2023-06-15 04:15:00
The Asturian Federation of Entrepreneurs (FADE) will hold its general assembly tomorrow at the Sotón well, in San Martín del Rey Aurelio. It is time to take stock of the last year, in which the Asturian employers’ association has put a lot of effort into favoring the increase in the size of Asturian companies so that they gain in productivity, competitiveness, capacity to innovate and the possibility of internationalizing their activity. Last January, FADE launched a business growth office and the interest of companies in making the leap has already been confirmed.
One of the objectives of the new unit is to detect companies with the potential to gain size and accompany them in their search for financing, investment partners and new markets. «That prospecting work is underway and we have not yet started direct contact with the companies that fit the profile. Despite this, a total of 23 companies have already come to the office on their own and at the moment we are accompanying nine in their process to gain size,” said María Calvo, who next month will celebrate her second year as president of FADE. . «The launch of the growth office has been very well received. The companies are grateful for the existence of an independent office, promoted by the businessmen themselves. It is logical that family businesses are afraid of losing their property when they give entry to investment partners and for them it is important to be able to share experiences with other companies that have gone through the same thing”, pointed out María Calvo, who highlighted that this support and guidance work The office then leads to a network with more than twenty collaborating agents, including consultants, financial institutions, investment funds…
The observatory. Along with this initial work of accompaniment and guidance, the FADE growth office also provides promotion and support services for the transfer of companies -to prevent the lack of generational change from leading to the death of family businesses- and includes an observatory of the business competitiveness in Asturias. «The observatory focuses on detecting the obstacles that exist for the competitiveness of companies in the region. In the coming months we will present the first studies”, anticipated the president of FADE.
The importance of size. María Calvo pointed out that the nine companies with which FADE’s growth office is already working belong to different sectors and have different sizes. According to the Information Center and Business Creation Network (CIRCE), under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, at the end of 2022 there were 68,068 companies in Asturias and of these 38,236 –more than 56%– did not have employees. A total of 18,889 companies had one or two employees, 6,146 from three to five employees, and 2,291 from 6 to 9. Therefore, 65,562 companies have less than ten employees, which represents 96.3% of Asturian companies. Only 3.7% -a total of 2,506- exceed that barrier of ten employees and 0.1% -a total of 86- have more than 200. According to estimates made by the manager LUAfund, which has launched a fund of business growth investment with the support of FADE –called Asturias Growth–, it is necessary to facilitate the growth of some 800 companies so that Asturias equals the rest of Spain in company size. Reaching that milestone would mean generating 90,000 jobs.
The opportunities. María Calvo stated that the Asturian economy is facing a moment of change –linked to the energy transition and digital transformation– that can favor business growth and that there are extraordinary stimuli, such as European recovery funds, which if they reach companies can also help make the leap
The rooting The president of FADE highlighted the importance for Asturias of attracting companies from abroad and pointed out that the Asturian employers’ association collaborates with the investment attraction office of the Principality, but added that the focus should also be placed on favoring the consolidation and growth of the Asturian companies. “They should be given facilities for growth because these companies have shown their roots,” Calvo said.
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