The Madrid City Council will improve the quality of small businesses in the city by signing an agreement with the Instituto de Empresa Foundation (IE) to promote e-commerce learning and marketing strategies to entrepreneurs in Madrid. online, in addition to business and financial management. In charge of signing the agreement was the delegate of Economy, Innovation and Finance, Engracia Hidalgo, representing the City Council, contributing up to 256,000 euros in three annual installments until 2025; and Gonzalo Garland Hilbck, trustee and vice president of the IE Foundation.
For the delegate, this agreement “represents a unique opportunity for those who want to take their businesses to the next level and create a path to business success,” and is the other side -said the Madrid City Council on the support for small businesses “as a dynamic and job creator in the neighborhoods.”
The agreement, valid until April 30, 2025, is in the application phase until October 13. Businesses who want to register can do so through the website or through this link in the form. In this first edition there are 100 places for micro-businesses with less than 9 employees and that have been registered for at least 2 years.
Public-private collaboration for business sustainability and development
The agreement establishes that the IE Foundation provides an advisory and mentoring program for small business owners in the commercial and service sectors, so that they can practice the necessary skills to ensure the sustainability and development of their businesses. business. The program also includes special monitoring of the skills that every entrepreneur needs to develop. The entity must also select the beneficiaries of the tutorials, and monitor the practical use of the skills acquired during the sessions, informing the City Council about the results of the actions developed, and their dissemination to the social networks and other channels.
The City Council, for its part, must make the corresponding financial contribution, supporting the search for participants with the appropriate profile through channels, platforms and media; and support the dissemination of the project among the associations, markets and businesses of the activities covered under this agreement, contributing to its dissemination and acceleration, as much as possible and as long as its profile matches the needs of the project, the inclusion of those associated with it.
The IE Foundation and the Council of the City of Madrid are also committed to cooperation and participation in conferences, work groups, seminars and workshops on business creation and management advice for entrepreneurs organized by both entity.
The best practices learned will be disseminated and shared within this new experience that aims to be a point of meeting and reference for the sector of the city of Madrid.
A training project in two phases
On October 23, the program will begin the so-called general phase, which includes the first training and group teaching sessions. online, which is the beginning of training. During this initial stage, enrolled traders have the opportunity to consolidate and improve their knowledge of key management, financial and marketing tools, giving them a solid foundation to face challenges in today’s business world.
Starting in January 2024, the specialization phase will open up different possibilities, allowing participants to choose from a selection of subjects that are in line with their interests and business goals. This stage is designed for the consolidation of personal and effective business strategies.
In the words of Hidalgo, it is also part of providing “a method that develops and strengthens the stability of small businesses,” which have suffered the effects of the economic crisis derived from the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, to “that “More than pure. technological perspective and includes not only the development of digital capabilities, but also business and financial management, important to guarantee current and future competitiveness.”
Consistory and IE, historical promoter of small commerce
This is not the first time that the Council of the City of Madrid and the IE Foundation have signed an agreement like this. In July 2021, the two entities signed an agreement to promote the stability of small businesses in the city of Madrid through their digital transformation by learning e-commerce and marketing strategies . online. The implementation of the actions of the aforementioned agreement ended on December 31, 2022.
More than 200 beneficiaries participated, divided into two groups. Of the first 100, 76 completed the project by the end of June 2022. At the same time, another 101 beneficiaries were selected for the second, who started the project in March 2022. Of this group, 75 beneficiaries completed their training at the end of the year.
In an effort to expand the impact of the project and further support the business community, a training program was held simultaneously. online intended to support those entrepreneurs who cannot directly participate in the project. Through this initiative, it is possible to reach more than 150 companies in Madrid.
Segmenting the participants, 20% of those who started the training itinerary are immigrants, 53% are women, and 41% have no university studies. All this data can be found in the research report presented in June 2023./
