Barcelona's Weekly Tech Update

Hello and happy Monday,

This week’s main headlines:

• BCN ranked 6th best EU city to invest 💰

• Google Maps Live coming to Spain 🗺️

• €18M+ raised by BCN startups 📈

EBC is finally here–and you haven't missed out yet! 🏃⛓️

European Blockchain Convention is just a couple of days away–and luckily, you can still avoid post-event FOMO 🙅 by grabbing one of the last few tickets here.

Barcinno will be there too, so if you want to connect with us at EBC, simply reach out on LinkedIn to our team members Clemens or Natasha. See you there!

BCN FinTech MWC/4YFN networking event finalized 🙌

Over 100K entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and ecosystem leaders are coming to town for MWC/4YFN (including lots of fintech folk). 📊 And since in our last poll over half of you (55%) said you were most excited for the official & unofficial MWC side gigs (rather than the two main events themselves), we have good news: We're putting together our own–the largest (aka THE) fintech networking event in Barcelona that week!

📅 BCN FinTech Networking will take place on Mon 27 Feb at 19:30 at Barna Brew, an awesome brewpub in the trendy Sant Antoni neighborhood. To ensure you can all make as many valuable and relevant industry connections as possible, we'll apply a networking technique to the event.

Come and join us to:

• 👋 Build your professional fintech network with local experts and those visiting from abroad

• 🎓 Learn from our local fintech community about how we're helping to develop fintech in one of Europe's hottest startup hubs

• 🍺 Enjoy BCN's best beer

There's limited space and tickets are needed (which include a beer), so snap one up here ASAP to make sure you don't miss out!

Have a great week, make connections, and enjoy the buzz 💥

Startup & Investment News

Barcelona investment news

• Cyber & mobile app protection Build38 closes €13M

• Sales engagement platform Bloobirds raises €3M

• SME banking platform Snab lands €1.1M

• BCN-Madrid errand marketplace Webel lands €550K 

• EV startup Vega Chargers adds €500K to recent €2M round

Barcelona startup news

• Masterchef contestant Alberto Gras’ Deleito plans 4 new BCN restaurants & €1M turnover

• Fintech Verse draws 25K users to its Millenial & GenZ emoney app

• Freshly Cosmetics invoices €45M & will open 12 stores in 2023

• Tendios closes 2022 with over 1M public tenders registered on its platform

• Jeweler PDPAOLA opens first international store in London

• NFT marketplace Plastiks partners with Egypt’s Concrete to tackle plastic w​​aste

Spanish investment news

• Basque ICS cybersecurity firm Opscura raises €8.7M

• Madrid-based Miwi Real Drinks closes €1.5M

• Madrid STEM hiring platform STEMDO gets €700K

• Spain now has more than 750 cleantech startups and SMEs

VC, investment & crowdfunding news

• BBVA participates in UK carbon trading network Carbonplace's €42M round

• French VC firm Elaia Partners on why they’re investing in Spain

Open calls, accelerator news & incubator stories

• Línea Directa opened the 4th edition of its entrepreneurs & road safety award grant; apply until March 13

• Packing & logistics startups can apply to exhibit at the Pack&Pick forum 2023; apply until March 17

• Mercamadrid & Eatable Adventures have launched the Smart Food Future Innovation Challenge for logistics, packaging & upcycling solutions; apply now

• Fashion sustainability startup BCome nominated for EU circular economy Green Alley Award; vote here

Barcelona startup & entrepreneur profiles & interviews

• Dawa: New startup for managing e-commerce returns

• Genesis Biomed’s DIGI-HEART: Cardiac mapping tool based on Digital Twins

• Niubo: An alternative to material gifts given to new parents

• The 3 Catalan startups transforming children’s lives

Tech News

Tech news in Barcelona

• Barcelona ranked 6th most attractive EU city to invest in

• Google Maps Search with Live View is coming to Barcelona

• ISE reports record-breaking show in BCN

• Japanese firm Fujitsu opens cybersecurity health center in Barcelona

Tech & big company news in Spain

• Layoffs at Adif and Renfe after design debacle: train too big for tunnels

• Malagan startup Freepik launches AI image generator Wepik

• BBVA approves 200% mega-bonuses for hundreds of executives

• Meta COO Javier Oliván is back in Spain–as a digital nomad

• Inditex stock plummets after salary increases

• AI used by Spanish & Austrian researchers to uncover lost work by titan of Spain’s ‘Golden Age’

Politics, legal & economics

• CEO of crypto exchange Bitzlato arrested by Spanish police 

• The gov says 1 in 5 crimes in Spain are now committed online

• LinkedIn reveals the most in-demand jobs in Spain

• Spanish rehab center adds crypto trading addiction to services list

Good Reads

• How Barcelona lost its way (FT)

• Why Belarus’ leading startup hub now calls Madrid home

• The Spaceport at the Edge of the World: A tiny Scottish village bets its future on rocket launches

• Six fintech ideas VCs want you to pitch in 2023

• What does a Data Scientist do and how to become one: Jorge Díez, CoverWallet

Good Videos & Podcasts

• More than a fintech: Unnax’s Julián Díaz-Santos Hernández (ES podcast)

• Sunil Bhardwaj Ezpays) @Startup Grind Mataró (ES video +EN subs)

• Learning from business leaders: Bernat Farrero & Jaime Novoa (Life on Mars podcast, ES)

• Movie director J.A. Bayona – from Barcelona to Hollywood (Catalan News podcast, ES)

Great Events

This week:

• Wed, 15 Feb–Fri, 17 Feb: European Blockchain Convention

• Thu, 16 Feb @09:00: Workshop: How to pitch your startup with Keely Algar

• Thu, 16 Feb @09:00: Test Academy'23 Barcelona: Software & QA Experts

• Thu, 16 Feb @18:30: Web3 Funding and Growth: insights from NEAR & MetaMask

Upcoming:

Join the biggest FinTech Networking event during MWC/4YFN-week and connect with fintech leaders from Catalonia and abroad. Limited tickets, so get your's now here.

• Wed, 22 Feb @18:00: Growing through a downturn: Lessons from 35k SaaS companies with Patrick Campbell

• Thu, 23 Feb @18:30: Startup Grind Mataró with Jan Amat, CEO & Co-Founder @ Recomotor

• Mon, 27 Feb @19:30: BCN FinTech X Barcinno Networking Event

• Mon, 27 Feb–Thu, 2 Mar: Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023

• Tue, 28 Feb @19:00: Startup Grind BCN Corporate Innovation Summit 2023

• Wed, 1 Mar @15:00: Unveiling the Official 2022 FoodTech 500

• Thu 2 Mar @11:00: Startup Grind @4YFN with Lina Chong

Going to MWC/4YFN? Check our MWC events & parties guide (regularly updated) for more!

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

Startup Jobs:

• Heura Foods is hiring a Strategy Director

• Cooltra is looking for a Chief Technology Officer

• Lexidy is recruiting a Global Head of People

• Bourbon Creative is hiring:

  • Freelance Content Writer/Editors (Native Spanish, 100% remote)

  • Freelance Content Writers (English, 100% remote)

• Opticks is looking for a:

  • Sales Development Representative - Mercado Español 

  • Account Executive Adtech

• Qonto is hiring several tech and non-tech positions

• Service Club Delivery is looking for a Sales Agent (English Speaking Markets)

• eDreams is recruiting an SEO Associate Data Analyst

• Cognizant Netcentric has various open Tech roles