Thinking of opening a business? Considering an improvement project for your current business? We can help

Whether you are thinking of opening a business or improving one, Barcelona City Council is offering a range of resources, available to anyone, to help people with their business initiatives or plans to improve their current businesses. On this website we are offering a service that will help you to carry out your professional project in Barcelona.

You can access a range of resources that provide necessary and relevant information, according to the characteristics of your business idea. The service is structured into pathways both for people who want to open a business and for those that already have one and plan to improve it. Both pathways are accessible from the site's drop-down menu.

Opening a business

In addition to having the idea, which is fundamental, you should make a plan which explores your new product or service in greater depth, studying the market, finding out about current funding possibilities, legal processes, location and related administrative procedures. You will find information on each of these points in the “Opening a business? pathway”

There is also information on the city's commercial and traders associations. They can provide you with valuable information based on their experience and knowledge of the sector. 

Barcelona City Council has produced business-development support services and programmes, updated in 2017, through its Barcelona Activa agency. These include a Business Advice Office (OAE), business funding, advice and a programme focusing on improving professional and digital skills for local commerce and services. This is the “Open to the Future” programme, which is in its fifth year. It is divided into three training sections:

• Business strategy and management
• Digital marketing and its tools
• Customer-loyalty strategies

Furthermore, the business creation programme “Shops with ideas” has several information modules to help you produce your business plan, with individual tutorials and help in looking for funding. You can access subject areas such as Business Management, Marketing, at the point of sale, window dressing, etc. 

People with their own business 

The "Open to the Future" programme is open to all entrepreneurs who are interested in improving the management of an operational business and those who are just starting out. Follow this pathway at “Do you have a business?”. You can also apply for a subsidy that the City Council offers (for individuals and organisations) for the following activities:

• Initiatives for revitalising, communicating and promoting commerce
• Training initiatives aimed at retailers and/or employees.
• Strengthening commercial-association structures
• Projects for improving sustainability in commerce.

Over 4,000 Barcelona businesses have benefited from another initiative: the “Internet Commerce Project”, which aims to ensure the online presence of local commercial establishments and services. This is a way for customers to find your business and for you to increase your sales opportunities with a presence on Google My Business, or improve the current status of your business on the service.

Meanwhile, the Plan to boost the competitiveness of shopping hubs located near shopping centres contains information from the study carried out on population groups and their consumer habits. This is a snapshot of Barcelona commerce that you can access from the “Do you have a business?” pathway.

Lastly, we suggest collaboration with the city through the "Commerce and schools" educational programme. Establishments all over the city are already taking part in this experience, which takes Barcelona schoolchildren to commercial establishments in a series of programmed visits.