65% of Spanish companies waste their own money to innovate instead of subsidies

“The problem has to do with the fact that the Spanish plan was very supportive. R&D and far less innovation, when innovation is what most companies do”, he diagnoses Ayming Spain’s innovation director, javier saldana. The first, he elaborates, refers to scientific advances or technological discoveries, and the second refers to the development of new solutions or the evolution of existing products based on them. And the help there is “usually more or less intense”.

Also, first of all, subsidy lawin many cases it is more appropriate to assume a non-refundable tranche loan a subsidy that obliges the company to hire a worker for the same money innovation consultancy or yet notary and close a contract, for example, with a government agency.

Bureaucracy, Treasure, and complexity

“There is a general feeling that there is no firm commitment to innovation in the Spanish State and that this assistance is not too bold,” he agrees. CEO of Atlantis IT, Ricard Soler Kopps. Your company develops geolocation solutions and therefore you were interested in many of these grants. “With time and experience we have learned that they exist, but that it is necessary to act, to seek them out,” he summarizes, and also admits that he feels that companies have great respect for presenting themselves all over the world. bureaucracy that’s around and the possibility of having to face the Treasury later on for any minimal error or unforeseen consequences.

But for the company’s co-founder and CEO ‘start‘ real estate investment PropHero, pablo gilThe biggest problem is administrative. “The processes are really complex, slow and difficult,” he sums up. “The entire entrepreneurial sector and public administration will benefit from the simplification and digitization of processes: no one will have to spend more time than is absolutely necessary in selecting resources from which they can objectively benefit”.

“These kinds of public actions to help innovation are complex and not very viable because bureaucracy has a high level of complexity,” he summarizes. CEO of hair products company Periche Profesional, pere periche. This businessman cites as an example a request for help with a natural biocide they developed for one of their lines, which was rejected, among other things, because the project was in its infancy. “If it wasn’t more advanced it was due to a lack of drivers, we could have finished it if we had help, and if it wasn’t, everything had to be cancelled,” Periche says.

Delay in ‘Next Generation’

Additionally, this year, this whole scenario is complicated by the delay in ‘Next Generation’ funding. “There were many companies waiting for these funds, and because they were too late they need to move forward with their projects because they had to use their own funds if they didn’t lose the opportunity,” he explains. Saldana. Despite this, Ayming’s report shows that more innovation has been made this year. international grants compared to previous year

” Next generation and other aids from the European Union are already being applied to companies in our country, but they still do not see the weight expected from them,” he said. CEO of consultancy in Spain, Carlos Artal. “It is necessary to bring managements and companies closer and at the same time work towards simplicity so that they can achieve the efficient texture,” he concludes.

Overall, Saldaña concludes, the problem with subsidies is “a matter of fine writing.” “The message is that there is a big opportunity, but then this little post causes a funnel and a lot of people are left by the wayside,” he concludes. Some because they can’t reach the minimum of what is meant by innovation, some because they don’t have enough budget, and some because they can’t even get a guarantee from a bank.