The Acelera Pyme Office (OAP), affiliated with the Regional Federation of Metal Entrepreneurs of Murcia (FREMM) and open to all, opens its office in Cieza to promote the digitalization of more than 4,000 SMEs and hundreds of self-employed workers and entrepreneurs in the Vega Alta del Segura region.
Based in ADESA, Business Advisors in Cieza, the in-person office will complement online communication, increasing proximity and customer service to advance the challenge of digitizing the entire economy.
Aimed at both entrepreneurs and professionals just starting out in digitalization and those who are already leaders, regardless of their business size and sector.
Increased employment and business
A free assessment of the level of digitalization will be the first step the OAP will provide to all interested companies. This will provide the basis for undertaking a digitalization plan that optimizes all their processes and, therefore, generates greater competitiveness, employment, and business.
The OAP will therefore offer all types of solutions, knowledge, technologies, and innovations aimed at improving digitalization processes and creating technologically advanced products and services with greater added value for companies.
Acelera Pyme thus opens up to all the cities in and around Vega Alta del Segura: Cieza, Abarán, Blanca, and Mula. These cities will see even greater growth in the agri-food, industrial, and service sectors with the push for digitalization.
A vocation for economic leadership was highlighted during the opening ceremony in the Manuela Burló Moreno Hall of the Capitol Theater by Tomás Rubio, Mayor of Cieza, who added that "companies, especially SMEs, need to adapt to continue paving the way for productivity. And in the 21st century, there is no other way to adapt than by adopting new technologies, accepting and embracing the essential level of digitalization. Digitalization is necessary because it improves production cycles. Companies must adapt to this reality if they want to survive. But addressing this process of digital transformation is not an easy task. Especially for SMEs, which always face more barriers to adopting new work systems. And this is where the OAP, which comes to Cieza thanks to the FREMM, comes into play."
Opportunity for small businesses
The president of the Association of Used Vehicle Professionals of the Region of Murcia (AVOMUR), a member of FREMM, Jesús Molina, encouraged all companies in the region to "obtain the free Active Digital Company seal because it will certify their commitment to digitalization or, in other words, their competitiveness." "Acelera Pyme," he stated, "is a unique opportunity to turn our companies around, providing the most innovative tools to take advantage of the obvious benefits that digitalization brings to all processes."
The presidents of the Association of Businessmen and Industrialists, Javier Lucas; the Association of Merchants of Cieza, María Carmen Morcillo; and the Association of Hoteliers of Cieza, Joaquín Ramos, emphasized that digitalization is a process that affects everyone. While large companies have greater capacity and resources, small companies, thanks to associations and initiatives like Acelera Pyme, can undertake the transformation necessary for survival with equal advice and support.
The OAP presentation was led by the general secretary of the metal industry, Andrés Sánchez.
Talks and presentations
Attendees also learned about the latest developments through presentations on "Digital Transformation versus Digitalization" by Rafael Marín, representative of "División 3 Servicios Informáticos"; and "Globalizing Knowledge: Experience in the Digital Age" by Arturo Soler, director of Agromarketing.
The Acelera SME Offices launched throughout Spain by red.es, a public entity attached to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation through the State Secretariat for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, have a budget of €18,450,000 in their second 2022 call for proposals, of which Red.es will contribute up to 80% of the eligible budget and the beneficiary entities the remainder.
The initiatives are funded by the Smart Growth Operational Programme, European Regional Development Funds (ERDF), for the 2021-2027 programming period.
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