Banco Sabadell’s BStartup, a pioneering programme that is now a benchmark for specialist financial services offered to startups in Spain, celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2023. In the ten years since its launch, BStartup has granted 1.2 billion euros of finance and boasts 4,500 startups among its customers. It has provided early-stage investment for 89 of those startups, 67 of which are still in its portfolio.

Banco Sabadell launched BStartup in November 2013, becoming the first bank in Spain to offer specialised 360º banking services for startups and scaleups. Carlos Ventura, General Manager and head of Business Banking in Banco Sabadell, highlighted that “we have invested in the capital of 177 startups and over 4,500 startups currently bank with us, to which we have granted more than 1.2 billion euros in finance”. Mr Ventura also ratified the Bank’s commitment to startups: “We have grown our team to 50 specialists, which will allow us to continue supporting and being by the side of the big firms of the future”.

#10añosBStartup | Carlos Ventura de @BancoSabadell: “Creamos @BStartup bajo tres ejes: ser el banco especializado en las #startups, ofrecerles #equity y ayudar a consolidar el ecosistema emprendedor” https://t.co/0pg0lHqwzO pic.twitter.com/47N5Oz9aYf

— BStartup (@BStartup) November 20, 2023

Sabadell, a trailblazer in Spain when it comes to specialised banking services for startups, has relationship managers trained to serve startups in 23 branches across Spain. As for its commitment to full specialisation, at present, in the three cities with the largest concentration of startups (Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia), it has relationship managers fully specialised in serving those customers.

BStartup 10-year anniversary celebration

On 20 November, to mark the programme’s tenth anniversary, an event was held at the Joan Miró Foundation, bringing together over 200 key players from the entrepreneurial ecosystem, among them representatives of leading startups, Banco Sabadell executives, as well as business leaders and investors from the worlds of technology and innovation.

The event kicked off with a Demo Day, where attendees were given the chance to become acquainted with the exciting projects that received the last eight investments made through BStartup10 in the verticals of ICT, Healthcare and Environmental Sustainability.

What’s Next: exploring the future of the ICT, Healthcare and Sustainability sectors

#10añosBStartup | @yolandapss de @BStartup @BancoSabadell: “Para hablar de lo que viene en los próximos años queríamos contar con algunos de los presentes hoy aquí: personas con visiones privilegiadas, mucho conocimiento y protagonistas de los grandes cambios de la última década” pic.twitter.com/9Z2faN2tFB

— BStartup (@BStartup) November 20, 2023

The event was attended by leaders from the worlds of innovation and technology at the What’s Next panel organised to discuss the challenges and technologies that will define the coming decade, with Juan Carlos Riveiro (Cercle.ai, Vilynx, Gigle); Mariona Sanz (BSCC); Lourdes Álvarez de Toledo (JME Ventures); Gerard Olivé (Antai); Javier Megias (Plug and Play); Laura Urquizu (RedPoints) and Carlos Blanco (Encomenda y Nuclio). Access the full recording here

The discussion panel then addressed the topics of healthcare and sustainability, with key players from these fields, including Damià Tormo (Columbus Venture Partners), Clara Campás (Asabys Partners), Elena de Benavides (Elewitt), Lucas Carné (011h, Privalia), Marc Coloma (Heura), Oriol Fuertes (QIDA), Elena Carrera (Banco Sabadell) and Carolina Aguilar (Inbrain Neuroelectronics). Access the full recording here