What support is available for women entrepreneurs?

Are you a woman looking to start a business? If the answer is yes, we cover all the support available for women entrepreneurs and self-employed women in Spain in 2024.

Read on, as we provide all the information about these support measures.

Contribution relief for women entrepreneurs to support work–family balance

Most people who run their own business find it difficult to balance their professional and personal lives. This support measure was created to address that problem.

Self-employed women who hire staff may benefit from 100% relief (bonificación) on their contributions for common contingencies for 12 months. This maximum applies to full-time workers, and the relief is 50% if the contract is part-time.

As with almost all relief and support measures, certain requirements must be met to qualify for the relief:

• Be registered under the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers (Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos, RETA) and remain registered with the Social Security system for the 6 months following the end of the period during which the relief is enjoyed.

• Have any of the following persons in your care:

– A child under 12 years of age.
– A relative by blood or marriage up to the second degree who is in a situation of dependency.

– A relative by blood or marriage up to the second degree who has cerebral palsy, a mental illness, or an intellectual disability with a recognized degree of disability of at least 33%, or a physical or sensory disability with a recognized degree of disability of at least 65%, provided that such disability is duly certified and that relative does not carry out any paid activity.

• Hire a worker on a full-time or part-time basis and keep that worker employed for the entire duration of the relief. The contract must have a duration of at least 3 months from the date on which the relief begins, and the contract may not be for working hours of less than 50% of full-time hours.

• Have no employees on the date on which the relief begins to apply or during the 12 months preceding that date, except for a worker hired under a temporary replacement contract (contrato de interinidad) to replace the self-employed worker during maternity, paternity, adoption, or foster care leave, or due to risk during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Relief for women entrepreneurs returning to work after maternity leave

Self-employed mothers who return to working life after having ceased their activity may benefit from the flat rate for self-employed workers (Tarifa Plana) without having to wait for the ordinary period of two years from the last time they benefited from it.

Contribution relief for mothers who are victims of gender-based violence

For self-employed mothers who have suffered gender-based violence and have had to cease their activity in order to make their protection effective, there is 100% relief on the self-employed contribution for 6 months.

In addition, the obligation to pay contributions is suspended, but, for the purposes of applying for benefits, contributions will be deemed to have been paid during that period. This is treated as a situation equivalent to active registration.

To determine the benefit calculation base (base reguladora) for that period, the average of the contribution bases for the 6 months prior to the suspension of the obligation to pay contributions must be calculated.

Relief for women entrepreneurs on maternity, adoption, or foster care leave, or in situations of risk during pregnancy or risk during breastfeeding

This measure is not conditional on hiring anyone and provides 100% relief on the self-employed contribution. Its exact name is Relief for self-employed women on leave for maternity, adoption, guardianship with a view to adoption, foster care, risk during pregnancy, or risk during breastfeeding.

In this case, the amount of the benefit is calculated as the average of the last 12 contributions paid, and it may only be applied for in respect of leave periods exceeding one month.

Support for women entrepreneurs in the event of a multiple birth or multiple adoption

This support is available in the event of either a multiple birth or a multiple adoption.

Children born in a multiple birth or adopted in a multiple adoption give rise to entitlement to the benefit, provided that:

• The number of children born or adopted is two or more.
• The birth or the formalization of the adoption took place in Spain.

To be eligible, the following requirements must be met:

• Be legally resident in Spain.
• Not be entitled to benefits of the same nature under any other public social protection scheme.

The benefit is received as a single payment, the amount of which varies depending on the number of children born and the national minimum wage (SMI).

Support for women entrepreneurs in special family situations

Self-employed women may access this support upon the birth or adoption of a child in the case of large families, single-parent families, and mothers or fathers with disabilities.

This benefit relates to children born or adopted on or after November 16, 2007, into a large family or into a family that becomes a large family as a result of that birth. It also applies to mothers or fathers with a disability of 65% or more.

The parents must meet the following requirements:

• Be legally resident in Spain.
• Have income that does not exceed the established limits.
• Not be entitled to similar benefits from any other body.

The benefit is paid as a single payment, and the amount is €1,000.

If annual income exceeds the limit but is lower than the sum of the limit plus the benefit, the difference between the income received by the beneficiary and that combined amount will be paid.

ENISA support for women digital entrepreneurs

ENISA is a public company dedicated to financing viable Spanish projects, from which women entrepreneurs can benefit.

Loans from this entity are available to new or growing small and medium-sized enterprises in which one or more women hold important positions of power.

To qualify for this financing, it is necessary to:

• Be domiciled in Spain.
• Be an SME.
• Have separate legal personality.
• Have a technically and economically viable project.
• Present an innovative or novel business model or one with clear competitive advantages.
• Have equity at least equal to the amount of the loan.
• Have a balanced financial structure and professional management.
• Submit the financial statements for the last closed financial year, which must have been filed with the Commercial Registry.
• If the loan exceeds €300,000, have the financial statements for the last financial year externally audited.
• Not be a company belonging to the real estate or financial sectors.

The terms on which this support for women entrepreneurs is granted are as follows:

• Minimum loan amount: €25,000.
• Maximum loan amount: €1,500,000.
• Interest rate:
• First tranche: Euribor + 3.75%
• Second tranche. Variable interest depending on your company’s financial return, with a maximum cap set between 3% and 8%.
• Origination fee: 0.5%.
• Maturity: 9 years.
• Grace period on principal: maximum of 7 years.
• Early repayment fee: this will be the amount of the second interest tranche, if the loan is repaid within the agreed periods.
• Acceleration fee for a change in shareholding. An acceleration penalty will be applied, equivalent to the amount that the loan would have accrued as the second interest tranche.
• Interest and principal are repaid quarterly.
No guarantees beyond those provided by the business project itself will be required for the loan to be granted.

Regional support for women entrepreneurs

Many support measures for self-employed workers are granted by the Autonomous Communities (regions) themselves. In fact, most of them are. However, they are temporary.

It is very common for their rules to provide greater incentives and higher amounts for women entrepreneurs. That is why my recommendation is that you check the support available in your Autonomous Community to see what you can benefit from.

Business Support Program for Women (Programa de Apoyo Empresarial a las Mujeres, PAEM)

The PAEM is a comprehensive program that seeks to promote female entrepreneurship in Spain. Managed through more than 50 chambers of commerce across the country, this program offers a range of services focused on helping women launch and consolidate their own businesses.

Features:

• Objective: Business advice for women seeking to start a business or modernize an existing one.
• Scope: More than 50 chambers of commerce across the country.
• Financing: Microloans of up to €25,000 without guarantees.
• Requirements: A viable project and 100% financing through a microloan.
• Queries are answered in less than 48 hours.

Microloans

These form part of the PAEM and are important because they can be accessed simply by submitting a viable project, without the need for guarantees. Specifically, this type of support offers the following:

• A maximum amount of €25,000.
• 100% financing.
• A fixed interest rate of 5.90%.
• A repayment period of up to 6 years.
• A grace period of up to 6 months.
• No collateral.
• If you need this type of financing, you will need to contact the Chamber of Commerce in your city. Each Autonomous Community has its own microloans and offers different support for women entrepreneurs.

Rural Women Challenge Program (Programa Desafío Mujer Rural)

Its objective is to promote entrepreneurship and the consolidation of businesses run by women living in rural areas by fostering innovation and competitiveness in their business projects.

Features:

• Objective: To promote entrepreneurship and the consolidation of businesses in rural areas.
• Scope: Women who live in or carry out projects in rural environments.
• Focus areas: Agriculture, livestock farming, rural tourism, crafts, and the services sector.

The program includes:

• Answers to questions, handling of queries, and personalized advice throughout the entire process of launching rural entrepreneurship projects, including support in preparing business plans or in developing improvement plans for existing companies or businesses.
• Training in all matters relating to the launch and management of entrepreneurship projects, such as courses on developing business models and plans, digital marketing, sales, finance, communication, and innovation.

• Online Store. It provides women entrepreneurs in rural areas with a sales platform on which they can offer products and services.

• Information and resources for entrepreneurship, including references to grants and subsidies.

• Networking and contacts with other women entrepreneurs and businesswomen nationwide.