“We want to position Barcelona as the great capital of the new economy”

Interview with Blanca Sorigué, general director of the Barcelona Free Zone Consortium

BNEW, Barcelona New Economy Week, organized by the Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium, begins on October 5. An initiative that aims to consolidate itself as the great multi-sector B2B hybrid event of reference of the new economy. We interviewed Blanca Sorigué, general director of the Consorci, about the news of this second edition.

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With what objective did BNEW emerge last year? Is it still valid in this second year?

 

Blanca Sorigué: “BNEW was launched in the midst of the pandemic last year. It was an internal creation of the Consortium team; we wanted to be the ones to reactivate the economy again. The Barcelona Free Trade Zone Consortium is a public institution and one of the main economic players in the city and the region. In other words, part of our DNA is precisely economic promotion in different sectors of activity, promoting opportunities and generating business.”

 

We had the vision of holding the BNEW, which is an event that adapted to covid in a very complicated situation. The hybrid format was totally essential. We designed the entire product in two and a half months. 

 

What have we done this year? Last year's event was a fantastic idea that all the companies embraced. In this second edition, our challenge was to double the numbers. Why double the numbers? Because what we want is to position Barcelona as the leading capital of the economy and the new economy, connected to the entire world across different sectors.

 

Last year we had five sectors: logistics, digital industry, economic zones, e-commerce, and real estate . And this year we've expanded to five more: mobility, sustainability, talent, science, and the city sector , which we already included last year but have strengthened this year.

 

What is the common element of BNEW? It's the new economy, how we relate to each other again after COVID, how we communicate. The communication aspect of this event is very important. Barcelona New Economy Week is neither a trade fair nor a conference; it's a disruptive event in an innovative format that projects Barcelona to the world , at a business, B2B level, where knowledge, networking, and startups are more present than ever.

 

Twenty percent of the attendees are startups; last year we had over 1.000 startups, and we have that number again this year. The important thing isn't so much the quantity, but rather the quality and, above all, the segmentation of these startups. Which startups are even growing and launching during the COVID-20 pandemic? There are many in the digital industry sector, and also in real estate, mobility, and other sectors. Many companies are currently disrupting the business model significantly. It's a formula that's working very well; in fact, we're going to present some awards—last year we gave out five, and this year we'll be giving out nine awards to startups on Thursday, October 7th.

 

“BNEW is not a fair or a congress, it is a disruptive event”

 

 

What the Consortium does is promote new opportunities; make BNEW a communication and acceleration platform. The BNEW has greatly accelerated the economy, and we believe that a public administration like the Free Zone has to continue betting to reactivate each of the sectors.

 

In terms of expertise, we've gone from 400 speakers to 800 ; among these 800 speakers, 50% are international. We have a stronger presence in some continents than others; we dominate in the Americas and Latin America, where we've had numerous long-standing partnerships, and of course, Africa as well.

 

The schedule for Barcelona New Economy Week is the same as last year, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., so that all continents, especially the American continent, are more present than ever, which is why there are more registrations.

 

Parity exists because BNEW is an event that truly believes in the 2030 Agenda, and practices it.

 

We've formed 87 partnerships to help us communicate and find the best speakers in each of our verticals. This is fundamental for us because without these partnerships, it's very difficult to organize everything.”

 

And BNEW also has a prominent networking part, right?

 

BS: “This isn’t a trade fair; there are no booths, it’s not held at a fairground, and it’s not a conference; you don’t go to an auditorium to be part of an audience. It’s a conference program in television studios where there’s no PowerPoint presentation, and the inspiration is more for television.”

 

And the networking… last year more than 11.000 professionals registered. These professionals are the key decision-makers in these companies. We've invested a lot of money in creating a technological platform , and this year we've improved it. It's a platform that combines knowledge, and at the same time, you can choose which channel you want. I want the sustainability channel, and I'll connect from wherever I am, with my device. Besides listening and watching, you can change channels and chat with the entire audience —more than 11.000 professionals. If you register now as an attendee, we'll ask you what you're looking for and what you offer. Based on these keywords and an algorithm, we'll suggest people who might be of interest to you and who might be interested in you. Then you can contact whomever you prefer.

 

We've been doing all this since September 6th, so that you could make all these connections by October 5th. It's a month-long event . I'm telling you about all the things attendees can do: video calls, etc. You can't do this at a conference; you can do it in a coffee break that lasts 20 minutes, where there are lots of people, and all you can do is say, "Hi, here's my business card." Speaking of business cards, last year we had over 23.000 connections.

 

We're not against physical events, because even during the height of the pandemic last year we always prioritized the physical aspect , hence the buildings. We did it in unique buildings, going from three to seven: we added Roca Barcelona Gallery, the old Damm factory, La Pedrera… BNEW breaks all the molds, it makes us accelerate our stepping out of our comfort zone in every area: buildings that were museums and only seen by tourists, we go inside to talk about economics, as we're going to do with La Pedrera…

 

And BNEW City is about gastronomy, design and culture, because these three characteristics really define Barcelona.”

 

For those who still want to register for the event, how should they do it?

 

BS: “I invite you to participate in Barcelona New Economy Week, from October 5th to 8th. You can register right now on our website; you can also try to book to participate in the studios, because this television format is very interesting to watch. I encourage everyone to participate and generate a lot of business and networking .”