Good morning, I hope this message finds you doing well and staying safe with your loved ones. It's undoubtedly one of the strangest moments in modern history and no one is quite sure what to expect next. While you'll need to stay alert to the latest updates, I strongly advise against a constant diet of checking the news. Use these days to enjoy quality time with your family, quiet self-reflection and some well-deserved rest. Good luck and stay healthy!

Coronavirus in Barcelona

On Saturday, Spain declared a state of emergency and ordered a nation-wide lockdown. Here's a practical guide for tackling the coronavirus in Spain as well as a summary of things you can and can't do at the moment. We've also dedicated a full section on relevant coronavirus news in Barcelona (keep scrolling below).

With the support and responsible actions of everyone, we will be able to slow down the spread of the virus and eventually contain it.

Due to the lockdown, physical events featured in our events section will be cancelled, postponed or moved online. If in doubt, please check the official event websites or reach out to the organizers directly for clarification.

Barcelona Female Entrepreneurship

Last week we made a call for collaboration as we're working on an article about female entrepreneurship in Barcelona. The idea is to highlight success stories, important players, helpful promoters, mentors, programs, investors - basically, anyone who can support female entrepreneurs along the way. The objective is to create a resource that can contribute to promoting female entrepreneurship in BCN and closing the gender gap in our startup ecosystem.

We're extremly pleased with the amount of feedback we got so far - thanks everyone! If you want to help, you can still do so. Simply share your feedback or recommend people and startups we should include by email here.

Speaking of female entrepreneurs, check out our interview with Startup Guide founder Sissel Hansen, as a new Startup Guide chapter opens in Barcelona.

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Barcelona startup Bioo raises €500K via equity crowdfunding

• Barcelona startup Smartbrain gets €30K from Ship2B & Open Value Foundation

Spanish investment news

• Extremadura-based startup Enjoyers secure a €100K investment

• Zaragoza startup Feltwood raise €50K from Ship2B & Open Value Foundation

• Bilbao-based startup Kuvu closes a €25K investment

• idealista's valuation increases to close to €1B according to Apax

Barcelona Startup news

• Barcelona startup Wallbox to invest €5M in Barcelona to produce 500,000 EV chargers a year & hire 150 people in 2020

• Catalan ecommerce startup Tradeinn to reach €245M in revenues this year after trebling the size of its logistics center

• Securhome, Finperk, Wallbi, HealthBanK and Win Time are 5 new startups that were developed at 3-Day Startup Barcelona

• Entrepreneurial activity continues to rise in Spain, growing from 5.2% in 2016 to 6.4% today

• Spain leads EU in terms of gender parity in entrepreneurship, with 9 female entrepreneurs per 10 male entrepreneurs

VC, investment & crowdfunding news:

• Arcano launches the first fund of impact funds in Spain; aims to raise €300M

• Alantra partners with Enagas to launch an Energy Transition Fund

• Angela Impact Economy is a new €3M firm that aims to invest & advise companies on the 2030 Agenda

• Italian firm Gellify acquires Spanish company Biba Venture Partners for €1.75M to scale and grow in Spain

• COFIDES invests €3M in the fund JME Ventures III

• Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs (CEAJE) teams up with SEGOFINANCE Group to launch financing office

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories:

• EIT Climate-KIC Accelerator opens call; apply until 25th of March

• INDESCAT opens call for Mentoring 2020; sports startups can apply until 27th of March

• PcComponentes opens call for its accelerator program; apply until 31st of March

• ISDI launches ISDI Start, a new incubator for student projects, and an investment club

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews:

• FlexiDao: using blockchain to help firms avoid greenwashing by tracking where energy comes from

• MusicList: "Music isn't just a business, it's also culture, that's why we work to protect it"

• Netrivals: competitive pricing analysis for retailers & brands

Tech News

• US tech giant NetApp opens EMEA Digital Sales center in Barcelona

• High-tech exports from Catalonia went up 18% in 2019

• Barcelona's new motosharing model at risk due to pressure from large operators

• Barcelona City Council to build 42 public flats made from recycled ship containers

Tech news in Spain:

• Ericsson to acquire Barcelona firm Genaker to strengthen Mission Critical Push-to-talk offering

• Iberdrola to install 150,000 charging points in Spain

• Spanish telco MásMóvil acquires Lycamobile for €372M

• SEAT works on new tech that will be able to detect if you fall asleep at the wheel

• Mercadona increases its investment by 46% to €2.2B as they continue with digital transformation plans

• Mango online invoices €564M in 2019, which represents 23.7% of total sales

• Amazon will open a new robotic logistics center in Seville

Banking tech news in Spain:

• Digital banks added 712K new users in Spain in 2019, taking advantage of traditional banks increasing commissions

• Banco Santander to acquire UK fintech startup Ebury for over €400M, pending regulation

• - Banco Santander already made a first payment of €45M to acquire a 6% stake in Ebury

• Banco Santander to launch PagoFX, a new fintech project aimed at tackling foreign exchange fees

Politics & Economics

• Spanish tax authorities don't know how many companies will be affected by the new "Google Tax"

Coronavirus in Barcelona & Spain

• Spain declares state of emergency

• Spain orders a nation-wide lockdown 

• - Summary of things you can & can't do during the lockdown

• Spain and USA are now the two countries where the coronavirus spreads the fastest

• Catalonia closes kindergartens, schools & universities for 14 days

• Public Transport in Barcelona is also introducing measures to limit travel of vulnerable people: Tarjeta Rosa, for people over 60 has been suspended; they are also evaluating a suspension of the T-16, the transport ticket for people below 16 years of age

• Catalan Government recommends remote work to avoid spread and contagion of the Coronavirus

• Several politicians themselves are working from home

• Spanish Government to allow SMEs & freelancers defer up to €30K in tax payment for six months to alleviate economic impact of the virus

• Spanish Government prohibits the entry of cruise ships into Spanish ports

Good Reads

• An Interview with Sissel Hansen, Founder of Startup Guide (by Barcinno)

• The 10 Spanish startups with the fastest growing teams

• Overview of the Spanish Logistic Tech sector

• Local entrepreneur and investor Carlos Blanco shares tips for entrepreneurs on how to deal with the Coronavirus situation

• "Corporations have to make an effort to adapt to the rhythm of startups”, Marta Antúnez, director of Wayra Barcelona

Good Videos & Podcasts

• Interview with Victor Correal of GuideDoc (by En.digital)

• Interview with Sebastien Marion of Kasaz (by Lunes Inspiradores)

• Interview with François Derbaix, co-founder of Indexa Capital

• Interview with Felipe Talavera, VP of Engineering of Flywire (by K Fund)

Great Events

This Week

• Mon, 16 Mar @19:00: How to start your podcast (ESP)

• Tue, 17 Mar @18:30: Free Workshop: How to Start Your Amazon FBA Business in 14 days

• Tue, 17 Mar @18:30: Visual Thinking: Learning by doing (ESP)

• Thu, 19 Mar @18:00: Together Connected

• Thu, 19 Mar @19:00: Pitch to Investors (by Itnig)

• Fri, 20 Mar @16:00: allWomen’s SheStartup III

Next Week

• Tue, 24 Mar @18:30: Startup Grind BCN hosts Antonio Giménez (Seaya Ventures)

• Tue, 24 Mar @18:30: Achieve Sustainable Growth with 3 Fundamentals

• Wed, 25 Mar @14:00: Money Makers – PITCH YOUR STARTUP TO INVESTORS! #3

• Wed, 25 Mar @18:30: Pitch Pitch Women Series BCN 2020

• Fri-Sat, 27-28 Mar: Hackathon Airport Challenges

See the full event calendar here & add your event here.

Startup Jobs In Barcelona

• Wallbox is recruiting a Content Writer

• Hector Kitchen is hiring a Senior Full-Stack Developer

• Unnax is looking for a VP Sales - B2B SaaS

• Unnax is recruiting a Digital Designer

• Agile Content is hiring a Senior Java Software Engineer

See the full job board here & add your job post here.