Investment in start-ups shoots up 73% in Catalonia, now 60% of Spanish total

• The investment seen over the first eight months of 2015, 96 million euros, is well above the 71 million euros from all of 2014.
• Barcelona and Catalonia are global leaders in start-ups.

Investment in start-ups in Catalonia was up 73% in the first eight months compared to the same period last year, for a total of 96 million euros, according to a study compiled by economic journal Expansión.

According to data from this study, which includes a ranking of the operations valued at over 100,000, the 96 million euros invested in the first eight months of 2015 well surpassed the 71 million euros invested in start-ups in all of 2014. The most noteworthy investments include (38 million), Digital Origin (15 million) and Kantox(10 million).

Catalonia, and Barcelona in particular, are global leaders in the creation of start-ups. Years of work to promote and support start-ups, projects like the Mobile Word Capital, the efforts of Barcelona Activa and initiatives to attract talent have helped make Catalonia the community with the most start-ups in Spain and the one that attracted the most investment for this type of company last year, with 60% of the total. Of the nearly 300 million euros obtained, Catalonia saw the most in investment, with 176.3 million euros or 59.2% of the total.

Many of the benchmark start-ups of the 90s began in Catalonia, with firms like  Edreams, Grupo Itnet and Atrápalo,helping make Barcelona a benchmark in entrepreneurialism for this type of company. And it is in this regard that various sources from the start-up sector believe that Barcelona and Catalonia have the advantage, precisely because of their entrepreneurial tradition.