Barcelona, 12 July 2019. CaixaBank is to join the board of trustees of Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital). Jordi Gual, Chairman of CaixaBank, and Carlos Grau, CEO of Mobile World Capital Barcelona, today signed an agreement to be ratified at the board meeting of 18 July, whereby the financial institution will become a full trustee of the Foundation for the coming four years (until 1 July 2023).
The agreement between CaixaBank and MWCapital establishes that during the 2019-2023 period, the financial institution will provide the Foundation with a total of 2 million euros in order to maximise the impact of MWCapital’s work. Jordi Gual will be CaixaBank’s representative on the MWCapital board of trustees and will take part at the forthcoming meeting of this body, which is planned for 18 July.
According to Jordi Gual, Chairman of CaixaBank, “when institutions committed to innovation join forces, the results of projects are boosted and it is therefore essential to develop collaborative ties that help to connect all agents involved in projects”.
Gual therefore underlined the importance of the alliance with MWCapital for CaixaBank, “we believe that our institution, which has received great acclaim for some of its innovation projects, can make significant contributions to the project headed by the Foundation and to its mission to turn Barcelona into a world benchmark digital hub; joint work with MWCapital will meanwhile give CaixaBank’s innovation teams new ways of approaching key issues such as the challenges of digital transformation and the incorporation of talent”.
Carlos Grau, CEO of MWCapital, likewise stated that the incorporation of CaixaBank on our board of trustees is the result of years of work and successful collaboration between the two institutions in initiatives that are making MWCapital a benchmark project. Grau also indicated that “welcoming CaixaBank as a MWCapital trustee consolidates the Foundation’s model of work –public–private collaboration– and enables us to rise to new challenges, both nationally and internationally”.
Along the same lines and with a view to continue improving people’s lives through technology, Grau added that we are now entering a new stage at MWCapital. “We have the chance to grow, to make an impression on our society and to continue building a great legacy for new generations”.
CaixaBank and MWCapital, 2019-2023
More specifically, collaboration between CaixaBank and MWCapital will essentially involve four core areas of action: first, in the tech transfer programme known as The Collider; second, in initiatives linked to experimentation with new technologies; third, in the Barcelona Digital Talent alliance for promoting Barcelona’s digital skills and competitiveness and, lastly, in encouraging new proposals for professionals and the public at large that prompt reflection on the impact of new technologies.
MWCapital hosts MWC in Barcelona and founded 4 Years From Now (4YFN), the startup business platform, present at MWC events around the world.