities of the digital ecosystem as a whole.
"The Catalan capital has been in the same position for years, which shows that it is doing well in an unfavorable context, marked by a significant drop in investment in the last year", celebrates Miquel Martí, CEO of Tech Barcelona.
Although the Catalan capital has established itself as a benchmark in southern Europe, Martí considers it necessary to improve its strategic position in the global market. This means it must control all components of the value chain, attract decision centers on a global scale, and also allow startups of all kinds to meet their talent and funding needs within the city.
Acció, the agency for the competitiveness of the Generalitat's company, also evaluates the results positively. The CEO, Albert Castellanos, said yesterday: "Startups play a key role in attracting foreign investment, creating quality jobs and positioning itself as a country that bets on innovation and technology."
According to data from the Generalitat, Catalonia has more than 2,000 startups, which generate a total of 19,100 jobs. In 2022, these companies raised 1,653 million euros in investment, a record figure in the historical series.
The study also highlights the cities that have registered the most important growth. Among which there is Málaga, which for the first time has broken into the top 20, and also Paris and Munich. According to the authors of the report, the progress of the cities is based on enhancing three key aspects: increasing the number of new entrepreneurs, accelerating the growth of small startups and investing in advanced-stage emerging companies.
