Talent 2024 Award: financial innovation from a symbolic perspective

Just a few months ago, a new project was launched at the former headquarters of the Barcelona Stock Exchange. Today, it has already been recognized with the Talent 2024 Award in the banking and finance category. We are talking about the Barcelona Finance Hub, an initiative promoted by the Generalitat de Catalunya and operationally led by Aticco, which was born with a clear mission: to turn Barcelona into a financial innovation center of reference.

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The project was born in a place with a strong symbolic charge: the upper floors of the Stock Exchange building in Passeig de Gràcia. There, where the Departament d'Economia used to operate, now houses the offices of a hub conceived not only as a coworking space, but also as a space for connection, agitation and dynamization of the Catalan financial ecosystem.

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As Quino Fernández, director of the Barcelona Finance Hub, explains, the objective is not to replicate a classic financial center, but to take advantage of Barcelona's entrepreneurial muscle to build a space that will drive innovation in fintech, insurtech, legaltech and much more.

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Far from being an exclusive space for startups, the hub is conceived as a meeting point for the entire financial services ecosystem: from traditional brokers and insurance companies to emerging technology and law firms. It is a place where finance and technology intertwine to rethink processes, improve services and foster new forms of collaboration.

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In addition to hosting companies, the hub plays an active role as a catalyst: it organizes events, promotes acceleration programs, connects key players and also seeks the support of banks and institutions to consolidate its position as a reference node.

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One of the hub's main focuses is on accelerating innovation from within the system. From the integration of artificial intelligence to the development of blockchain-based models or the promotion of open banking, the goal is to optimize processes, generate trust and improve the user experience.

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As Quino points out, the European Union is already forcing the financial sector to open up, and spaces like this can be catalysts for that transition. The key: working together. Because innovating in finance is not just about digitizing, it is about reconfiguring the mental model towards one that is more open, collaborative and user-centric.

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Receiving the Talent 2024 Award in banking and finance is not only a milestone for the hub. It is also a milestone for Aticco, which is committed to specialized coworking models, where community, purpose and collaboration are at the center. As Quino says, "it is a recognition of a different project", which in just half a year has managed to demonstrate that financial innovation can have a Barcelona accent.

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🎥 You can watch the full interview with Quino Fernandez here: Watch video on YouTube

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