Flores entrepreneurs have contributed to development of the island's economy, says Regional Director
The Regional Director for Support to the Investment and Competitiveness highlighted the private investment on Flores Island, adding that the applications submitted under Competir+ incentive system amount to more than 1.3 million Euros of investment, providing for the creation of about two dozen jobs on this island.
Ricardo Medeiros spoke Thursday in Santa Cruz das Flores, during a clarification session promoted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Horta. On the occasion, he pointed out that the overall investments submitted under Competir+ have exceeded expectations in the Azores. The overall investments made and to be carried out in the archipelago under this Community framework already surpass 512 million Euros.
"The implementation of these projects expects to create more than 2,700 jobs throughout the archipelago," stated the government official.
Still in the context of Competir+, the Regional Director highlighted the "Local Development" measure, also known as micro-projects, whose implementation "has been a success and legitimises its creation." According to him, "217 applications have been submitted so far, corresponding to more than 2.5 million Euros of investment and the expected creation of 217 jobs. This allows us to restate the success of this measure aimed at supporting small projects ranging from 2.5 to 15 million euros in industry, services, trade or catering."
Ricardo Medeiros also pointed out another measure recently implemented, namely the possibility of regional companies to apply for the so-called Vouchers, which " intend to simplify the support for companies in very specific areas."
"It is now possible to submit applications for the Business Incubator Voucher and the Azores Digital SME Voucher; the opening notice for the Export Voucher has already been published," stressed the government official.
According to the Regional Director, the Business Incubator Voucher "supports the emergence of new companies in the Region, promoting entrepreneurship as a potential for innovation and regeneration of the sectoral and regional economic fabrics by fostering the acquisition of specialised services that are essential to startup businesses." In turn, the Digital SME Voucher aims "to strengthen the competitiveness of companies by supporting the procurement of services in the field of digital technologies."
"The Notice of Accreditation regarding the Export Voucher has been recently published. It is directed to companies providing services to qualify companies for entry into foreign markets," added the government official.
At the clarification session, Ricardo Medeiros recalled that the Support Scheme for Bank Microcredit in the Azores is still in force and supports the establishment of businesses by unemployed or precarious workers, but also small projects promoted by already existing micro-enterprises. This measure gives them the possibility of accessing interest-free bank credit with the Region's guarantee in the maximum amount of 20 thousand Euros for minor improvements in their businesses.
"All these support measures have contributed to the consolidation of our business fabric with direct impact on our economy and on our economic growth. In fact, this is confirmed by the Economic Activity Index recently released by the Azores Regional Statistics Service, which is higher than 2.1," stressed the Regional Director.