Martial Arts, Barcelona Collaborate with Korean Startups for European Expansion

Letter of Intent for Startup Testbed Collaboration Signed at COEX on the 31st

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Yeju] The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) announced on the 31st that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Barcelona to implement a startup testbed and will continue to cooperate to support the entry of domestic startups into Europe.

Barcelona ranks second among innovative cities popular with entrepreneurs in Europe. As of 2021, the number of startups based in Barcelona increased by 11% compared to the previous year, reaching approximately 1,900.

Accordingly, KITA selected Barcelona as a foothold for Korean startups to enter Europe and, since last year, has jointly conducted two testbed projects with the Barcelona city government to apply and verify innovative technologies of domestic startups at major landmarks such as Gaudi Casa Batll? and Gl?ries Shopping Mall.

On this day, Pau Solanya, Barcelona City Government’s External Public Relations Commissioner, stated, "The technology of Korean startups is generating positive effects by contributing to Barcelona’s innovation and enhancing urban competitiveness, which led us to propose signing the MOU for continued cooperation." He added, "We hope to collaborate with startups in fields recently attracting attention, such as environment, climate change response, sustainability, and gaming."

Jang Seokmin, Director of the Digital Innovation Division at KITA, said, "With the signing of this MOU, we will further strengthen our cooperative relationship with Barcelona," and added, "Next year, we plan to launch a testbed project at the Barcelona port logistics center."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.