Payment by large companies and administrations is not only not improving, but is getting worse. Last year, 85% of the largest companies exceeded the legal payment deadline between companies by seven days, reaching up to 67 days. And administrations more than doubled this, settling at 70 days, instead of the 30 established in the regulations, according to the Multisectorial Platform against Default (PMcM), which brings together one million companies and self-employed workers.

The relationship between the president of the Spanish employers' association Conpymes, José María Torres, and the Catalan Pimec, one of the founders of this organization, which was established in May 2021, is rapidly deteriorating. So much so that Pimec is considering promoting a split from this organization or achieving a change in the presidency, according to close sources. Torres, who headed the only candidacy for the presidency and renewal of the board in the electoral process that opened last October, has chosen to proclaim himself winner again during the organization's assembly held this Thursday in Madrid, with the majority of affiliated organizations against him.

Factorial, the platform dedicated to AI-powered business operations, announced on Tuesday the launch of the AI ​​Acceleration Fund, a €10 million fund to boost the adoption of these technologies and the digitalization of business operations in European companies. According to CEO Jordi Romero, "the goal is to lower the barrier to entry for AI adoption for SMEs" and facilitate companies' transition from pilot programs to real-world deployments of automation and data usage in areas such as human resources, finance, technology, and operations throughout the entire employee lifecycle: performance, workforce analytics, and planning. The program, operational from Tuesday and with applications open until April 30, has a budget of €10 million structured in two equivalent components. The first tranche, worth €5 million, is allocated as direct cost reductions applied immediately upon signing the contract, without impacting the commitment to the platform. The second tranche, also worth €5 million, is offered as AI credits within the Factorial platform itself, so that companies have additional resources as their transformation program matures. Furthermore, participating companies will have access to a transformation support program that includes training and development webinars, access to events, and thought leadership reports.

Visibly pleased with the regional financing proposal presented by Spanish Vice President María Jesús Montero, but aware that it's impossible to obtain 100% of what they want, the Catalan Minister of Economy, Alícia Romero (Caldes d'Estrac, 1976), received ARA at the Palau de la Generalitat, convinced that Catalonia will succeed. She also stated that she doesn't see it as impossible for the proposal to go ahead.

It was a widespread demand. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the self-employed were calling for it, and it was also one of the points demanded by Junts in the Spanish government. Finally, the Verifactu electronic invoice verification system will have its mandatory implementation delayed by one year, moving to 2027 instead of January 1st for companies and July 1st for the self-employed.

Amidst heightened tensions between the Spanish government and Israel, the employers' association Conpymes, which represents small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), will begin a trade mission to Israel this Sunday, in response to an invitation from the Israeli embassy and the Israel Export Institute, as reported by the association itself. The delegation will be headed by Conpymes President José María Torres and will last until the 27th of this month. Pimec, which is part of Conpymes, has distanced itself from this initiative. Sources from the Catalan employers' association maintain that they have their own structures and agendas regarding foreign relations and other activities.

New step in claims against non-payments and late payments to suppliers. The Multisector Platform against Late Payments (PMcM), which brings together around one million SMEs and self-employed workers, has demanded that various state agencies and the European Commission force large companies to comply with the legal information they should provide on confirmings (collection of invoices before due date), deferrals or transfer of collection (having a third party collect the invoice).

In May, before the summer holidays, Pimec presented its accounts and took advantage of the opportunity to demand its entry into the Economic and Social Council (CES), something that, as the president of the employers' association, Antoni Cañete, has been reminding us, "the law says so." In fact, back in May 2024, the Official State Gazette (BOE) published that the Spanish government had given the CES plenary session three months to modify the internal operating regulations and include Pimec. Now, Cañete is raising his voice. The deadlines have not been met, and when asked about the minutes and results of this issue that Pimec has been dragging on for years, Cañete explained that "the organization's board of directors has expired so far this year, and since June 2025, the presidency has also expired."

Directly, without intermediaries, and online. SMEs will have access to €1 billion from the Official Credit Institute (ICO) until 2027 to finance their growth. This was announced this Friday by the Minister of Economy, Carlos Cuerpo, during a working session at the headquarters of Pimec in Barcelona. The instrument is aimed at SMEs that are at least four years old and have audited annual accounts for the last two fiscal years or that have a public guarantee.

BBVA continues its offensive to gain strength in the SME segment, one of the areas in which Sabadell, which it aims to control, is most specialized. The entity chaired by Carlos Torres has granted more than €11.311 billion in new financing to SMEs, self-employed workers, and companies in Catalonia, representing a 24.7% increase compared to the same period last year.

2012-2013. Citizens picked up their medications at pharmacies, but many did so with the anguish of thinking what would happen if we stopped being able to buy them. Now we know that all of this could have been avoided.

According to a recent report by Cepyme, Spanish SMEs have seen their operating costs skyrocket by 26% since 2019, especially in micro-enterprises, due to materials (+35%), services (+7%), and labor costs (+25.7% in small and micro-enterprises, +19.8% in medium-sized enterprises). This reality has slowed job creation: in the first quarter of 2025, SMEs grew by only 1.9%, the lowest figure in four years.

Late payments aren't disappearing. Despite various regulations, the obligation to pay suppliers within a maximum of sixty days is not met by many companies, which have payment terms that can even exceed three hundred days. The Multisector Platform against Late Payment (PMcM), which claims to represent around one million SMEs and self-employed workers and is led by the Catalan employers' association Pimec, has once again warned about this and emphasizes that late payments are a "structural and widespread" problem in the Spanish business world. It is also a veritable "time bomb" that the European Commission wants to defuse through a regulation that includes reducing payment terms to thirty days, with caveats; an automatic sanctioning system; and the creation of national supervisory authorities. However, it has not yet been implemented.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Catalan Institute of Finance (ICF)—the public banks of the European Union and the Catalan government, respectively—have signed an initial loan of €100 million aimed at promoting investments in sustainability and climate change adaptation among small and medium-sized Catalan businesses. This loan is the first tranche of a €200 million program, the two financial institutions reported in a joint statement.

Despite their dedication to producing solar energy, it's a tough sell in the world of small photovoltaic investors. In addition to the retroactive cuts in remuneration—first approved by the Socialist governments in 2010 and subsequently consolidated and aggravated by the PP governments starting in 2012, with changes to the rules and turning the "Official State Gazette" into a dead letter—are the effects of regulation, which reduces the current amount many producers are currently experiencing. This is a positive situation for consumers thanks to the influence of renewables and the contributions these pioneers made, but it is now penalizing them, while large investors are not suffering because they have greater financial strength and can take advantage of economies of scale. "They're forcing us out of the market. Many have had to sell off," complain the small investors, who number around 62,000 families, some 8,500 in Catalonia, especially in rural areas, and are demanding solutions from the Ministry of Ecological Transition.

The Digital Kit is a Spanish government initiative that, through European Next Generation funds, aims to subsidize self-employed individuals and micro, small, and medium-sized businesses (up to 250 employees) to implement digital solutions. It has a budget of €3.067 billion, was launched in January 2021, and has been extended—only for self-employed individuals—until October 2025. According to official data from Red.es, there are more than 670,000 beneficiaries across Spain, with more than 20% in Catalonia.

Conpymes, of which the Catalan employers' association Pimec is a member, filed an administrative appeal against the Community of Madrid for granting subsidies "by finger-pointing." The complaint has already been admitted for processing by the High Court of Justice of Madrid, according to this organization, chaired by José María Torres.

Ángela de Miguel defeated Gerardo Cuerva, who was running for re-election, in the elections held by Cepyme, the Spanish employers' association for small and medium-sized enterprises and part of CEOE, the main business organization in Spain.

The current president of the Pimec employers' association, Antoni Cañete (Barcelona, ​​​​1963), will repeat in the position for the next four years, being the only candidate presented. The elections of the employers' association, which were called for February 27, will not need to be held in the end because no other candidate has been presented. This Wednesday, the electoral board has ratified the reelection of Cañete after completing the procedures established by the electoral regulations and the statutes of Pimec.

Will the European funds be the panacea to the economic crisis that some predict or, on the contrary, will they arrive too late? How many will reach the medium and small companies that make up the bulk of the Catalan business fabric and how many will be for large companies? In a debate held this week at the Ateneu Barcelonès and moderated by Antoni Bassas, the ARA brought together five expert voices on the subject: Joaquim Coello, member of Conext CAT-EU -the advisory committee on the funds of the Generalitat-; Ariadna Marín, CEO of the coatings company Coatresa; Jacint Soler, director of external relations of Pimec; Kilian Garcia, director of the international department of Foment del Treball, and Joana Artís, business consultant.