The Diplomat
ICEX Spain Export and Investment will support the international presence of up to 450 Spanish companies in 2021 through ICEX Next, the program to help SMEs internationalize.
As reported by the institute, the second term of ICEX Next 2021 has already opened “so that all those companies that wish to start exporting or consolidate their international presence can apply for the support offered by this program”. In its previous call for 2019-2020, the program benefited, “despite the pandemic”, a total of 389 companies that successfully passed the selection process.
The 2021 call, which will be held throughout the month of May, gives continuity to the program and “reinforces it in times of special uncertainty with a budget of nine million euros” -an increase of 50% over the previous edition- and with an increase in the maximum quota of beneficiaries, which now stands at 450 companies for the whole year.
The companies that participate in this call will enjoy greater advantages than in previous editions, since they will have more economic support: the maximum aid increases by 33% and reaches up to 20,000 euros per company. In addition, they will have new eligible expenditure items, greater co-financing from ICEX (which increases from 50% to 60%) and a longer period to carry out the expenses arising from their international strategy: 24 months instead of 18.
The chosen companies will be able to work on their internationalization strategy with the help of more than 200 consultants who will accompany them in improving their competitiveness abroad with their advice on the development of a business plan, the digital transformation of commercial areas or their better positioning for international contracting. The consultancy will be complemented with significant financial support for all those expenses that facilitate the international development of the company.
From the point of view of the field of activity, more than 65% of the 389 companies benefited in the 2019 call belonged to the services and capital goods sectors (35% and 30% respectively), followed, at some distance, by consumer goods (16%) and agri-food (14%). The program was also well received by technology startups with a turnover of less than 100,000 euros, which accounted for 7% of the total number of beneficiary companies.
In terms of export destinations, the European market continues to be the main destination, especially France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Switzerland. The second market is the American market, especially the United States, Mexico, Chile and Colombia. On the Asian side, the United Arab Emirates and China stand out.
