A busy and exciting week in Barcelona recently – at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) and Four Years from Now (4YFN) forum – reaffirmed our view of the city as one of the most dynamic and creative hubs for Internet technology and technology entrepreneurs globally.
Attracting more than 85,000 attendees from over 200 countries this year, MWC is the largest annual mobile conference globally. It offered attendees multiple opportunities to build their networks, and attend workshops and presentations, including a keynote speech from Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. The world’s biggest mobile industry exhibition featured the latest technology, including the launch of Samsung’s Galaxy S5, and a chance to be inspired by the wealth of creativity present at the event.
At the MWC, we spent most of our time in Hall 8 – an energetic space for young companies with innovative apps for mobile devices, to showcase their products to visitors. Dutch firm, AppMachine’s latest initiative impressed us with its capacity to help businesses build their own custom apps, easily and affordably, without a prior need for programming knowledge.
4 Years From Now
For real insight into the future, we spent three days at the first 4YFN event – a parallel conference to MWC – where we joined hundreds of entrepreneurs looking to develop their startups and mobile ideas. The program of conferences, workshops, presentations and pitches provided young firms with extensive opportunities to expand their knowledge and networks, and gain inspiration and advice from successful entrepreneurs, experts and investors interested in helping them to the next level.
Our Director, David Carratt, took part in a fast-paced investor ‘speed dating’ session, meeting a dozen companies in just two hours and highlighting the cosmopolitan nature of the startup scene in Barcelona, with firms from South Korea and Israel being just some of the businesses pitching. Some interesting companies were Apptual from London, who promoted their mobile app helping users modify their behavior, such as stopping smoking or dieting. Meanwhile the app from Spain’s Sellopolis’ allows customers to collect and manage loyalty points and stores to set up their own loyalty programs with the technology.
Wayra, Telefonica’s accelerator
Another interesting presentation came from Wayra – Telefónica’s start up accelerator program – for the best startups from its 14 academies across Europe and Latin America. Israel’s CellBuddy beat 200 companies to win the Mobile Startup Competition with its ID-SIM technology, which aims to give travelers secure access to local connectivity, providing high speed at low cost, and minimizing the need for roaming when abroad.
The main stage saw Jan Koum, the founder of WhatsApp, turn up late and hungover for his presentation following a Facebook party the previous evening celebrating its purchase of his company for up to $19 billion – at least he had a good excuse!
Despite an appearance by His Royal Highness, Prince Felipe of Asturias, to promote 4YFN and MWC as national initiatives, it’s clear Barcelona and its regional Government were the key drivers in developing this year’s events.
Being from Barcelona, but living in London, I was impressed by the optimism, energy and breath of creativity and originality present in ‘my city’. The tech scene in the city remains a microcosm for what’s happening in the sector across Europe. With its huge pool of technology talent, great infrastructure, cheaper costs than Berlin or London, and an openness and regard for entrepreneurship seen in few other places, the Catalan capital continues to welcome a steady flow of entrepreneurs choosing to set-up in or relocate to the city.
Our week at MWC and 4YFN gave us an exciting glimpse of what’s to come in the technology world. It was an honor for me to see my home city making such an impact in, and contribution to the technology sector, and I’m confident that however the next four years do unfold, Barcelona will certainly have a starring role to play in them.
By Tània Vie, Founder and Director, Vie Carratt.