SME Digitalization Plan 2021-2025: main measures.

The Kit Digital is an initiative of the Government of Spain that aims to subsidize the implementation of digital solutions available on the market in order to achieve a significant advance in the level of digital maturity.

The digital solutions provided by the Kit Digital are geared to the needs of small businesses, micro-enterprises, and self-employed workers in any sector or type of business.

The Kit Digital Program is funded by the Next Generation EU funds and forms part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, Digital Spain 2025 (España Digital 2025), and the SME Digitalization Plan.

The first call for applications for this aid, whose rules will be published in the coming weeks, will begin in 2022, will have a budget of €500 million, and will be aimed at SMEs with between 10 and 49 employees. From that date onward, new calls for aid will gradually be opened for the different segments of SMEs and self-employed workers.

HOW TO ACCESS KIT DIGITAL AID

SMEs and self-employed workers wishing to benefit from Kit Digital aid must first check their level of digitalization by means of a self-assessment test, made available to them on the AceleraPyme platform, through which more than 4,000 SMEs have already registered in a single week.

The first step is to find out your company’s digital level

The first step is to register with the Acelera Pyme program and then complete a digital self-assessment test. This is a simple 13-question questionnaire in which we indicate, for example, how we use our Internet connection, online sales, and social media, or whether or not we have a CRM.

In addition to this initial test, there are two others relating to cybersecurity and digital transformation. The latter is the most important section, as it will show whether or not the company has a medium- or long-term plan for the digital transformation of the business.

In this section, it is indeed necessary to set out in greater detail various aspects relating to strategy, digital organization, and customer relations, among others. There are eight key points for digital transformation on which we must answer a series of questions. Completing it does not take us long.

At the end of the whole process, it will tell us the status of our business, whether we are at an initial or intermediate stage, and it allows us to download the report on the status of our business’s digital transformation. Much will depend here on the type of business. For a hair salon, for instance, online sales may not be a priority, whereas working with a CRM to take better care of its customers and get them to return more often may be.

Lastly, there is the option of completing a cybersecurity self-assessment, in which, in little more than 10 minutes, the company can get an idea of the level of security with which it is operating, and also become aware of certain shortcomings that are easy to remedy.

With all this information, and provided that we meet the requirements of the plan, we can begin the application for the subsidy so that we can implement digital tools that help us with the management of our business in certain areas.

Digitalization solutions

Companies that access this program through the public call for applications will receive a digital voucher (bono digital) specifying the amount they will have available to spend on the digital solutions that best suit their needs. These digital solutions may be chosen from a broad catalog, although initially they will be the following:

• Internet presence and website: creation of a website for the SME and/or provision of services to give it visibility on the main Internet sites.

• E-commerce: creation of an online store for the purchase and sale of products and/or services that uses digital means for the exchange.

• Social media management: promoting the SME on social media.

• Customer and/or supplier management: digitalizing and optimizing the management of commercial relationships with customers.

• Business Intelligence and analytics: exploitation of the company’s data to improve the decision-making process.

• Virtual office services and tools: implementing interactive and functional solutions that enable more efficient collaboration among the SME’s employees.

• Process management: digitalizing and/or automating business processes relating to the operational or production aspects of the SME.

• Electronic invoicing: digitalizing the flow of invoice issuance between the SME and its customers.

• Secure communications: providing SMEs with security in the connections between their employees’ devices and the company.

• Cybersecurity: providing SMEs with basic and advanced security for their employees’ devices.

IF YOU WISH TO BECOME A DIGITALIZING AGENT

For their part, digitalizing agents (agentes digitalizadores) wishing to join the program and offer their solutions may do so through a public invitation issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation.

Download the Quick Guide to find out more.