The territorial delegate for Employment, Enterprise and Self-Employment, Amós García Hueso, has delivered the resolutions of aid of 192,289 euros to the town councils of Almería, Albox, El Ejido, Huércal-Overa, Mojácar, Olula del Río and Vélez-Blanco to support projects for the improvement, modernisation and promotion of local trade and crafts.
Amós García thanked the town councils for «their contribution to boosting and consolidating commercial and craft activity in their municipalities». He also pointed out the Junta’s commitment «to the commercial sector, one of the most important activities in Almeria’s productive fabric, which brings together almost 19% of the total number of companies in Almeria. We have around 11,600 companies and 14,400 commercial establishments that employ around 66,000 people, more than 20% of the total number of workers in the province. Trade, together with the hotel and catering industry, transport and storage, contribute more than 3,131 million euros to the provincial economy, 21% of Almeria’s GDP».
In addition, the delegate of Employment has explained that the Ministry has approved the VII Integral Plan for the Promotion of Domestic Trade 2023-2026, which will reach 92.8 million budget, 47% more than in the previous plan. The objectives of this new plan are to promote the growth and consolidation of the sector by facilitating its competitiveness through digitalisation and greater environmental awareness, as well as promoting lifelong learning in trade.
According to Amós García, the Plan will allocate 7 million euros throughout Andalusia to support municipal projects to modernise and promote local commerce and crafts; 5 million for associations in these sectors and more than 14 million to finance projects based on technological solutions to improve sustainability and energy efficiency.
The new Plan also includes a new line to promote entrepreneurship and the regeneration of local commerce, with tools to help commercial companies that are at risk of disappearing due to a lack of generational replacement; or the promotion of commerce through advertising campaigns and actions to stimulate it, together with improvements in commercial facilities and public spaces.
In this sense, the aim is to support the sector’s associations in order to give greater visibility to small businesses in their different formats and to promote Open Shopping Centres, municipal markets and street markets with training actions for the permanent adaptation of workers to changes in the sector, such as technological improvements, e-commerce or new sales techniques, among others.
On the other hand, the integration of ICTs will be encouraged to open up new marketing channels and improve cybersecurity, promoting actions to protect the environment and reduce energy consumption in commerce. Aid has also been incorporated to improve commercial equipment and encourage generational change. In addition to the creation of a Trade Observatory and an Interactive Map of commercial supply and demand. Thus, for the Safe Commerce Working Table, economic and social agents and the administrations with competencies in commerce and security will be taken into account.
Aid to local councils
The aid received by the local councils of Almeria has two lines. The first line has approved a total of 161,431 euros for the seven projects presented by the municipalities of Almería, Mojácar, Huércal-Overa, El Ejido, Olula del Río, Vélez-Blanco and Albox. This first line, aimed at promoting investments to improve and modernise infrastructures and the digital transformation of local commerce and crafts, subsidises projects to improve food markets and urban commercial spaces, as well as the provision of facilities and services for itinerant commerce, and the provision of municipal assistance and advice services to commercial and artisan entities. In addition to the creation of online commercial platforms, commercial equipment, furniture and signage and the creation of permanent exhibition spaces for artisan products.
Two projects have been approved for 30,858 euros, presented by the town councils of Almería and Mojácar, supporting strategic planning, revitalisation and promotion of retail trade and local crafts, such as the preparation of strategic plans for municipal trade, their revision and updating, as well as advertising campaigns, the organisation and development of trade and craft fairs and revitalisation and promotion actions.
These subsidies cover 75% of the cost of the initiatives developed and can reach up to 60,000 euros. In this call, up to 50% of the subsidy will be paid in advance, except in cases where it is equal to or less than 6,000 euros, which may be paid at 100%, and as a novelty, a second payment of a maximum of 30% has been included at the request of the applicant after partial or total justification of the first payment. The remaining payment, up to the total amount of the subsidy, will be made once the project and expenditure have been justified, as well as the fulfilment of the purpose.