The technology sector, Barcelona’s main strong point to face the crisis

● The current situation will provide new opportunities, especially in sectors such as biomedical technology or research in medicine.

● Barcelona raised 112 million euros of investment last year in companies of the biomedical sector, 5% more than the previous year.

The IESE business school has published a study that gathers the opinions and analyzes of nearly 30 leading Catalan economists, who carry out their research and teaching activities at different universities around the world. The study concludes that although tourism and commerce will suffer significantly from the consequences of the current health crisis, the technology companies and research centers in the Catalan capital are the main strength of Barcelona, and they place it in a better position to face the situation from an economic point of view.

Según el estudio, Barcelona dispone de una potente red de centros de investigación y de servicios médicos, y de un notable tejido de start-ups digitales, así como de diferentes iniciativas innovadoras para configurar la ciudad como una smart city. En consecuencia, estos sectores presentan más oportunidades de crecimiento en un futuro próximo, pues no se verán afectados por medidas restrictivas, al contrario, la situación actual les proporcionará nuevas oportunidades, sobretodo en sectores como la tecnología biomédica o la investigación en medicina.

According to the study, Barcelona has a powerful network of research centers and medical services, and a remarkable network of digital start-ups, as well as different innovative initiatives to configure the city as a smart city. Consequently, these sectors present growing opportunities soon, as they will not be affected by restrictive measures. In fact, the current situation will provide them new opportunities, especially in sectors such as biomedical technology or medical research.

In this sense, and according to another report prepared by Biocat, CataloniaBio&HT and EY, Barcelona continues to strengthen itself as the main technological hub in southern Europe. The Catalan capital raised last year 112 million euros of investment in companies in the biomedical sector, 5% more than the previous year. This is the fourth consecutive years with an investment of over 100 million.

The report foresees that in 2020 a new record will be reached, higher than the 153 million raised in 2016, since the investment that have already been captured in the first six months’ worth 85 million.