The company has already started to hire engineers in Barcelona
The Taiwan firm Toro chooses the Mobile World Capital to set up its European headquarters
The interest that Mobile World Capital Barcelona (MWCapital) is stirring up among technological companies worldwide has been highlighted with the incorporation of a new firm in the project: the Taiwan firm Toro Development Limited, specialists in developing Near Field Communication (NFC) mWallet platforms. The company, attracted by the MWCapital initiative, will set up its R&D centre for mobile applications and its European headquarters in Barcelona in January 2013 and has already started to hire engineers, who will work in the firm’s offices.
Toro’s offices in Barcelona will be situated in the future Mobile World Hub building and will be in charge of mobile applications and all of the company’s European projects, such as the deployment this year of a system of payment via mobile phone in Poland and in which Toro is working together with MasterCard and T-Mobile. In order to start up operations at the start of next year, Toro has selected 10 specialists in Barcelona.
For the VP of MWCapital’s Executive Commission, Agustín Cordón, the arrival of Toro in Barcelona “is a clear example of the project’s industrial potential. Toro is one of the global leaders in the development of solutions and applications in the field of payment via smartphone and in the transformation of mobiles into digital wallets. This incorporation is only the first step in the road to turning the city into the leading cluster of the mobile industry”.
The CEO of Toro, Laurent Renard, assessed the decision to choose Barcelona: “Despite having considered other locations, such as Amsterdam and Nice, the decision to set up our European headquarters in Barcelona was very simple since the Mobile World Capital proposal is very interesting, places the main spotlight on the mobile and includes in its industrial programme an mWallet project, our core business. At the same time, it will allow us to be in contact with other leading companies in the sector”.
The professionals joining Toro will travel on the 5th August to Taiwan, where they will undergo specific training in the platform and in NFC technology. Once they complete training, the engineers will return to Barcelona to work in the company’s offices in the MWCapital and start to develop and implement the Taiwanese company’s European projects.
Leader in mWallet
Founded in March 2007, Toro develops technological solutions NFC and focuses on systems for secure near-field transaction systems (Visa/MasterCard payment, transport, access control, loyalty cards, coupons, etc.). The company’s main product is akami suite¿, a front-end platform for NFC wallet application in any environment and mobile phone. Toro currently has offices in Taipei (Taiwan) and Paris (France).
About Mobile World Capital Barcelona
Mobile World Capital Barcelona is an initiative to turn the city into the permanent world centre of mobile technologies, where people, companies and institutions work together to exploit their potential as an element to transform daily life and create new business opportunities.
Led by the Ministry for Industry, Trade and Tourism, the Catalan Generalitat, the Barcelona City Council, Fira de Barcelona and GSMA ¿which represents the interests of over 800 operators worldwide and over 200 companies in the extensive mobile ecosystem- is based on four pillars: MWHub and MWCongress, concerned with industrial and business development, MWCentre and MWFestival that impact people and their social life.
Barcelona, 31th July 2012