The subdelegate of the Government in Ourense, Eladio Santos, met this morning with representatives of the Business Association of Valdeorras (AEVA) and the Open Commercial Center O Barco to inform them of the recent aid of the Government of Spain for the promotion of the economic activity of small companies, through the implementation of incentives for contracting.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, through the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), allocates 13 million euros to Galicia to encourage the hiring of small companies from specific groups, such as long-term unemployed, over 52 years of age, women, people with disabilities, young people, returning emigrants or foreigners. These grants also seek to increase the day for which recruitment is carried out, increase the duration of contracts and create adapted positions for people with disabilities.
The amount contributed by the Ministry accounts for 70% of the total aid, which is complemented by 30% from the Autonomous Community.
Kit Digital and Kit Consulting
Added to these lines of subsidies are the current Kit Digital and Kit Consulting programs, which provide small companies with financial aid aimed at their digitalization.
On the one hand, the Digital Kit is aimed at three types of companies, ranging from zero to 50 employees, in the search for the improvement of their competitiveness through digital solutions such as presence on the Internet, management of social networks and customers, electronic commerce or cybersecurity.
The maximum aid varies between 2,000 and 12,000 euros per entity, depending on the number of employees.
In the case of Kit Consulting, its objective is to provide financial support for the hiring of digital advice in areas such as artificial intelligence, data analysis, digital sales, business strategy, cybersecurity or 360 advice.
Beneficiaries can obtain an amount that amounts to 12,000 euros, in the case of companies with between 10 and 50 employees; up to 18,000 euros, those with between 50 and 100; and up to 24,000 euros, entities with between 100 and 250 workers.
These two initiatives represented for the moment a contribution of 3,067 M€ in the case of the Digital Kit and another 104 M€ of the Kit Consulting, from European funds, managed by the Ministry of Digital Transformation and Public Function.
In addition, the deputy delegate took advantage of the meeting to gather AEVA’s concerns and suggestions regarding its operation, “since it is a small business association with problems of economic sustainability, so it is important to find financing lines for the staff and resources they have to carry out the advice to the companies of the region,” he explained. It also noted the problems caused by bureaucracy in the processing of grants. “It becomes complex for small businesses, because sometimes they see a lot of time passing between the call and the moment when they actually get access to help,” Santos lamented.
This meeting was attended by the president and manager of AEVA, Araceli Fernández and Teresa García, and the president and manager of CCA El Barco, Jacobo Arias and Ángeles Vispo.