August 2, 2023.- The Official State Gazette Includes the publication of the call for proposals for the granting of aid to small and medium-sized enterprises within the “Active Growth Programme”.
The “Activa Growth Program”, belonging to the “Activa” family of programs, is an initiative of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism in the development of its National Strategy of Connected Industry 4.0 that has among its objectives the impulse of the digital transformation of the Spanish industry increasing its growth potential and developing in turn the local offer of digital solutions.
For the Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Héctor Gómez, “this is a new step in the objective of this Government to bet on the promotion of SMEs in our country, strengthening the sector and its workers.” “Enabling Spanish SMEs to grow is crucial to foster innovation, improve competitiveness and strengthen the resilience of our economy in a highly competitive global environment,” said the head of Industry.
The School of Industrial Organization (EOI Foundation), attached to the General Secretariat of Industry and SMEs, will be in charge of managing the “Active Growth Program”. It is a specialized and personalized advisory program aimed at SMEs, especially small ones, to boost their business growth and will be developed through this line of aid.
The type of aid granted within the framework of this call will be considered as aid in kind, consisting of receiving specialized and personalized advice that allows a boost in the business growth of SMEs.
This advice will be carried out by specialized entities with experience in business management, which have been selected through a tender procedure. The beneficiary SMEs will select, through their application form, the specialized entity that will provide them with the service from among those that have been awarded in that procedure.
The objective of the “Growth Program” grants is to provide a thorough diagnosis and analysis of the company’s starting situation and the elaboration of a Growth Plan, which includes the definition, quantification and prioritization of personalized opportunities in the following areas: innovation, human resources, operations, digitalization, marketing and marketing and finance. It will be provided through individualized meetings with beneficiary SMEs at their headquarters, remote work of the specialized entity and the realization of thematic and demonstrative group workshops in support of advice.
The budget of the call for proposals is 15.9 million euros to help 2,600 SMEs throughout the national territory.
Companies that have the status of SMEs and operate in any sector of activity may be beneficiaries.
The grants for this call are considered to be of minor or de minimis importance. The individualised amount of aid in kind, understood as the gross grant equivalent, will be EUR 6,150 per beneficiary company.
Interested companies will be able to request their help in the EOI's electronic headquarters Starting on Tuesday, September 5. The call will remain open until the budgetary credit established in it is exhausted.
Regulatory bases: https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-2022-14113
Call for grants: https://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2023/08/02/pdfs/BOE-B-2023-23060.pdf
Other EOI programs developed under the PRTR
“Entrepreneurial Skills Program - Startup Acceleration Program” with the aim of supporting the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem, aimed at innovative startups. It aims to boost the growth and development of a total of 6,100 startups. It has a global investment of 42.8 M€. “Women’s Talent Attraction Program – The Break” with the aim of giving visibility to the Spanish entrepreneurial ecosystem in Europe, giving visibility to inspiring projects led by women, contributing to the creation of professional networks and providing solutions to the community.
Program “Promotion of the Innovative Entrepreneurial Ecosystem” (PIEEI) with the aim of consolidating the ecosystem of innovative entrepreneurship through events that stimulate and promote the entrepreneurial spirit. With a call of 4 M € to support 20 events.
Program of “Support for Digital Innovation Hubs” (PADIH) that aims to improve the competitiveness of the more than 1,200 Spanish SMEs through the provision of advisory services and support in the field of innovation for the implementation of disruptive digital technologies.
“Capacities for SME Growth Programme”, which will include four actions in the areas of digital transformation, SME growth, cybersecurity and support for open innovation.
“Activa Startups” program, whose objective is to promote open innovation through the collaboration of SMEs and startups, with grants of up to 40,000 €; to date, 10 regional calls have been published, adapted to the smart specialization strategy of each autonomous community.
These programs are aligned with the Strategic Framework in SME Policy 2030, the Digital Spain Agency 2025 and are framed in the Spanish Entrepreneurial Nation Strategy, the long-term vision promoted by the Government to turn Spain into a reference country in innovative entrepreneurship in the year 2030.