2023-07-10 04:15:00
Elisa Carbonell Martín has extensive experience in financial policy and international economics. After working in the Treasury and in different departments of the Ministry of Economy, in 2015 she was assigned to the Economic Office of the Spanish Embassy in Colombia, where she spent five years. In 2020 she returned to Spain to direct the Department of Internationalization of the Company of the Institute of Foreign Trade (Icex), the public body responsible for promoting the expansion of national companies around the world. Carbonell recently visited Oviedo to present, at a meeting organized by the employers’ association FADE, the different support programs offered by Icex to help Asturian companies make the leap to the international market.
–What is the most demanded by companies from Icex?
–First of all, businessmen appreciate that we approach them physically, without resorting to videoconferences, and we sit down to listen to their problems and circumstances. And then there is a lot of ignorance about the programs or aid for internationalization that they can receive from Icex depending on the size or sector of the company.
But don’t you have any complaints?
-The main one is bureaucracy, which is a necessary evil that will always be there, because it is public money and there must be controls and guarantees that it is distributed in a transparent and equitable manner. On the other hand, through territorial or employer directorates such as FADE, we find out about the local circumstances of each territory and receive proposals or questions related to the most specific needs of their companies.
–For years there has been encouragement for a national foreign trade policy. How are ICEX’s relations with regional organizations such as the Asturias Foreign Promotion Society (Asturex)?
–Everyone wants their space, and it is understandable, because the autonomous communities have their budget and want their companies to progress. But we have all come to understand that there is strength in unity, and that if we all go together under the same image at international fairs we will achieve more impact.
– In what sectors is this being done?
–For example, in the agri-food industry we are transferring the image of the Icex pavilions to many regional foreign promotion agencies. The Icex is giving this sector a very visual and very powerful image that transmits what we want regarding quality, variety, gourmet products… And all the communities want to get on the bandwagon.
–Any other example?
–We are also promoting it a lot in entrepreneurship and “start ups”, because there are a series of international fairs that are key for that sector. And Icex is making a great effort to attend these fairs with the entire entrepreneurial ecosystem (companies, investors, open innovation corporations…) and, since these are huge fairs, the larger the pavilion, the better. In the world of open innovation, there is a lot of talk about “coopetition” instead of “competition”, that is, collaboration between those who have common objectives in a market. The important thing is that we all row in the same direction and in favor of companies, which may be Asturian, Galician or Catalan, but above all they are Spanish.
–Last year there were record exports both in Spain and in Asturias. What are the forecasts for this year?
–The data for the first quarter in Asturias have been very encouraging, with a very significant year-on-year increase. We will have to see the effect of inflation on the real figure, but the 2010 economic crisis awoke the Spanish desire to export, and the covid crisis has reinforced them. The foreign sector is already part of the DNA of companies and contributes half of GDP growth. We have also had a record of regular exporters, those who do so for at least four years.
–Half of Asturian exports are non-chemical semi-manufactures, with products such as steel or zinc. Should value-added products be promoted?
–That is the constant challenge, both in Asturias and in all of Spain. But the businessmen here have told me about the advances that, for example, the information and communication technology (ICT) sector is making. The important thing is that companies break this vicious circle: since it is small it does not export, and since it does not export, it remains small. That’s where Icex support comes in, such as APIEm.
–What does it consist of?
–The program has a consultant who is dedicated to analyzing the company and then makes a diagnosis of its strengths and weaknesses when starting to export, with a series of recommendations on the most optimal markets based on the products offered by the company. company. And it also indicates a list with all the aid instruments promoted by the different public organizations (Asturex, Icex, Cofides, Cesce…). Sometimes it is believed that the best aid is monetary, but in many cases the most useful is true and quality information.
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