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SELF-EMPLOYED

The financial aid available to Spain’s self-employed workers in 2024

We all know that being autónomo or self-employed in Spain can be tough, but thankfully there are several benefits available to help you out in the new year.

Published: 20 December 2023 12:05 CET
The financial aid available to Spain’s self-employed workers in 2024
Financial aid for self-employed workers in Spain in 2024. Photo: Liza Summer / Pexels

There are different types of financial aid available depending on where you live in the country, the aims you have for your business and the help you need. 

Aid for autónomos in Valencia

The regional government of Valencia, through the Valencian Institute of Business Competitiveness (IVACE), offers an annual aid programme to promote the digital transformation of small businesses. The aid consists of non-refundable subsidies of up to 40 percent of eligible costs, with a maximum of €100,000 per beneficiary. You can find out more about the programme via the dedicated page on the Valencia government website. 

READ ALSO: Everything that changes for self-employed workers in Spain in 2024

Aid for autónomos in Madrid

There are in fact three different types of benefits self-employed in Madrid can apply for next year. These are:

– Madrid offers subsidies to maintain the employment of self-employed workers and micro-businesses, to facilitate the transition of their activity towards a digital and environmentally friendly economy. These grants are awarded directly.

– The Madrid Collective Entrepreneurship Promotion Programme encourages collective entrepreneurship in the region by granting aid that covers part of the initial expenses necessary for the constitution of cooperatives and labour companies. This could include investments for expansion and development. 

– Madrid also offers aid for workers who become self-employed which subsidises part of the expenses necessary to start their businesses. The aid aims to promote corporate social responsibility and work-life balance. New autónomos can also benefit from not having to pay social security in their first 12 months of operation, providing they haven’t previously been self-employed in the last two years. 

You can find out more about each of these aid programmes via the dedicated page on the Madrid government website. 

READ ALSO: How self-employed workers in Spain can get a better pension 

Financing

The Official Credit Institute (ICO) offers to guarantee financing for self-employed and small businesses that need liquidity or to make investments. The guarantees cover up to 80 percent of the principal of loans or leasing granted by financial institutions, with a maximum term of eight years and a grace period of up to 24 months. You can find out more about how to apply for financing via the official ICO website.

Benefits for those hiring unemployed workers

The Ministry of Labour and Social Economy, through the State Public Employment Service (SEPE), manages an incentive programme for the permanent hiring of unemployed people to promote the creation of stable employment.

The incentives consist of bonuses on business contributions to social security of up to €1,800 per year for three years, for each unemployed person who is hired on a permanent full-time basis. You can find out more about this aid on the following website. 

Zero social security payments for those in the Canary Islands, Extremadura and Galicia

In 2024, new self-employed workers in the Canary Islands, Extremadura and Galicia will join those in some of Spain’s other regions (such as Madrid) and benefit from not having to pay social security when they first sign up.

In the Canary Islands, the so-called zero quota will apply from January 1st, 2024. Extremadura will reward its new self-employed workers with aid of €960 per year which should be used for social security contributions. All new self-employed workers in Galicia will also be able to enjoy the zero quota from 2024.

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SELF-EMPLOYED

Self-employed in Spain: Is it worth applying for the Digital Kit?

Spain's Digital Kit programme gives grants to autónomos and small companies to use for digital improvements. It sounds too good to be true, and there are indications the scheme has its problems. So is it actually worth applying for it?

Published: 23 May 2024 09:29 CEST
Self-employed in Spain: Is it worth applying for the Digital Kit?

Digital kit grants can range from up to €3,000 for sole traders and autónomos with 1 – 3 employees or up to €29,000 for companies with between 100 and 250 employees.

The amount you are given also depends on what type of digital services your business needs.

In theory, this sounds like a great idea, a way to help out struggling autónomos who need to improve their businesses and a way to boost the profits of design and other digital agencies.

In reality, however, the scheme has already faced lots of problems even though it was only introduced in 2022, and many self-employed workers and small business owners are less than impressed.

But is this true for everyone who has been granted the digital kit and is it still worth applying for in 2024?

READ ALSO – Kit digital: How Spain’s self-employed can get money for digital improvements

So what are the problems?

Long waiting times

According to several different articles written by companies and self-employed workers who have applied for the kits, the processing times for the applications are long and in many situations the digital solutions are urgent. This means that companies can’t plan and prepare properly if they don’t know when the aid will arrive. 

Application issues

In addition to waiting times, many people have complained of issues with the applications including applications that have been denied for no specific reasons, applications sent back due to errors (without saying what the errors are), and applications sent back stating missing documentation, even when all paperwork was sent in correctly. Like with any administration process in Spain, it can be frustrating.

More waiting for ‘digitising agent’ to process your needs

Once the digital kits have been granted, there is yet more waiting time for your digitising agent to process your voucher and the requirements you have, so there will be an even greater delay in actually getting the work done.

Large companies taking on the role of digital agents

While some of the problems above are to be expected, one of the worst problems that we’ve come across is that larger businesses such as banks, telephone companies, dentists and even driving schools have been taking on the role of these so-called ‘digitising agents’. They have then been subcontracting the work out to smaller design and IT agencies for a much lower fee, meaning the work is often below standard and you are not being provided with the best services.

Destroying the businesses of small design agencies

In reality, it seems that the programme has had the opposite effect, instead of helping small design, IT and cyber security agencies, it is actually harming them due to the reasons above. They are now having to compete against much larger companies and are being paid a very low rate for the same work. It also means that payment to the actual people doing the work is severely delayed.

What are the positives?

Lots of beneficiaries

According to Red.es, the Public Business Entity attached to the Ministry of Digital Transformation, so far more than 310,000 kits have been granted, which represents an investment of 1.4 billion of the Recovery Plan fund.

This means that already thousands of businesses and autónomos have benefitted from the scheme. All these companies can’t have had a bad experience, because why would people still be applying if they had?

Positive stories

There has already been positive feedback posted online via interviews and videos about various small businesses that have been greatly helped by the digital kit scheme.

One example is Väcka, a vegan cheese company based in Barcelona with between 8 – 12 employees.

They said they used to do all their accounting on Excel sheets and the digital kit allowed them to be able to do everything more efficiently and automatically. They also said that they now have a new website which makes it easier for their customers to make purchases and have a better user experience.

Rentkayaksup is a small watersport business organising excursions along the Costa Blanca. It specialises in renting kayaks, SUPs and pedal boats and has between 25-30 employees.

With the help of the digital kit, they managed to implement a digital reservation management system and improve customer satisfaction. They now also plan on increasing their social media presence through social media management, which the kit can also help fund.

So is it worthwhile?

The truth is that the application process can’t really harm you or your business, it may be frustrating and take a long time, but if it’s granted then it has the chance to be beneficial. If you need urgent solutions, howerver, you many want to look elsewhere. 

Whether the quality of the work and the service is poor or not remains to be seen as different companies have reported different outcomes. If you hardly have any online presence at all, even just a basic website may be able to help you, but if you need something more sophisticated, then you run into more issues.

Again, not much harm can be caused. If you don’t like the website the professionals create for you, or you don’t think the social media is being managed efficiently then you can always choose not to use them and pay for these services yourself.

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