2023-10-21 00:24:56
Stellum Capital, the fund manager of the Artizarra Foundation, is now finalizing the raising of capital for its three large investment vehicles. The foundation created by Basque and Navarrese businessmen hopes to have 200 million to invest in Basque companies at the beginning of 2024.
That is the figure announced yesterday Friday by its president, Jon Ander de las Fuentes, in a conference organized by Stellum Capital at the Artium museum. The meeting attracted personalities from the business world such as the president of the Álava Chamber of Commerce, Gregorio Rojo; the general director of SEA-Empresas Alavesas, Juan Ugarte; or the president of Alavés, Alfonso Fernández de Trocóniz, among others.
From Artium, the foundation and the fund wanted to present themselves to Alava society yesterday. Precisely “the presence of people with Alava DNA” is what Jon Ander de las Fuentes requested for his foundation. Artizarra was born more than a year ago with the aim of maintaining its roots and decision-making centers in Euskadi. All this in a time marked by business concentrations. Recent purchases are such as those of Bain Capital and ITP, MásMóvil and Euskaltel or the absorption of Gamesa by Siemens.
A “populist” current
The deputy general of Álava, Ramiro González, also participated in the meeting. The head of the regional Executive, in line with other speeches made in recent weeks, denounced the emergence of a “current of opinion, from my point of view, absolutely populist that says that the only thing we have to do is make public and “expand all public services.”
“That is generating poverty,” González asserted before the businessmen of the territory. «I know it’s not popular, but someone has to say it clearly. It is up to the deputy general to say it clearly,” he said.
Financing problems
For his part, Juan Ugarte presented a study on the state of access to financing by Alava firms. The report, prepared last May, indicated that 39% of the companies consulted by the employers’ association have had problems obtaining funds when they have become interested in them. Right now, three out of four companies need to resort to external money to maintain the ordinary activity of their companies.
Of those who have gone to ask for money from banks or other entities, in the spring they found harsher conditions in 56% of cases and 36% saw their financing denied. 20% of the companies directly rejected the loans and the vast majority did so because of the high interest rates.
#Artizarra #Foundation #presents #plan #Álava #invest #million #Basque #companies