DFactory Barcelona recognized as one of the best innovation zones in the world

• Pere Navarro, executive president of the Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB), and Blanca Sorigué, general director of the CZFB, received this prestigious award presented by Real Asset Media at the World Free Zones Congress.

• The CZFB has had a very prominent participation in this edition, where it highlighted its role as an international benchmark in the evolution of free zones towards advanced innovation ecosystems.

Barcelona, May 14, 2026.- The Consorci de la Zona Franca de Barcelona (CZFB) has played a very prominent role at the 12th World Free Zones Congress, organized by the World Free Zones Organization and held from May 12 to 14 at the Panama Convention Centre. This event brought together leading international figures who discussed the future of global trade, industry, and investment. The executive president of CZFB, Pere Navarro, and the general director, Blanca Sorigué, actively participated in this forum, where they highlighted the transformation model promoted by CZFB, based on the creation of innovation ecosystems, the advancement of Industry 4.0, and public-private collaboration as a driver of competitiveness.

The 12th edition of the World Free Zones Congress has also served to reaffirm the global leadership role of DFactory Barcelona as an Industry 4.0 ecosystem that is already an international benchmark, where multinational corporations, companies, and technology centres actively collaborate on advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, sensor technology, cybersecurity, and 3D printing, among others. Within the framework of the Congress, the international communications platform Real Asset Media recognized DFactory Barcelona with the award for one of the Best Innovation Zones in the World. Pere Navarro and Blanca Sorigué received this prestigious accolade from Courtney Fingar, CEO of Real Asset Media.

“It is a great honour to receive this recognition, as it highlights the paradigm shift in the industrial model represented by DFactory, moving from land management to activating an innovation ecosystem, where collaboration becomes a key factor for competitiveness,” said Pere Navarro.

He added that “DFactory Barcelona is the heart of the innovative district that we are promoting from CZFB, positioning Barcelona as one of the major international hubs for advanced industry, connecting Europe, the Americas, and Asia, and generating new opportunities for global investment and talent.”

Challenges and Opportunities of Free Zones

Under the theme “Free zones in the new global operating model: Challenges and opportunities,” the 12th edition of the World Free Zones Congress discussed how to promote adaptive, digital, and sustainable growth in a transforming global economy. In this context, CZFB’s general director, Blanca Sorigué, participated as a speaker in the international panel “The new global operating model: leadership in times of transformation,” where she addressed the role of free zones in redefining the global industrial model. In her speech, Sorigué emphasized that free zones must evolve to become active platforms for innovation, capable of driving new production models and generating sustainable economic impact. “At the Barcelona Free Zone, we are clear that when you bring together talent, industry, and technology in the same ecosystem, as is the case with DFactory Barcelona, you can accelerate the validation of solutions and reduce the time between an idea and its real-world application. Today more than ever, competitiveness is built through collaboration, and DFactory is a good example of this,” stated the general director.

During the discussion, Blanca Sorigué also focused on the importance of partnerships between the public and private sectors as an essential condition for building new industrial models and accelerating the implementation of innovative solutions. She also highlighted the need to place talent at the centre of transformation, combining it with technology to ensure sustainable and inclusive growth in the new global context.

Sustainability as a Competitive Advantage

For his part, the executive president of CZFB, Pere Navarro, also participated as a speaker in the panel “Sustainability as a competitive advantage – The green industrial transformation.” During his speech, Navarro highlighted the role of sustainability as a real competitiveness factor that influences investment decisions and goes far beyond a regulatory obligation, becoming an economic advantage that enhances efficiency and resilience. Pere Navarro explained that “we are in a context where competitiveness depends on creating collaborative ecosystems for industrial transformation, as demonstrated by DFactory Barcelona, where innovation, digitalization, and sustainability advance in an integrated way.” In this regard, the executive president of CZFB also emphasized the role of industrial zones as large-scale sustainable innovation laboratories, where regulatory flexibility should serve to accelerate the green transition without lowering standards, creating environments capable of attracting investment, talent, and knowledge.

An Intensive Agenda of Meetings

CZFB’s participation in the World Free Zones Congress has reaffirmed its role as a key player in the transformation of the free zones model at a global level, moving towards more open, digital, sustainable environments that are better connected with the city. Throughout the week, Pere Navarro and Blanca Sorigué held numerous meetings, including a notable one with Panama’s Minister of Commerce and Industries, Julio Moltó, and the Spanish Ambassador to Panama, Guzmán Palacios. They also met with the president of the World Free Zones Organization (WFZO), Mohammed Alzarooni; the president of the Global Alliance of Special Economic Zones (GASEZ), Nan Li Collins; representatives from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD); and the Free Zones Association of the Americas (AZFA), among others.