1. It has been 500 days since you were appointed Secretary General of Cecot: what is your assessment of the business landscape in our country?
In Catalonia, we possess significant productive strength, often underestimated by citizens and some public administrations. This strength is characterized by an inherent dynamism that has enabled it to reinvent itself despite the economic, social, and especially the political and administrative context, which makes it far from easy to generate and promote activity. At Cecot, we represent many sectors of activity, and both the impact of Covid-19 and the speed of the subsequent recovery vary across sectors and activities. What unites all individuals working daily in what we call “doing business” is a certain weariness and misunderstanding towards public administrations when it comes to securing the necessary support to boost activity and maintain jobs. This also applies to the booming entrepreneurship or start-up ecosystem in Barcelona, especially when compared to other countries where the facilities and processes for creating a company are much more agile and faster, such as in England or the Netherlands.
2. How do you evaluate the support from public administrations for business activity in this post-pandemic context?
In general, it has been insufficient, deficient, and quite detached from the reality experienced by our business fabric. While acknowledging that no one could have foreseen the emergence of Covid-19 and the global governance challenges in curbing its spread, a fundamental aspect like engaging with economic and social sectors before making decisions that directly impacted economic activity and jobs was crucial. Providing direct aid instead of forcing companies into excessive debt or implementing a more flexible fiscal policy temporarily would have been beneficial for the reactivation of SMEs. These are measures that other countries have implemented. I am also very critical of how the Next Generation funds are being managed, which are supposed to reactivate economic activity and transform our economic model. To date, we believe it is essential to expedite their distribution and improve the design of calls for proposals to ensure they reach all small and medium-sized enterprises, which is not currently happening.
3. What are the future challenges for business organizations like Cecot?
Like all companies, organizations are obliged to continuously review their value proposition. In this regard, Covid-19 has brought about new needs for businesses and their teams, and our responsibility is to support them during these times of immense transformation. Covid-19 has also highlighted the value of associationalism, as well as the credibility and trust of businesses in organizations like ours, given the need for immediate information and advice to make decisions.
4. How do you assess the 10 years of the Reempresa Centre of Catalonia?
I consider it a complete success! In these 10 years, we have managed to prevent the closure of over 3,500 Catalan businesses and have become an internationally recognized success model. One of the key ingredients has been the innovative approach of the project, which has allowed us to be disruptive in a sector like business transfer. The other crucial element has been the establishment of a public-private collaboration network. Without this substantial group of entities and institutions supporting us, none of what we have achieved would be possible. And finally, the excellent work of the entire Reempresa team of technicians (over 100 across Catalonia) who are, truly, the soul of this great project.
5. What are Reempresa’s future prospects?
The future prospect involves consolidating Reempresa as the benchmark market for business transfers in Catalonia. In this regard, we also have a duty to continue evolving the methodology and the set of support tools for both sellers and re-entrepreneurs. Additionally, we are preparing digitalization plans to offer a better experience to our users. Furthermore, we are expanding our range of programs with the launch of HelpEmpresa and Recreixement. The former aims to assist companies in crisis or even those looking to prepare to be more resilient to changes that, in this rapidly evolving reality, will affect all businesses. On the other hand, the Recreixement program seeks to provide tools for companies that want to take a step further and grow in diverse areas such as digitalization, diversification, or the internationalization of their businesses.
6. Autoocupació’s motto is ‘I am what I want to be.’ Are you?
Absolutely! This question has been with me for a long time, and I have tried to be consistent. When necessary, I have made the changes needed to answer it positively! Although I always leave a margin of ‘NO’ to continue growing…
