The Cabildo de Tenerife launches a new line of aid for the productive fabric of the Island in the midst of the inflationary crisis. The Governing Council of the Island Corporation has just approved the bases and the call for a line of subsidies aimed at improving the competitiveness of retail trade in Tenerife. It will have a budget for this year and the next of 925,000 euros, which may be increased to 1,245,000 euros. Catering and personal service establishments may also benefit from these grants.
The counselor of EmploymentSocioeconomic Development and Foreign Action, Carmen Luz Baso, explains that with this line of aid, the call for which will come out in the coming weeks, “we want to favor the adaptation of Tenerife’s business fabric to the new digital economy, supporting the self-employed and SMEs from different sectors in their modernization, renovation and consolidation and increase in their competitiveness».
The support program establishes two types of projects. The first is related to the digitization of businesses, in which the introduction of tools that favor the use of multi-channels will be valued. The second, meanwhile, is focused on the transformation, modernization and improvement of commercial establishments, in which projects linked to the improvement of the presentation of products, the offer of differentiated services, the enhancement of the image of the premises or any initiative that leads to greater differentiation and provides added value.
consumer demands
“The objective in both cases is to adapt the business fabric to the new demands and needs of consumers and improve their shopping experience,” details the counselor, who recalls that “online promotion and sales continue to be a pending issue for many businesses and establishments on the Island, which was an added difficulty in guaranteeing their viability during the pandemic.”
The maximum amount of the subsidy to be awarded for each of the modalities will be 50% of the eligible investment made with a limit of 5,000 euros. Therefore, in case of requesting a subsidy in both modalities, the maximum amount to be received will be 10,000 euros.
In parallel to this support plan, the Cabildo allocates 475,000 euros to the reconversion of the industrial and craft sectors. This is a new line of subsidies that combines the reconversion of a strategic sector, such as industry, with the implementation of more sustainable production and work systems based on the reduction of consumption and the efficient use of resources. In addition, last June the Island Corporation published a call for aid, worth 150,000 euros, for the revitalization of activity in the open commercial areas (ZCA) of the Island, addressed to municipalities and business associations and federations from Tenerife.
The Minister of Employment and Socioeconomic Development explains that the objective is “to promote activities that provide added value to people who choose to buy in small and medium-sized businesses, taking advantage of the assets that each municipality provides, the close treatment and the identity that They have open shopping areas.