The Diplomat
ICEX Spain Export and Investment will allocate nine million euros over the course of 2021, through the ICEX Next programme, to support Spanish SMEs wishing to initiate, consolidate or reorient their presence abroad.
This amount represents an increase of 50% in the endowment of this programme, in what represents “a clear commitment to help companies grow internationally”, as reported by the entity in a press release.
The new call, published last Thursday in the Official State Gazette (BOE), establishes that Spanish SMEs wishing to initiate, consolidate or reinitiate their presence in foreign markets may participate in the ICEX Next programme, provided that they have their own products or services and have a minimum turnover of 100,000 euros per year. This requirement will not apply to technology-based start-ups. In any case, companies will be able to access the programme regardless of the percentage that international sales represent of total turnover. The call announces four application periods for this year. The first of these begins on 1 February and will be open throughout the month.
Within the framework of this programme, each participating company will receive a grant of up to 20,000 euros, during the 24 months of the programme, to cover expenses related to its internationalisation. In addition, ICEX Next will offer 50 hours of personalised advice from experts throughout the year to help companies develop their international strategy, their digital marketing plan and their digital transformation, among other topics.
ICEX Next will pay special attention to companies affected by Brexit, as companies whose sales to the United Kingdom exceed 300,000 euros or 30% of their total exports will be able to benefit from the programme, as long as they have participated in these programmes prior to 1 January 2015.
