Cities increasingly compete not only for investment but for people, ideas, and the environments that allow them to thrive. Few European cities have cultivated a global reputation for innovation and lifestyle quite like Barcelona. Yet sustaining that position requires more than brand appeal. It demands long-term ecosystem building, constant adaptation, and an honest understanding of what makes places attractive to talent in the first place.
We spoke with Montserrat Puig of Barcelona & Partners about the realities behind talent attraction strategies, the evolving competition between cities, and the places she believes are shaping the next chapter of innovation-led urban development.
Montse, cities around the world are competing to attract talent, entrepreneurs and investment. From your perspective, what first drew you personally to work in this space, and what continues to motivate you about helping shape Barcelona’s role in the global innovation landscape?
Barcelona has many of the elements that make it one of the best cities to achieve a true work-life balance. An innovative culture and a competitive, pro-business economy are combined with skilled talent and a dynamic business ecosystem.
What drew me personally to this work was the conviction that Barcelona’s potential as a global innovation hub was still not fully recognised. The city already had many of the right ingredients to be seen as a global tech hub: excellent universities, strong talent, a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, world-class research centres and strong international connectivity. However, there was a clear opportunity to better connect those assets and position Barcelona more strongly on the global stage.
Barcelona & Partners was created precisely with that goal in mind: to act as a selective private investment agency that attracts international companies and investors seeking to grow in Barcelona and contribute to the city’s ecosystem.
Today, we support leading companies in the new economy that want to establish and expand in the city, while helping position Barcelona as one of the best places for businesses to grow and for their employees to live and work.
What continues to motivate me is how tangible this mission is. Every time a company decides to establish a hub in Barcelona, or a talented professional chooses our city to build their career, you can see the ecosystem becoming stronger. Being part of shaping that trajectory is incredibly rewarding.
Barcelona is often cited as a city that combines economic opportunity with quality of life. From your experience, how challenging is it in practice to maintain that balance as the city grows and attracts more international attention?
Maintaining the balance between economic opportunity and quality of life is always a challenge, and Barcelona is no exception. The city’s culture, climate, talent pool and dynamic business ecosystem naturally attract international companies, investors and skilled professionals. This creates tremendous opportunities, but also pressures that need to be managed thoughtfully.
Barcelona’s attractiveness is, in many ways, self-reinforcing: the more talent and companies arrive, the stronger the ecosystem becomes, which in turn draws even more. This is the talent-attracts-talent effect in action. The numbers speak for themselves. Barcelona is home to over 130,000 digital professionals, and 33% of Digital Tech workers are foreign nationals, with a notable 12% increase coming from London. The city also hosts over 203 global tech hubs, more than 9,600 foreign companies, and over 2,400 startups, 90% of which invest in R&D. Barcelona currently ranks 1st in Europe for foreign investment attraction strategy, as well as 1st in the EU and 3rd globally in attracting AI investment projects, and it is the top EU hub in percentage of international startup founders. Managing this growth while preserving what makes the city special requires close collaboration between public institutions and the private sector, and that is precisely where Barcelona Global and Barcelona & Partners play a key role.
Barcelona & Partners is the investment attraction agency of Barcelona Global, whose mission is to make Barcelona one of the world’s best cities for talent and economic activity. Together, we work to identify both the challenges and opportunities that come with growth, bringing public and private perspectives to the same table.
Through a 360-degree approach, from project ideation and business strategy to the landing of companies and initiatives in the city, we help attract projects that strengthen Barcelona’s ecosystem while contributing to its long-term socio-economic development. Being highly connected to key stakeholders across the city allows us to facilitate collaboration and ensure that new investments integrate successfully into the local environment.
Ultimately, maintaining this balance is about ensuring that economic growth reinforces the qualities that make Barcelona attractive in the first place. If managed carefully, the city can continue to grow as an international hub for talent and innovation while preserving the quality of life that defines it.
Innovation ecosystems are often discussed in terms of infrastructure, universities and startups. In your experience, what are the less visible ingredients that actually make an innovation ecosystem work?
Infrastructure, universities and startups are the visible components of an innovation ecosystem. But what really determines whether an ecosystem works are a few less visible dynamics.
The first is specialisation. The ecosystems that succeed are those that develop real depth in a few strategic areas. When a city focuses its capabilities — whether in life sciences, digital technologies or advanced industries — it creates critical mass. That concentration attracts talent, investors and companies that want to be part of a community where expertise is already strong.
Barcelona is a good example of this. Over time the city has built real depth in areas like life sciences, innovation and frontier technologies, creating a critical mass of research centres, startups, investors and global companies. That concentration makes the ecosystem much more dynamic and attractive internationally.
The second ingredient is geographical proximity and connectivity. Innovation thrives when people, ideas and disciplines interact frequently. When researchers, founders, investors and corporations operate within the same networks and physical spaces, collaboration happens much more naturally. Proximity accelerates conversations, and those conversations often become partnerships, startups or new research projects.
Barcelona has created clusters and innovation hubs where different disciplines naturally intersect. Our city is also home to over 200 global tech hubs, a number that continues to grow as Barcelona strengthens its position as a magnet for talent and technology. This is supported by our robust clustering strategy, which brings together industry, academia, and research institutions in ways that accelerate progress.
The third is the ability to bridge academia and industry. Many regions produce excellent research, but the real challenge is turning that knowledge into economic and societal impact. Barcelona is strong in this respect: universities, hospitals, research centres and startups are well connected, supported by technology transfer offices, innovation hubs and accelerator programs. This ecosystem allows ideas to move from lab to market, connecting scientists with capital, mentors and business expertise, so that research leads to real innovation.
Our mission at Barcelona & Partners is to attract companies and impactful initiatives that strengthen these forces, contributing to Barcelona’s innovation ecosystem and its long-term socio-economic development.
Many cities are trying to replicate successful models from places like Barcelona, Amsterdam or Berlin. From your perspective, what are the most common misconceptions cities have when trying to build innovation-driven reputations?
One of the most common misconceptions is that building an innovation-driven city is just about replicating visible elements, like co-working spaces, tech events, or startup incubators without understanding the deeper ecosystem that makes them effective. Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation; it requires a combination of talent, research institutions, industry clusters, supportive policies, and a collaborative culture.
Another misconception is that attracting startups alone is enough. True innovation ecosystems rely on strong connections between academia, corporates, investors, and public institutions, creating an environment where knowledge, talent, and capital flow freely. Without these connections, initiatives often remain fragmented and fail to scale.
Barcelona, for example, isn’t just a collection of startups or tech events. Its strength comes from a robust research ecosystem, world-class universities and growing deep tech clusters, all combined with public-private collaboration. This holistic approach is what allows the city to be both attractive and globally competitive, rather than simply copying a model from elsewhere.
One of Barcelona’s key strengths lies in its clustering strategy, which focuses on specialised sectors such as deep tech and life sciences, for instance. By connecting research institutions, universities, startups, and industry, the city fosters a dense, collaborative network that bridges knowledge from academia to real-world applications while enhancing the sector’s competitiveness and innovation potential.
From your work with Barcelona & Partners, what are some of the biggest challenges cities face today when trying to attract and retain international talent?
One of the biggest challenges cities face today is standing out in a highly competitive global market. Nowadays, the war on talent is one of the biggest challenges companies face. With the boom of remote working, digital and technological talent is fluid and can decide where to live and work from. Cities need to offer an entire ecosystem that supports career growth, innovation, and quality of life.
Another key challenge is integration and retention. Attracting talent is just the first step; retaining them requires creating the right conditions for people to thrive professionally and personally. That includes access to networks, housing, education, mobility, and cultural experiences.
Cities also often struggle with aligning talent with strategic sectors. It’s not just about bringing people in; it’s about attracting individuals whose skills contribute to the city’s long-term innovation priorities. Without this alignment, both companies and talent risk frustration, and the ecosystem loses its momentum.
At Barcelona & Partners, our work focuses on attracting companies and impactful initiatives that benefit both local and international talent, reinforcing key sectors and creating the networks and environments that allow people to thrive, innovate, and remain engaged in Barcelona’s long-term growth.
Looking ahead ten years, what trends do you think will most shape how cities compete for talent, investment and innovation?
Looking ahead ten years, cities that succeed in attracting talent, investment, and innovation will be those that combine strong research ecosystems, strategic industry clusters, and collaborative networks between companies, academia, and public institutions.
Barcelona is already demonstrating this approach. With 94 research centres, including world-class institutions such as the Barcelona Supercomputing Centre (BSC), Institute of Photonic Sciences (ICFO), Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2), and the ALBA Synchrotron, the city benefits from a strong university and research ecosystem that produces deep tech talent.
Combined with a growing cluster of companies in quantum computing, semiconductors and AI, Barcelona is at the forefront of Europe’s innovation landscape. Its vibrant culture, connectivity, and quality of life further strengthen its appeal for global talent and investors.
At Barcelona & Partners, we identify the sectors where the city has a real competitive edge, monitor global investment trends, and actively attract companies, investors, and events that accelerate the ecosystem. By focusing on strategic sectors with high growth potential, Barcelona is positioning itself as a globally competitive hub for innovation, entrepreneurship, and investment in Europe and beyond.
Finally, which cities or regions around the world do you currently consider particularly interesting to watch when it comes to innovation ecosystems and talent attraction? Are there places whose approach you find especially inspiring?
When it comes to innovation ecosystems and talent attraction, there are several cities around the world that are particularly interesting to watch. Each of them stands out for different reasons, showing that there is no single model for success, while at the same time reinforcing that collaboration across ecosystems is key.
In Europe, London continues to excel thanks to its access to global capital and financial services. In the US, Boston stands out for its leadership in life sciences and strong academia-industry links. Austin has emerged as a fast-growing tech hub with a strong entrepreneurial culture. Meanwhile in Asia, Shenzhen is unmatched in its hardware and manufacturing ecosystem, as well as its speed in prototyping and scaling innovation.
What is particularly inspiring across these and other hubs is not just the number of startups, but how they build collaborative ecosystems where academia, corporates, investors, and policymakers work together. Every city brings its own strengths to the table, and it is precisely through collaboration among all of us that innovation can truly scale globally.
Barcelona may be smaller than many of these global hubs, but it is already demonstrating how a strategically focused city can compete by concentrating on deep tech and life sciences, attracting top talent, and fostering strong international partnerships.
Thank you, Montse!
To explore further, connect with Montserrat Puig on LinkedIn, or visit Barcelona Global.
