Barcelona: Europe’s Smart City
Barcelona is an easy place to love. With its warm weather, Gaudi architecture and buzzing Mediterranean vibe, it is a truly unique destination for tourists, who flock to the city in their droves. However, it’s not just a holiday destination. The city has rapidly grown into one of Europe’s most vibrant tech hubs, with its own distinctive character that’s far removed from Silicon Valley or London.
We’ve taken a closer look to see what it’s all about.
22@Barcelona
While some cities take a back seat to the development of startup ecosystems, Barcelona has taken steps to actively cultivate them. They have spent $230 million of taxpayer funds transforming the old industrial area of Poblenou into 22@Barcelona — a 200 hectare ‘city within a city’ that has been dedicated as an innovation district.
The area has rapidly attracted a rich mixture of businesses of varying sizes. Between 2000 and 2011, 4,500 companies moved in to the district — 47.5% of these were startups, with 31% being technological or knowledge-based companies. 56,000 new workers also moved into the district in this time period.
Barcelona Tech City
22@Barcelona isn’t the only area of the city that has been transformed into a tech ecosystem. In 2016, Barcelona Tech City opened in Pier01. Barcelona Tech City is a private, non-profit organisation that hosts a mixture of local and international tech startups, as well as larger companies. Housed in a converted warehouse overlooking a marina, the space has attracted more than 100 companies, including accelerators and incubators, and VC firms like ANTAI.
Barcelona Tech City is also planning to open another campus that focuses exclusively on blockchain development. Pier Blockchain will be a 400m² space, hosting tenants that include Alastria — a consortium that pushes for the establishment of a semi-public blockchain/DLT infrastructure in Spain.
A Great City for Startups
The ecosystems created in 22@Bacelona and Barcelona Tech City are evocative of the city’s overall position as Spain’s primary tech and innovation hub. The city is frequently voted one of the top startup hubs in Europe, and Catalonia, of which Barcelona is the capital, employs over 13,000 people in its startup ecosystem. The city is home to a huge number of renowned trade fairs that attract international investment, including the previously mentioned Smart City Expo World Conference, as well as the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona Games World, and 4YFN.
Startups in Catalonia also have a large pool of investment opportunities to benefit from. In 2018, startups received €872m from venture capitals and angel investors, while Barcelona was the 5th leading city in Europe for startup capital investment.
Barcelona is home to a diverse pool of startups that have achieved huge success, with some taking their operations international.
Glovo: An on-demand delivery service, allowing customers to order anything that will fit onto a motorbike, such as food, pharmaceuticals, and other small goods, which are then delivered by riders called ‘Glovers.’ The app now operates in 20 countries across Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.
ID Finance: A financial company that uses data science-powered technology to provide consumer lending in emerging markets. It is the largest online lender in Russia and the CIS region, and also has a presence in countries including Brazil and Mexico.
21 Buttons: A social media fashion site that combines elements of Instagram and eBay functionality. Users can post photos of their outfits, which their followers can then purchase through a ‘buy now’ button. Revenues then get shared with the original influencer. The app has now opened in Italy and the UK, with plans for further expansion.
Smart City Innovations
Barcelona was named the smartest city in the world in 2015. Since then it has become a figurehead in the push for smart city innovation around the world. A vast array of IoT technologies have also been implemented across various infrastructural sectors. The city’s lighting network has been utilised in different ways to save money and also provide services — LED bulbs with attached sensors have been implemented to save energy. A cutting edge free WiFi network has also been rolled out across the city, using the city’s lighting poles as a routing medium.
Barcelona has been praised for the sustainability aspect of its smart city implementations. In 2014, the city adapted its irrigation system into an IoT model. Sensors in the ground record data on factors including humidity, wind speed and temperature, which allows for more efficient control of the city’s sprinkler systems and other water main functionality. The software platform controlling the system collects data from other smart meters around the city too. It is also open source, allowing other developers to utilise the data for their own projects. As a result, other cities have started using the system as well.
Barcelona is another location under consideration for the next Primalbase office. Do you think it would be a perfect home for our unique blockchain-enabled tech communities? You can nominate here.
