The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, announced during the event “Transforming SMEs with the Recovery Plan”, organized at the School of Industrial Organization (EOI), that The Spanish government will allocate 4,500 million euros to grants to SMEs and 50,000 million euros to loans and financial instruments.
Sánchez highlighted the importance of small and medium-sized businesses in the Spanish economy, likening them to the “stem cells” of the economic body and stressed that “talking about SMEs is talking about the real economy.” Furthermore, the President of the Government stressed that the internationalization process “would not be possible without the dynamism and ambition of SMEs”, to which a third of the Recovery Plan budget is allocated, which means that two euros out of five of the budget It is planned to go to small and medium-sized businesses, of which more than half a million already benefit.
In short, Pedro Sánchez conveyed the idea that “we must believe in the capabilities of our country” which, according to the president, is the “locomotive” of job creation in the European Union.
“Never in history has such a volume of economic resources been devoted to the modernization of our productive fabric and, therefore, we have a great responsibility, but also a great opportunity,” underlined the president.
Sánchez highlighted the essential role that SMEs play, comparing them to the “stem cells” of the country’s economic body. According to the president, support for this sector is not only a matter of economic reactivation, but also an investment in the sustainability and future resilience of the Spanish economy. 39.5% of Recovery Plan funds have already been allocated directly to more than half a million SMEsreflecting the importance of these companies for the development of the country.
Of these grants and loans announced by Sánchez, 1,380 million are linked to grants from Red.es; 3 billion in Loss subsidies; 630 million in guarantees from the Spanish company Refiancement (Cersa); 2.4 billion from the Social Impact Fund and the Cofides Co-Investment Fund; more than 30,000 million from the ICO and ICO green lines companies and entrepreneurs and 16,400 million from the State Society for Technological Transformation (SETT), with the Loss Chip Mechanism, the Next Tech Fund and the Audiovisual Hub line.
As part of the Recovery Plan, a total of 528,800 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have received some form of financial support through the various programs implemented so far. “We are talking about the backbone of our economy. SMEs are like stem cells of our productive fabric and they play a fundamental role in guaranteeing the vitality of the entire Spanish economic body,” underlined the President of the Government.
“Talking about SMEs is talking about the real economy,” he stressed, about “the backbone of our productive fabric”, which is being modernized thanks to the recovery plan.
Sánchez urged us to “believe in the capabilities” of Spain because “it is able” to face digital and ecological transformations, in the face of those who “cautiously mask the lack of ambition and those who speak of realism to hide the lack of confidence.” “.
Employment is recovering
Regarding the most recent data on the Spanish labor market, those of last September, Sánchez announced that there were already more than 21.2 million members of Social Security, emphasizing that 10% of these positions are occupied by women.
The President also stressed that pre-pandemic figures have been exceeded and that although jobs have increased, they are also of better quality thanks to improved conditions. However, Pedro Sánchez transmitted the idea that “we must believe in the capabilities of our country” which, as the President emphasized, is the “locomotive” andn creation of European Union jobs.
The President of Government highlighted “the extraordinary moment that Spain is experiencing”, attributing it largely to the resilience and vision of small and medium-sized entrepreneurs. During his speech, Sánchez highlighted that we are currently “doubling” our employability figures compared to other European countries such as France, and emphasized that “SMEs are at the forefront of changing our production model, marked by internationalization, digitalization and industrialization.”
In this context, he stressed that “Nearly one in three SMEs make online sales abroad, which is well above the European average.” He considered this achievement a key indicator of Spain’s economic growth, saying that “none of this would be possible without the ambition of SMEs.”
Sánchez also insisted on the importance of providing SMEs with the tools necessary for their development, which is why the government allocated them “more than a third” of the Recovery Plan, with the clear conviction that they must be the protagonists of this process. . “Protecting them during the pandemic was essential,” he said, emphasizing that this support allowed them to resist and accelerate economic recovery at a faster pace than in previous crises.
The president also stressed that “Protecting our productive sector is what allows us to be what we are today: the economic locomotive of the European Union.” He added that while the loss of life due to COVID-19 will always be mourned, the pandemic has also spurred public-private collaboration which, thanks to European funding, has facilitated a major transformation. Now, he said, the challenge is to “resist and gain competitiveness.”
Observatory against private delinquency
For his part, the Minister of Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, also spoke at the event, highlighting the transformative impact of the Recovery Plan on SMEs and the economy in general. “In our ministry, SMEs are a priority in each of our actions,” underlined Hereu, recalling the creation of initiatives such as the Observatory against private delinquency and the development of strategic projects (Perte) to promote recovery and the economic transformation of the country. .
Hereu took the opportunity to express his gratitude to SMEs for their contribution to the country, and reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to continue working closely with them to further strengthen this economy “so crucial for Spain”.
