The Government, through the Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade and the Directorate General for SME Policy, has launched a series of measures aimed at providing financial support and advice to promote entrepreneurial initiative and the creation of companies. The Plan to support entrepreneurs in 2011 has an initial budget of 84 million euros and a total investment forecast of more than 300 million, which will facilitate the creation and consolidation of nearly 5,000 new companies.
This Plan, approved by the Council of Ministers on 14 January, consolidates initiatives such as the “Business Continuity Plan” or the “Line of credit for young entrepreneurs”, which were launched in 2010, and also incorporates new measures such as the “Guarantee Programme for Entrepreneurs”. The Plan is structured into 3 main lines of action.
Financing support to help entrepreneurs launch their businesses
The "Guarantee Programme for Entrepreneurs" will be launched, creating a specific technical provision fund of 15 million euros in the Spanish Reinsurance Company (CERSA). CERSA will assume 75% of the risk of the guarantees that the Mutual Guarantee Companies associated with this programme grant to entrepreneurs who decide to start their own businesses during 2011, or who have already done so during 2009 and 2010. The aim of this programme is to grant 200 million euros a year in guarantees to around 4,000 entrepreneurs.
The financing lines launched in 2010 through the finance and banking email list National Innovation Company ( ENISA ) are being renewed . The specific lines for young entrepreneurs, with 20 million euros, and the one launched for female entrepreneurs, with 1 million euros. ENISA will also allocate 20 million euros for the creation and consolidation of more than 150 new companies, through the Financing Lines for Technology-Based Companies and innovative SMEs.
The second call for applications for the Business Angel Networks Promotion Programme has been approved . In the first edition, 30 networks received grants from the programme, worth half a million euros. In 2009, these networks had facilitated the closing of 172 investment operations for innovative entrepreneurs, with a total amount of 19.15 million euros.
Supporting entrepreneurs to launch their business initiatives
This is the second part of the Plan to support entrepreneurs. Within this area, the most notable actions are those related to the Business Continuity Plan , whose budget for 2011 will be 3 million euros (in 2010 it was half a million euros), and the Programme to promote cooperation between Entrepreneur Support Centres (CEAE's) which also had a budget of half a million euros in 2010 and now increases to 2.8 million euros.