Kit Digital: Subsidies, Vouchers, and Aid to Digitalize SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises).

The Digital Kit is about to launch with the aim of helping small businesses (SMEs), micro-enterprises, and freelancers in their leap toward digital transformation. Don’t hesitate; the time has come to implement new digital solutions that will assist your business in its takeoff and final consolidation. That’s why, at WondeBits, we want to help by sharing all the relevant information available up to this day. We want to be by your side; we want to be your trusted Digitalization Agent!

The Government has launched the Digital Kit / Digital Voucher / Digital Toolkit (DTK) program, through which it plans to invest more than 3 billion euros in the digitalization of SMEs and freelancers between 2021 and 2023, funded by the European Next Generation EU funds. It is the largest digital transformation program within the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan.

This Kit is included within Axis 1 of the 2021-2025 SME Digitalization Plan, which brings together all the aid, programs, and subsidies that the Government of Spain offers in the area of digitalization for businesses and professionals. It is promoted by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation of the Government of Spain.

It is a subsidy program whose main objective is to promote the digitalization of SMEs and freelancers. With this Digital Kit, the aim is to support Spanish SMEs and professionals in their digital transformation by providing them with digital tools to access new markets and grow their businesses. It is an excellent opportunity for companies in all sectors that meet the eligibility requirements for the aid.

Let’s go over everything that is known so far, point by point:

1. Where to find reference information:

1. 1. The official website for these grants is: www.acelerapyme.gob.es. It is important to highlight this because, since the launch of “Acelera Pyme,” other websites with very similar URLs have emerged, attempting to position themselves to divert traffic for business purposes.
   2. In the coming days, the Order of Bases will be published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), a document that will establish the legal foundations of the program. The call for applications will detail all the conditions companies must meet to be eligible for these grants. In this phase, the beneficiaries of the allocated budget of 500 million euros will be SMEs with between 10 and 49 employees. The remaining amount, up to the 3.067 billion euros announced, will be offered in later calls, which will be communicated at a later date.
   3. If you need more information, you can always contact Acelera Pyme at:
      • Email: info@acelerapyme.gob.es
      • Phone: 900 909 001
      • Hours: Monday to Friday, 09:00 – 18:00

      To reach all the companies spread across our geography, the Government announced the opening of 50 Acelera Pyme offices in rural areas, which, together with the 90 already planned, will form a network of 140 offices by the end of the year. These offices will provide advice to companies interested in the program.

2. Important dates

• • Publication Date: Pending (estimated between December 15-20, 2021
  • Digitalization Agents Registration Date: From the publication date.
  • SME Kit Application Date: Pending (estimated January 2022)
  • Date from which SMEs can benefit from the Kit: Pending (estimated February 2022)

These dates correspond to Segment I, which includes small businesses with between 10 and 50 employees (estimated at 145,000 small businesses). The following segments are expected to be addressed in the first quarter of 2022.

3. What solutions are covered by the Digital Kit

The Digital Kit can be used to develop one or more of the solutions included in the Digital Kit catalogue (hardware is excluded). There are established maximums for each solution:

• Website (€2,000): Creation of a website for the SME and/or provision of services to enhance its visibility on major internet platforms.
• E-commerce (€2,000): Creation of an online store for products and/or services.
• Social Media Management (€2,500): Promotion and communication across various social media platforms.
• Customer and/or Supplier Management (€4,000): Optimize the management of business relationships with clients through digital tools.
• Business Intelligence and Analytics (€4,000): Improve decision-making processes through the analysis of company data.
• Virtual Office Services and Tools (€12,000): Implement interactive and functional solutions that enable more efficient collaboration among SME employees.
• Process Management (€6,000): Digitize and/or automate business processes related to operational and production aspects of the SME.
• Electronic Invoicing (€1,000): Digitize the invoice issuance process between the SME and its clients.
• Secure Communications (€6,000): Provide SMEs with secure connections between their employees’ devices and the company.
• Cybersecurity (€6,000): Provide SMEs with basic and advanced security for their employees’ devices.

Maximum amount by beneficiary segment:

These grants are non-repayable subsidies in the form of vouchers, meaning that companies seeking digitalization will not need to advance any funds. Instead, the Digitalization Agents will receive the payments directly.

The aid will be disbursed in two installments: the first covering 70% at the time of the purchase of tools, and the second, 30%, once the usage period has passed, to validate that the funds were used for the intended purpose and that the relationship and usage were maintained. There is a 24-month period available to implement the contracted solutions.

4. How to apply for the Digital Kit

The Digital Kit is aimed at small businesses, micro-enterprises, and self-employed individuals in any sector with a tax domicile in Spain, provided they meet the following conditions.

Conditions to access the Digital Kit program:

• Be a small business, micro-enterprise, or self-employed.
  Meet the financial and staff limits that define business categories.
• Be active and meet the minimum age required as established in the call for applications.
• Not be considered a company in crisis.
• Be up to date with tax and Social Security obligations.
• Not be subject to a pending recovery order from the European Commission declaring an aid as illegal and incompatible with the common market.
• Not fall under any of the prohibitions outlined in Article 13.2 of Law 38/2003, dated November 17, General Subsidies Law.
• Not exceed the de minimis aid limit (small amounts of aid).

The grants will be awarded on a non-competitive basis, so it is important to be ready to submit the application as soon as possible.

Steps to apply for your Digital Kit:

1.Register at acelerapyme.es and complete your self-diagnostic test through one of these channels:

• Online self-diagnostic test.
• In-person diagnosis at AceleraPyme offices.
• Phone diagnosis by calling 900 909 001.

2. Choose the solution that best fits your needs from those listed in the Digital Kit’s catalog of digitalization solutions.

3. Submit your Digital Kit application (procedures will be available soon).

4. Select your digitalization agent and get in touch with them.

5. Digitalization Agents

Participating as a Digitalization Agent enables a company to enter into collaboration agreements with the beneficiaries of the program’s grants, supporting them in their digital transformation processes by implementing technological solutions from the predefined catalog.

Conditions to participate in the program as a Digitalization Agent or Provider:

• Have a tax domicile in Spain.
• Have a minimum of 2 years of activity in the relevant sector.
• Have achieved a turnover of €100.000 in one of the two most recent closed fiscal years prior to the application.
• Be up to date with tax and Social Security obligations.
• Not be considered a company in crisis.
• Qualify as a business according to the definition provided in Annex I of Comission Regulation (EU) No. 651/2014 of June 17, 2014.

The program’s base regulations introduce measures to prevent large companies from monopolizing sales and require companies with more than €100 million in revenue or more than 1.000 employees to subcontract 50% of their sales services to SMEs. Additionally, major technology providers like Amazon cannot sell their services directly; they must do so through local partners.

Steps to qualify as a Digitalization Agent or Provider:

1. Access the registration form on the Red.es electronic headquarters, available in acelerapyme.es.
2. Complete all the steps of the form, indicating the categories of solutions for which you are applying.
3. Promote your services through your channels and sign agreements to provide digital solutions to program beneficiaries.

WonderBits has been validated as a Digitalization Agent and offers the following Digitalization services under the Digital Kit program, up to the maximum amount outlined in the call:

• Website.
• Business intelligence and analytics.
• Process management.

If you need more detailed advice on any of the solution in our portfolio, feel free to contact us through our contact form.