CEAJE unveils more than €100,000 million in financing aid for young entrepreneurs

Santander España, ICO, ENISA, Kaudal, Avalmadrid and the CEAJE Financing Office presented their financing proposals during the 3rd Financing Conference organised by the Confederation.

Thursday, 15 July 2021. On 14 July, the Spanish Confederation of Young Entrepreneur Associations held its 3rd Financing Conference with the goal of providing answers to all the queries that young entrepreneurs have on how to find financial support, thus helping them to continue with their projects and businesses.

Financing is one of the main obstacles that young people encounter when embarking on an entrepreneurial venture or even when it comes to maintaining their business. At times it is even due to a lack of awareness of the existing aid, funds and credit facilities that the main financial agents make available to young entrepreneurs.

Aware of this problem, CEAJE organised a new conference on financing called Young entrepreneurs wonder how to finance their business, featuring Javier González Lapeira, Head of the Guaranteed Credit Facility Management Division of the Official Credit Institute (ICO – Instituto de Crédito Oficial); Jesús Millán, Director of the Admissions and Analysis Division of the Operations and Strategy Directorate of ENISA; Rafael Espinosa de los Monteros, who is currently Head of the R&D&I Project Acquisition Division at Kaudal; Octavio Ramírez, Director of the Business Network of Santander España; Laura García, Business Coordinator of the Head Office of Avalmadrid; and Javier Villaseca, Director of the CEAJE Financing Office and founder of Grupo Sego Finance.

During the conference, moderated by Fernando Bendito, Managing Director of CEAJE, all the questions that young entrepreneurs had previously conveyed to the Confederation were addressed.

The conference Young entrepreneurs wonder how to finance their business began with a speech by Octavio Ramírez, Director of the Business Network of Santander España, who spoke about the value offer of Banco Santander. “The relationship with young entrepreneurs and with those who are starting their new projects is omnichannel. In other words, it is a relationship model that can be based on a traditional manager who provides assistance, but it can also be self-service or advice, training and information via digital means”.

In addition, Octavio Ramírez pointed out that enormous progress is being made in data management “that enables us to customise and tailor an offer to each sector and customer. If we talk about basic offers, the entire buying and selling flow can be financed by traditional products and with an increasingly interconnected process with suppliers. Our idea is that, as young entrepreneurs begin to finance and generate the necessary cash flows, they will have a very simple mechanism in place”.

Currently, when we mention ICO, the focus tends to be on the Guarantee Facilities and the solvency measures that the government has put in place within these facilities. In this respect, young entrepreneurs have shown considerable interest in knowing the duration of these facilities and what solvency measures are to be implemented. Javier González Lapeira, Head of the Guaranteed Credit Facility Management Division of the Instituto de Crédito Oficial stated that these facilities are implemented by means of public-private partnerships and are of great importance “because what they do is to provide guarantee coverage of up to 80% in the case of SMEs and 70% in the case of large companies. There are even some tranches earmarked for the tourism sector in which this guarantee could reach up to 90% of the financing provided”.

Javier González Lapeira clarified that the fundamental requirement for gaining access to these guarantee facilities is to have been affected by Covid-19. “Virtually all companies could be eligible for our facilities, and as far as the validity of these facilities is concerned, they have been extended until December 2021. We have a guarantee facility earmarked for liquidity in the amount of €100,000 million, and another one earmarked for investment, which has an amount of €40,000 million”.

For its part, ENISA has continued its commitment to financing young people who are starting their business careers by undertaking new projects. The director of the Admissions and Analysis Division of ENISA, Jesús Millán, explained the facilities offered by the organisation in 2021 and stated that “through the Young Entrepreneurs, AgroInpulso and Digital Entrepreneurs facilities, those who are thinking of starting a business venture can have access to financing that does not require collateral or guarantees of any kind, other than those of the business project itself and a solvent management team, with amounts of between €25,000 and €1,500,000.

Technological Patronage is one of the topics that generates the most interest among young entrepreneurs, who wonder about the advantages of this type of financing. “Technological Patronage is a means of financing based on tax incentives applicable to research, development and innovation, which enables you to obtain financing quickly, without collateral and without debt. Moreover, this type of financing can reach companies of all profiles and sectors. There are many companies that engage in R&D&I that are not aware of its existence and hence can be financed through this instrument. At Kaudal, we are leaders in this new financing model and we are working with many companies to promote truly innovative projects”, noted Rafael Espinosa de los Monteros, Director of the R&D&I Project Acquisition Division at Kaudal.

During the conference, young entrepreneurs wondered about the role of Avalmadrid S.G.R in the region. The financial institution set up by and for SMEs and the self-employed in the Autonomous Community of Madrid operates with a dual objective: on the one hand, to facilitate access to preferential financing in terms of both cost and term, and on the other, to provide guarantees and sureties vis-à-vis public administrations and third parties, under much more advantageous conditions than those offered by traditional banks.

“We are backed by over 31 years of work that have made Avalmadrid a financial benchmark for SMEs, the self-employed and entrepreneurs in Madrid, with the support of the Government of the Autonomous Community of Madrid”, stressed Laura García.

The Business Coordinator of the Head Office of Avalmadrid mentioned that, in order to facilitate access to financing for SMEs and the self-employed, Avalmadrid, S.G.R. has entered into collaboration agreements with the main financial institutions with which preferential conditions have been negotiated for interest rates, commissions and terms. “Our guarantee allows SMEs and the self-employed to obtain loans, leasing or credit policies to finance both the start-up and any of their investment or liquidity needs, always adapting the financing to the specific needs of each project”, she concluded.

Lastly, Javier Villaseca, Director of the CEAJE Financing Office closed the conference by pointing out that “CEAJE has created the first Financing Office for SMEs, connecting bank, public and private financing with young business persons and entrepreneurs”.

In addition, Villaseca stressed that “this year we are breaking all records, we have closed new agreements with financial institutions and investors and we expect to double the number of operations over the next six months”.

The CEAJE Financing Office acts as a financial director, a role that most companies do not have, with the mission of accompanying the entrepreneur and guiding them through the financing process, advising them in a personalised manner, depending on the needs and characteristics of their business.