In a PYMNTS study benchmarking the digital engagement levels of 11 countries, Spain performed well compared to its European peers.
Of the five European Union countries included in the report, Spain scored highest in the PYMNTS ConnectedEconomy™ Index ranking, with a score of 32 out of a possible 100. The report also found that 93.2% of the population are connected to the internet and 87% own a smartphone.
Read more: Benchmarking the EU’s Digital Engagement: Spain
But digital transformation is an ongoing process — a journey, not a destination.
The Spanish government, like others in Europe, has laid out plans to help support the transition to a more digital economy, many of which are outlined in an initiative known as Digital Spain 2025.
One of the ten priorities of Spain 2025 is the digitization of the country’s small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), and the government has stated its intention to use strategic investments to catalyze the digital transformation of the sector.
Related: Plastiq Platform Offers Real-Time Short-Term Financing for SMBs
To help the country meet these digital development goals, the EU is set to issue Spain a total of €77.2 billion in grants and loans to implement its National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP).
Spain’s NRRP is one of the biggest financed by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility, a €700 billion-plus grant and loan scheme administered by Brussels that is designed to help the bloc recover from the economic damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alongside €3.6 billion for digital skills training, €3.2 billion to digitize public administration systems and €4 billion to further develop the country’s digital infrastructure, €4.6 billion from Spain’s NRRP fund will be allocated to support the digitization of Spanish SMBs, which form the backbone of the local economy.
In a country where over half of the working population are employed by these small businesses, the sizable chunk of Spain’s NRRP fund reserved for SMBs acknowledges that smaller businesses have been among the hardest hit by the events of recent years. It also reflects the fact that many SMBs have fallen behind large enterprises in terms of deploying digital technology.
Learn more: Data Point: Indexing 19% Above the 2020 Crater, Main Street SMBs Roar Back in Q1 2022
But while the Spanish government is plowing ahead with multi-billion dollar digitization initiatives, public spending alone won’t secure Spain’s digital future. In the private sector, the country’s tech startups play a special role in transforming the economy.
For example, the cloud-based Software-as-a-Service startup Stockagile, which recently closed a €2.5 million seed funding round, has developed a platform that optimizes and streamlines inventory and sales management for SMBs.
As the company stated in a press release announcing the raise, there is scope for significant digital transformation in the SMB retail sector, which Stockagile is helping to meet by supporting retailers in their end-to-end supply chain through the real-time synchronization of catalogues, stock availability and orders.
See also: FIS Debuts Embedded Payments Solution for Software Providers Serving SMBs
Overall, there has never been a better time for Spain’s SMBs to prioritize digitization in the retail sector. From electronic invoicing to modern payment methods, digital tools have the potential to dramatically streamline a range of business operations, saving companies time and money.
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