ACCIÓ has developed an Alternative Funding Recommender that facilitates the search and helps to find the best funding formula for each case. In addition, they also have a specialised service for startups from which to discover all the possibilities for scaling a new company.

The beginning of any business venture is a challenge in every aspect. Ensuring the viability of the project through a business plan is one of the first objectives. But even the best ideas can fail without adequate financing.

Funding is one of the most complicated and at the same time one of the most decisive steps to move forward with a project. There are a multitude of options for finding funds, but it is vital to find one that adapts to our needs and those of the sector.

• Adigital, Asociación Española de Startups, Startup Valencia, ASCRI, Tech Barcelona, Spain Startup, Foment del Treball and AseBio see the need to take advantage of this regulatory milestone to make entrepreneurs and startups the main vectors of economic and social development in Spain
• They welcome this first step by the government, but ask it to be more ambitious in aspects such as the definition of start-ups, taxation in favour of start-ups and investment in them, measures to attract and retain talent, and the implementation of regulatory sandboxes

On the occasion of the draft bill to promote the startup ecosystem, Adigital, the Spanish Startup Association, Startup Valencia, Ascri (Spanish Association of Capital, Growth and Investment), Tech Barcelona, Spain Startup, Foment del Treball and AseBio (Spanish Association of Biocompanies) have presented a joint proposal to improve this new regulatory framework, which aims to support the creation and growth of startups, especially in the digital economy, and make Spain a magnet for startups.

The main players in the digital economy and innovative entrepreneurship in our country have welcomed this draft bill positively, although they stress the need to approach this regulatory milestone with ambition in order to make entrepreneurs and start-ups one of the main vectors of economic and social development in our country. Their joint response seeks to provide a better context and to qualify some of the Government’s proposals to improve the draft law that is in the initial stages of its processing. It is a set of measures around five axes: definition and accreditation of start-ups, tax incentives for the ecosystem, tax incentives for investment, attraction and retention of talent, and controlled testing environments.

Start-up definition and accreditation

Among the proposals of these entities to the future law, everything that has to do with the precision of the definition of ’emerging companies’ or ‘startups’ stands out.  Whether or not the measures and incentives described in the articles of the law will be applied depends on this, they say.

They consider, for example, that the period after which a company can be defined as a start-up should be extended and stress that it is essential that this law be applied to serial entrepreneurs, who represent 63% of entrepreneurs in Spain, by eliminating article 3.2 of the future law.

Tax incentives for the startup ecosystem

The signatories also call for greater ambition to support the growth of these emerging companies. Specifically, they explain that start-ups need tax incentives focused on deductions for R&D and technological innovation, incentives for hiring national and international talent, reductions or incentives in the company’s social security contributions during the first years, a review of the period of application of negative tax bases, and the application of the tax deduction in personal income tax provided for in the draft also in corporate income tax. Therefore, they call for the strengthening of mechanisms to attract investment and warn of the absence of measures to promote and encourage investment in start-ups by business angels and private equity (venture capital and private equity), key vehicles in the creation and development of innovative businesses. It is necessary, they argue, that our country should provide an appropriate tax regime for these actors, at the level of our neighbouring countries.

Attracting and retaining talent

Key players in the digital and innovation ecosystem also refer to measures that can contribute to attracting and retaining talent.

On the one hand, they propose streamlining the procedures for attracting foreign talent with actions such as the creation of a ‘Startup Visa’ programme, an attractive impatriate regime or a “digital window”. On the other hand, they insist on improving the incentive remuneration scheme with stock options that the future regulation contemplates.  In this regard, they point out that the tax treatment of stock options may discourage their use, so they propose revising the time of accrual of the tax and transferring it to a liquidity event. Given that almost all the countries around us have adopted tax measures aimed at encouraging employee equity participation in their small and medium-sized companies, they explain, not doing so in Spain would also have an impact on the competitiveness of our entrepreneurial fabric.

On controlled test environments and other measures

Finally, the joint document also welcomes the fact that the draft bill’s Title IV supports the implementation of controlled test environments or regulatory sandboxes as an ideal instrument for experimenting with new business models, generating real and timely information that will facilitate the legislator’s work in the future. In relation to test environments, they request greater specificity in the text in order to establish their regulation as soon as possible and a specific timeframe for their implementation, as well as harmonisation at national level.

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About Adigital

The Spanish Digital Economy Association (Adigital) is the business organisation that promotes the digitalisation of the Spanish economy. Its mission is to contribute to economic and social development by facilitating the digital transformation of the national business fabric.

Formed by a network of more than 500 companies from key sectors, Adigital promotes the development of the Digital Economy through the representation and defence of the interests of its members (Policy), the dissemination, research and creation of synergies (Labs) and the generation of trust in the digital environment (Trust).

In short, Adigital is committed to digitalisation for economic growth and job creation, as well as for the construction of more cohesive and sustainable societies.

Foment del Treball Nacional has led with the U.S. Consulate General in Barcelona the free training program for women entrepreneurs promoted by the U.S. government “Academy for Women Entrepreneurs” (AWE). The Catalan edition of the program, which began last May, has been supported by EPSON, DWF-RCD and Wayra – the entrepreneurship initiative that is part of Telefónica’s Open Innovation program, as well as Tech Barcelona.

At the closing of the course, Miquel Martí, CEO of Tech Barcelona, has made a tour of the history of the institution, from the origins of the association in 2013 and the points that determine a technology hub, such as local entrepreneurial culture, talent competition or the generation of success stories. “Barcelona did not appear in any ranking then, and now it has been in the top of preferred European cities for entrepreneurship for four consecutive years.” For Martí, the challenge to continue boosting the city’s ecosystem lies in “connecting all sectors, from the common element of technology. Tech Barcelona’s mission is to continue supporting entrepreneurs, to encourage corporations to trust startups as a lever to transform themselves, and to connect even more with the generation of projects from the great science we have,” explained Martí.

Likewise, Mar Galtés, director of corporate development at Tech Barcelona, has been part of the team of mentors who have accompanied the 30 selected entrepreneurs. The program, led by Foment’s Innovation Director María Mora, also included the participation of professional experts such as Mar Alarcón (SocialCar), Laia Corbella (Podios), Montse Riquer (ACCIÓ), Laura Urquizu (RedPoints), Mar Consul (Sngular) and Judith Saladrigas (DWF-RCD).

Among all the entrepreneurs in the program, the projects of Judit Giró (CEO of The Blue Box), Esther Cid (CEO of Tipscool), Julia G. Escribà (CEO of Julia G. Escribà), Judit Camargo (CEO of Roka Furadada), Diana Ballart (CEO of The Smart Lollipop), and Marta Guardiola (CEO of Miwendo Solutions) were recognized.

• The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona and Tech Barcelona have signed a collaboration agreement this morning, by which the association joins as a partner in the second edition of BNEW.
• Tech Barcelona, which aims to consolidate the city as an international technology hub, will play a prominent role within the vertical Digital Industry.

The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) and Tech Barcelona have signed a collaboration agreement for the next edition of the Barcelona New Economy Week (BNEW), which will take place from October 5 to 8. Through this agreement, Tech Barcelona will contribute its know-how in promoting Barcelona as an international technology hub, as well as in promoting innovation among the different agents that make up the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The association will play a prominent role in BNEW Digital Industry, a vertical that was already present in the first edition of the event.

Present at the signing ceremony, which took place at the CZFB offices, were Miguel Vicente, president of Tech Barcelona, and Pere Navarro, special delegate of the State in the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona and president of BNEW.

Pere Navarro pointed out that “BNEW grows with the contributions and experience of associations such as Tech Barcelona, ​​with which the CZFB shares objectives such as that of projecting Barcelona and its metropolitan area internationally, and that it will add value to us in the technological and entrepreneur”. Likewise, it also highlights that “the CZFB is aware that the industry is experiencing an era of technological disruptions that give rise to new challenges and opportunities for our companies and industries, and through the Digital Industry vertical we are going to provide answers to these new trends”.

For his part, Miguel Vicente highlighted that “from Tech Barcelona we work to enhance the ecosystem of digital and technological innovation that is generated from the most innovative startups and companies and that has already established itself as an engine of transformation and growth of the economy. Now it is essential to connect the new technology companies with the traditional industry, and BNEW will once again be a good opportunity to share knowledge and experiences”.

BNEW Digital Industry

With a totally innovative, 100% professional and hybrid B2B format, BNEW created a technological precedent in its first edition in which more than 160 hours of online content were generated, spread over the five activity sectors present at BNEW: Logistics, and -Commerce, Digital Industry, Economic Zones and Real Estate. This year the sectors will double, adding new areas of a more transversal nature: Mobility, Sustainable, Talent, Science and City.

BNEW Digital Industry is one of the prominent verticals and it already featured prominently in the first celebration of the event. For the second edition, this sector will deal with topics on manufacturing technologies, hybrid and multi-cloud environments in the industrial sector, advanced computing architectures, 5G and sustainable solutions in 3D. Hyperautomation in production, society 5.0, the universe of qubits and quantum computing will be other topics that will be discussed.

• Tech Barcelona, in collaboration with the Institut d’Arquitectura Avançada de Catalunya (IAAC) and the Col·legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC), is holding the second debate of the cycle to promote the Urbantech Hub.

Barcelona Urbantech Hub, the platform to bring together institutions, companies and professionals that promote sustainable urban transformation through technology, claims the role of large corporations to lead the innovation that must define the new model of sustainable city.

The Barcelona Urbantech Hub is a project led by the Institut d’Arquitectura Avançada de Catalunya (IAAC), Tech Barcelona and the Col-legi d’Arquitectes de Catalunya (COAC). The second session of the cycle of debates to promote the Hub highlighted the need for large companies to promote projects that connect new technologies with urban planning, architecture, mobility and energy.

The conference, held on Wednesday at the COAC, was attended by Carlota Pi, co-founder of Holaluz; Lucas Casanova, managing director of Seat Mo; Catalina Balseiro, director of innovation at Aigües de Barcelona; Anna Gener, CEO of Barcelona Grupo Savills Aguirre Newman, Pilar Conesa, CEO of Anteverti and Joan Pons, director of innovation at Sorigué.

Miquel Martí, CEO of Tech Barcelona, stressed during the inauguration of the event that “the Urbantech Hub integrates actors that until now have been working separately and others that until recently were barely counted on, such as startups. It is a model of transversal collaboration that we must continue to promote”. The dean of the COAC, Assumpció Puig, stressed “the need to connect the innovation that takes place within large companies, which is the driving force behind social progress, with the talent and potential that is being developed at universities. For his part, Vicente Guallart, founder of the IAAC, insisted on the need for an “optimistic vision in the face of the challenge of building the model of innovative and sustainable city that will define the future in the next 50 years”.

Carlota Pi, co-founder of Holaluz, presented the opportunities for transforming the energy consumption model and the potential of cities. “At Holaluz we have started the rooftop revolution, which should not be confused with self-consumption. It is about converting roofs into a renewable energy plant, without involving a large investment”, said Pi.

Regarding the impact of mobility on the transformation of cities, Lucas Casanovas, managing director of Seat Mo, defended an urban planning model that allows for “reduced mobility, smaller vehicles, less polluting, that make less noise and allow pedestrians to gain more space”. Pilar Conesa, CEO of Anteverti, added that the pillars that will mark the urban transformation in Barcelona are the relationship with public space, construction, materials and mobility.

For her part, Anna Gener, CEO of Barcelona Grupo Savila Aguirre Newman, valued the level of demand currently being set by public administrations and institutions in terms of sustainability, which has already become a priority from the point of view of investors. “In three years there has been a change in awareness of climate change and it is a trend that is here to stay. If we can have better, more profitable buildings, we will also have better cities”.

The debate also addressed the challenges of public-private partnerships in the process of urban transformation. In the words of Catalina Balseiro, Director of Innovation at Aigües de Barcelona, “water is a vital asset for economic and social development and the future of the city. We work along two lines: efficiency and increasing the availability of alternative resources such as reuse”.

For his part, Joan Pons, director of Innovation at Sorigué, assured that it is necessary to apply technology and artificial intelligence with the aim of making “preventive” decisions in terms of “sustainable, industrialised construction and safety”.