More than 1,000 people work in this building, including entrepreneurs, start-ups and innovation laboratories in the fields of mobility or electronic payment of large companies. This was the breeding ground which prompted a group of entrepreneurs to launch
Barcelona Tech City five years ago. Its president, Miguel Vicente (the founder of around 20 start-ups, including
Wallapop,
LetsBonus,
Glovo (JustBell) and
CornerJob), explains how the association came into being: “We had a meeting with other entrepreneurs and pioneers in tech-based companies in the city. We wanted to see how we could promote the scene that already existed in Barcelona while supporting those who were just striking out on their own”.
Indeed, according to Miquel Martí, general manager of
Barcelona Tech City, Barcelona is “very well-positioned as a world tech capital; it is among the five most important capitals in Europe and the three top cities where entrepreneurs choose to set up their business”.
In this context, this non-profit association set out to “give back to the city what it had given us and promote the development of entrepreneurs and talent in general”, in the words of Vicente, who now serves as its president.
In the mere 5 years since it was created, it has attracted more than 700 associated companies who are supported by Pier01, and “more than 400 activities are submitted to the associates per year, including presentations, lectures and networking and training events aimed at sharing knowledge, tools and contacts for the entrepreneurs who belong to the association”.
Great rapport
Shortly after it was launched, the founders of
Barcelona Tech City felt the need for a space that could materialise and gather together all the association’s talent. “We were thinking about a space like
Station F (Paris),
Factory (Berlin) or the
Cambridge Innovation Center (Boston)”, says Miquel Martí. “We were looking for a place that could symbolise the Barcelona brand. We approached the port with this proposal and there was great rapport immediately”, Martí continues.
Barcelona Tech City’s contribution with the
Pier01 hub fits the philosophy of
Port of Barcelona and its interest in “welcoming a wide range of initiatives in both the private and public spheres”, in the words of Pedro Arellano, the Deputy General Manager of Corporate Development at
Port of Barcelona. “If the logic of the port has always been to connect territories commercially,
it makes sense to welcome tech projects with identical objectives. Furthermore, they can attract other subsectors connected to the port”, Arellano adds.
Pier01 shares the Palau del Mar building with the Museum of History of Catalonia. [Image: Barcelona Tech City]
