Dominican entrepreneurs will have the support of the CAM in the digitisation of their businesses
The Deputy Minister in charge of Relations with Civil Society of the Ministry of the Presidency (MINPRE) of the Dominican Republic, Benny Metz Muñoz, in statements to Atalayar, during the celebration of the Dominican Republic-Madrid Business Forum these days, has assured that the rapprochement between the Community of Madrid (CAM) and the Government of the Dominican Republic will facilitate that the business fabric of the diaspora can count on the support of the regional government and promote trade relations between the two countries.
Deputy Minister Benny Metz, who has a recognised academic background at the Carlos III University in Madrid and the Sorbonne University in Paris, said that a total of 50 self-employed entrepreneurs and Dominican SMEs are working together to contribute to the economic engine of Spain, thanks to the package of aid and support programmes from the General Directorate of the CAM government to enable Dominicans to start up their businesses.
In this sense, at the end of March, the Madrid Administration will launch the Digitalisation Programme aimed at small businesses in general, with a budget of 12 million euros. This economic amount will be aimed at boosting sales, digital transformation and environmental sustainability. The implementation of digitalisation will be necessary to increase the productivity and competitiveness of the production processes of Dominican SMEs, which can freely access this aid. "The Community of Madrid opens its doors to the Dominican Republic. The process of initiating any business idea requires training and adaptation to new technologies, and this will be provided by the Community of Madrid", announced Benny Metz.
The representative of the Dominican Government recalled his stay in Spain ten years ago when he was a student, "a completely different situation to the current one", and what a surprise to witness that small Dominican commerce is alive in Spain and contributes to the new economic flow. He also announced to this journalist that the current Dominican legislation must be reviewed, so that the self-employed can access this aid free of so much bureaucracy. "Our government has initiated support for SMEs from the direct funds of the Central Bank for financing small entrepreneurs, without forgetting a periodic review of the use of these funds".
Likewise, he described the Dominican national who lives in the Spanish capital as "dynamic, serious and hard-working", with an exemplary behaviour, who raises the shutters of his business every day, in a determined bid to build a better future for himself.
For his part, the Director General of Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship of the CAM, Alberto González, stated that the aim of this business forum between the autonomous government and the Dominican businessman is to bring the latter closer to public policies at first hand, contributing to a permanent connection in the business management of both nations. "We have a personalised advice service that any Dominican entrepreneur can access; once they know the requirements, they can register at the PAE point with a direct grant of 3,000 euros that will validate their business plan," González pointed out.
Likewise, Alberto González expressed concern about the rise in contributions for the self-employed, which obviously affects the Dominican entrepreneur, but these Social Security policies depend on the Spanish central government. "Our commitment has been to apply the Zero Rate, although the margin for action is limited. We hope that, at the end of the year, the Socialist government will commit itself to helping the self-employed, the small business, saving businesses from risks".
Carmen Chamorro, director of the CIP/ACPE and graduate in International Relations from the SEI.