Enisa has become an essential public body for Spanish emerging companies. Since the approval of the Startup Law, this entity is responsible for certifying that a company is a startup, so its approval is essential if these companies want to benefit from the tax incentives provided for in the new regulations.
“The law came into effect last year and since then, we have already certified 900 startups. A new team is in charge of it and it takes between a month and a half or two months to issue the certificate,” says Borja Cabezón, who has just assumed the position of CEO, replacing José Bayón.
With this increase in skills, Cabezón faces his mandate with the ambition of strengthening Enisa's role in the country's digital ecosystem. “The participation of States in the economy is necessary in current times and from Enisa, we want to spread our work to support emerging companies, energize the ecosystem and promote the attraction of talent,” says the manager during a meeting at the 4YFN. , held this week in parallel with the Mobile World Congress.
Enisa – which is the acronym for National Innovation Company – was born in 1982 and since then, it has been an executing arm of the State's innovation policies. Its main function is to grant participatory loans to SMEs that need financing to carry out their innovative projects. These resources are of great help in the initial phases, when entrepreneurs have less capital, although they are also useful when projects need a push to grow in more advanced phases.
Since its inception, Enisa has allocated a total of 1,332 million euros to more than 7,500 companies. The business fabric of Catalonia has had a relevant weight, since 35% of the loans have been granted to companies in the territory, which have raised a total of 390 million euros. “Catalonia is by definition the most innovative community but we see that in recent years entrepreneurship has spread throughout the country, especially in Madrid, which already concentrates 30% of the operations, followed by Valencia, with 9%,” points out Cabezón, who also highlights the growth of the Malaga ecosystem.
In the last year, the entity has had a public budget – which comes from the Ministry of Industry – of 123 million, of which 112 million have been executed. “Companies that apply for aid must meet some requirements, such as being an SME with an innovative project or having 60% of the workforce in Spain,” says Cabezón, who assures that only 643 applications have been approved out of a total of 1,700.
Another essential condition is that the loan is accompanied by private investment (the amount of which is at least half of the loan) so that the commitment of the private sector in the project is guaranteed.
At most, companies can obtain 1.5 million euros, either in one or several applications. The average, Cabezón details, is in loans of 174,000 euros. “The conditions are very beneficial. The loan application is free and online, the granting occurs in less than 60 days and it is not necessary for entrepreneurs to present collateral or guarantees regarding their assets,” he assures. Regarding the repayment of the loan, Enisa also ensures that it offers favorable conditions, which set an interest based on the Euribor and the obtaining of profits.
This entire loan system is articulated through six lines of participatory loans: young entrepreneurs, women entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs (in general), growing businesses, innovative companies in the agri-food sector and SMEs in the audiovisual world and the arts.
Looking ahead to this year, Cabezón hopes to continue growing gradually with a budget very similar to that of the previous year. The manager is not afraid of the slowdown of the ecosystem, which in recent years has suffered a drop in venture capital investment: “more and more initiatives are coming to us and that demonstrates the dynamism of the Spanish ecosystem. In no case did we notice the stoppage,” he says.
In the long term, this body is open to carrying out public-private initiatives. For example, study how to collaborate with startup accelerators or venture capital investment funds.
