In the last decade, the Spanish business fabric has modernized, become more international, and is increasingly competitive precisely because it has understood the need to compete and to take advantage of the tools that can help them do so better. This is how Inmaculada Riera, the general director of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, emphasizes it as she speaks to Agenda Pública at the association’s headquarters to talk about the reality of SMEs and the support they receive.
With the conviction that these companies must be helped to grow, she advocates removing the barriers they encounter—administrative, regulatory, fiscal—and also underscores the importance of digitization as “a management tool, of competitiveness and productivity.” Therefore, among other programs, they have collaborated with Red.es in the development of Kit Digital, which “has accelerated digitization processes and, above all, raised awareness among SMEs of the need to carry them out”.
She has spent a decade at the Chamber of Spain. How has the Spanish productive fabric changed in these years?
Happy decade. It has gone by quickly. I joined, hand in hand with the president, José Luis Bonet, to a new institution, because the Cámara de España’s Law of 2014 creates the Chamber of Commerce of Spain with a model and governance very different from the previous ones. Until then, we had the Superior Council of Chambers, but the Chamber of Commerce of Spain is a different institution in its structure and functioning.
Its governance is a reflection of what public-private collaboration should be. In the plenary, there are representatives of the territorial chambers, the companies, the Public Administration—with several ministries—, the self-employed and also the Spanish chambers abroad. That is the model promoted by the 2014 law.
We work as a public-law corporation with private management. Our DNA is the defense of the general interest and, within that framework, support for the growth of companies: their internationalization, their competitiveness, their training and entrepreneurship, a fundamental area for young people, the self-employed and new activities.
I would describe what has happened in these ten years as a transformation of the productive and business fabric, which has modernized, internationalized and is increasingly competitive and, above all, has a greater awareness, especially among SMEs, of the need to compete and to take advantage of the instruments with which they can do it better. The 2008 crisis forced many companies to go international and that pushed this process of internationalization.
The homework is not completely finished, but it is being done. And it is important to emphasize that this transformation is not being carried out only by large companies, which were already highly competitive and focused on internationalization, but also by small and medium-sized ones, which had been our pending issue.
The Draghi report notes that in Europe—and this also applies to Spain—there is a lot of initiative, good ideas, and a dynamic startup ecosystem. But many of them, when it comes time to grow in size, end up moving to other markets where financing facilities and more support are easier to find. How do we help SMEs grow? What obstacles can be removed?
Although it is evident that there are companies that, due to their own specificity—service, product, market, or many other reasons—will continue to be SMEs, it is true that the great challenge of our economy lies precisely in scale. Competitiveness also depends on the size of the business.
We must be very aware of which barriers hinder the growth of businesses and we must work very firmly and committedly to remove them. They are barriers of many kinds: administrative—simplification is fundamental—, regulatory, labor and also fiscal.
Riera details the importance of accompanying Spanish companies abroad. Photo: Agenda Pública / Guillermo Navarro
What do you do specifically at the Chamber of Spain to remove these barriers?
We have four pillars. First, the Chamber of Spain acts as an intermediate body of the Administration in managing European funds aimed at SMEs, young people, entrepreneurs and the self-employed to boost their growth and competitiveness. This involves prior work of awareness, information and guidance: explaining which programs exist, which ones fit best according to each company’s profile, and guiding them through the entire process until they access the calls. The results are extraordinary.
In digitization, for instance, before Kit Digital we already had programs financed with FEDER — such as Pyme Digital — and all of them continued to fare well during the rollout of Kit Digital. They have not been eclipsed. The SMEs see these calls as useful tools to improve their competitiveness. The growth in the number of proactive SMEs is evident: there is no passivity, there is a will to move forward. The economic environment also pushes us to move in that direction.
Second, we have the three A’s: accompany, assist and advise. This work is done from the Chamber of Spain, but it is made possible thanks to the network of territorial chambers, whose value is immense. SMEs, the self-employed and businesspeople have the door open to their chambers, and we are there to help them and accompany them. In this sense, a key instrument are the Accelerate SME offices, promoted by Red.es. They are hubs of reference in the territorial chambers to advise on digitization and competitiveness. With the arrival of Kit Digital, these offices were essential to raise awareness and support thousands of SMEs and self-employed. Their results have been very good and are directly reflected in the program’s success.
“SMEs, the self-employed and entrepreneurs have the doors to their chambers open, and we are there to help them and accompany them”
In third place is our responsibility with internationalization. To accompany SMEs abroad means helping them focus on markets and providing them with tools to operate once they are overseas. We have a network of 44 chambers of commerce abroad, which work hand in hand with embassies and trade offices. It is another clear example of public-private collaboration: chambers and trade offices working together in the service of the companies, especially SMEs, which are the ones that need the most support.
Finally, there is our advisory function, which involves conveying proposals, opinions and positions to the Administration, and we bear a large responsibility in this regard.
In all of this, incidentally, the role of the large company emerges. In the Chamber of Spain, the plenary’s members are the major Spanish companies. We always stress the responsibility they have as anchor firms: their suppliers are SMEs and, in addition to demanding standards of competitiveness, innovation or sustainability, they have a responsibility in their growth and in their own competitiveness.
I once met a startup that sold calibrating machines for steel manufacturing processes and, with the help of a Spanish group, ended up expanding to half the world. It is a simple but very clear example of what it means to be a lead firm…
The lead firm not only drives the internationalization of its suppliers, but it is also very demanding of them. It asks them to meet criteria of competitiveness, innovation, sustainability and many others. Therefore, it not only acts as a lead driver in the outward expansion process, but also shapes the growth model of the SME, because it forces it to be highly competitive. This is extremely positive: SMEs have made a significant qualitative leap.
The director general of the Chamber defends a successful model of public-private collaboration. Photo: Agenda Pública / Guillermo Navarro
Why is digitization important in the push for modernization and internationalization of SMEs? What role has Kit Digital played and how has it been experienced from the Chamber of Spain?
There is no modernization without digitization. Digitization underpins all the changes our economy and our society are undergoing. We now talk a lot about artificial intelligence (AI), but its foundation is digitization: everything revolves around it, with varying intensities, but always on a solid digital base.
Digitization is a management tool, a source of competitiveness and a boost to productivity; it is strategic and enabling. It not only facilitates management but also broadens the vision and the ability to apply technologies such as AI. Without a solid digitization base, applying AI is not possible.
“There is no modernization without digitization. Digitization is at the base of all the changes our economy and society are undergoing”
Here also lies Kit Digital’s great asset. The program has accelerated digitization processes and, above all, raised awareness among SMEs of the need to carry them out. Because it is not simply “buying a computer.” It can be a computer or a website, but it can also be a CRM or other more complex solutions depending on the company’s level of digital maturity. And then Kit Consulting, a more sophisticated step, in which we have also far exceeded objectives—from 15,000 expected to 20,000 reached. There has been a real driving effect from Kit Digital and Kit Consulting, and that momentum has been very positive.
Seventy percent of beneficiaries have repeated a year later without any further aid, paying with their own resources. That shows they understood they cannot stop, that they have entered a virtuous circle. Digitization is no longer seen as a cost, but as a strategic investment. The challenge now is that when the program ends, we put in motion other programs that continue to accelerate changes, because we need instruments that drive the transformation processes of the companies.
Additionally, Kit Digital has another major virtue: it has tested public-private collaboration, and we have come out of it with flying colors. For us, steadfast defenders of this model, it is very important. The collaboration with the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration and with Red.es has been extraordinary.
In the Chamber of Spain’s commissions, large companies participate, but there is also a granular view from the territory, where SMEs come daily to seek advice or to request aid. How do you incorporate that territorial voice and those real needs of SMEs into your work?
SMEs, above all, are in the territorial chambers. In the Chamber of Spain, companies are not directly attached. By law, all companies are attached to the Chamber of Commerce of the district where their registered office is located, whether Madrid, Bilbao, Seville or any other city. The gathering of their needs and proposals is done through the territorial chambers, which relay the concerns, ideas and opinions of SMEs.
The advisory function, mentioned earlier, collects that voice and we act accordingly. An example is the work we do to reinforce dual vocational training (dual FP). Many small and medium enterprises still do not integrate it as they should. There are very basic resistances: “I cannot incorporate FP because I would have to dedicate someone from the team to be a tutor,” “we don’t have time,” “we are few,” “it’s too complicated to dedicate one or two people to this.” Since we believe FP is one of the best growth tools for the company, especially for SMEs, we work to promote it together with the Ministry of Education, Professional Training and Sports and the General Secretariat of Professional Training and with entities such as CaixaBank Dualiza.
Pinedo consults Riera on the possibilities of Kit Digital and the defense of SMEs’ interests. Photo: Agenda Pública / Guillermo Navarro
In what other areas do you need to put more effort to respond to the needs of Spanish companies?
I think we should separate two things: the Chamber’s contribution from an operational point of view—tangible resources, programs—and the contribution from a more intangible point of view—information, advisory services and accompaniment.
Tangibly, one of our big challenges is to keep excelling as the intermediary body of the Administration. We have very good recognitions from the European Commission’s monitoring committees and from the ministries in Spain for our management and execution results, thanks also to the work of the territorial chambers. We need more resources and to tailor the programs to the needs of the companies, which are shaped by the context in which they operate.
“We must understand how the new resources in Europe will be mobilized and under what model, in order to play a relevant role as managers and to contribute to further boosting competitiveness”
We also must be able to understand how the new resources will be mobilized in Europe and under what model, to play a relevant role as managers and contribute to further improving competitiveness. And, of course, be very proactive in the business dimension, also with instruments that help drive it.
In the intangible realm, we must strengthen information, communication and advisory services. Businesses need a large amount of information and support. Growth depends on having information, which is decisive in decision-making. Often the SME finds itself outside the informational circles that would allow access to instruments of financing, for example.
Sometimes they are unaware of these tools and, in other cases, they think they are intended only for large companies or for a high middle market, which is not the case. In recent years, the Administration has also changed: instruments such as ENISA, CDTI, CESCE, ICO or COFIDES have become much more agile and accessible, and they do not just target large companies but also medium and small ones. Our task is to bring these opportunities to SMEs: inform, advise and disseminate, in collaboration with the Ministry and with the Administration in general. Our capillarity should help with this diffusion.
Therefore, from a tangible standpoint, we must secure more resources and more programs and, from the intangible, maintain constant actions to inform, communicate and advise companies about the challenges of digitization, competitiveness and internationalization.
Thank you very much.
Kit Digital is a program of the Government of Spain, managed by Red.es, an entity attached to the Ministry for the Digital Transformation and the Civil Service through the Secretariat of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, and with the Spanish Chamber of Commerce as a collaborating entity. The program, funded by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU funds, within the framework of the Plan for Recovery, Transformation and Resilience, has been designed to digitalize SMEs and the self-employed across all sectors.
