Sant Cugat refers to its role as an engine of innovation and talent in the framework of the Mobile World Congress 2025

Sant Cugat City Council presented the Barcelona Innovation Valley Alliance (BIVA) this Tuesday at the Mobile World Capital Auditorium as part of the Mobile World Congress 2025. The initiative, which brings together 32 key players in the region, is positioned as a strategic project to strengthen the ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.

The event was attended by Francesc Fajula, CEO of the MWC, and Josep Maria Vallès, mayor of Sant Cugat, who highlighted the city’s role as a reference in innovation and talent. Vallès stressed the importance of collaboration between companies, universities, and institutions to boost the competitiveness of the territory.

During the visit to the site, the mayor, accompanied by the councillor for Business, Innovation, and Internationalization, Albert Salarich, held meetings with several companies and organizations linked to BIVA, such as Boehringer, Tech BCN, PRUAB, and Biocat.

During his speech, Mayor Josep Maria Vallès emphasized that Sant Cugat, with more than 3,000 companies and seven business parks, is a strategic enclave within the greater Barcelona area, consolidating itself as a technological hub of reference in Southern Europe. BIVA is based on attracting and retaining talent, economic development, and knowledge transfer to strengthen competitiveness and consolidate an innovation ecosystem. It is also committed to improving infrastructure and quality of life, positioning Sant Cugat as a global benchmark.

In this sense, the mayor stressed that “talent is a central axis of the municipal strategic plan, based on seven lines of action, such as education, attracting technological talent, guidance and education for young people, support for innovative entrepreneurship and recognition of local talent.”

After the institutional presentation, a lecture moderated by Concepció Curet, manager of Sant Cugat Empresarial, was held under the title Engine of Innovation and Talent. The session included the participation of Cristina Estavillo, Head of Print FW of HP; Juan Baselga, Partnership & Institutional Director of Tech Barcelona; and Sara Vallribera, Innovation Lead of GFT, who shared their vision on the challenges and opportunities of the innovative ecosystem in Barcelona and Sant Cugat.

Cristina Estavillo highlighted that “Our obsession is innovation, and innovation needs at least two ingredients, one is talent and the other is connections and networking. BIVA helps to multiply the talent, technology, and connections in a joint way”.

For his part, Juan Baselga highlighted “Sant Cugat is one of the first hubs of reference of the 160 that there are in Barcelona, the number of international companies with decision-making capacity and with innovation and technology teams is difficult to see in Europe. With these ingredients, Sant Cugat contributes to position Barcelona as a digital technology and talent HUB.”

Finally, Sara Vallribera emphasized “At BIVA we have many challenges ahead, but there are two that are a priority: accelerating technology transfer and having a flexible regulatory framework that allows us to reduce the time to market. To address them, we are committed to strengthening the network of technology laboratories, consolidating institutional alliances with key players such as Tech Barcelona, and continuing to attract talent and investment to drive innovation”.

Among the aspects discussed, special emphasis was placed on attracting and retaining talent, creating synergies between companies and institutions, and the importance of adequate infrastructure to foster innovation.

The day ended with a reflection on how to consolidate Sant Cugat and Barcelona as global technology hubs, making a call to continue strengthening collaborations and creating spaces of opportunity for the innovative ecosystem.

With this presentation at MWC25, Sant Cugat reaffirms its position as a city of reference in innovation, entrepreneurship, and talent, with an eye on the future and sustainable economic development.