Seven million euros to produce more. And only one in four Canary Islands companies pays to be found. Canary Islands SME grants help expand capacity, but on their own they do not create customers, and that is where many projects stumble. Here is how to put things in order, with data and an eye on the call’s rules.
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Seven million to produce more, but one in four pays to be found
The picture is this: a support line of 7 million euros aimed at increasing production, and one in four companies investing in being found by customers. The other 75% expand, modernize and buy machinery. And wait.
It is not an opinion: it is data from INE, the Spanish statistics institute, collected by the Canary Islands Telecommunications Observatory.
The gap with the national average: 75% against 84%
The same report says that 75% of Canary Islands companies have a website, against 84% on average nationally. Nine points below, and the gap is not closing: it is growing. A company that is not online in a well-kept way is less visible just when customers search on Google first.
A grant funds capacity, not demand
Here is the underlying problem. A grant funds production capacity; it does not create demand. You expand the premises, hire two people, buy the equipment. And six months later capacity has grown, demand has not: same customers, higher fixed costs.
It is not a project failure. It is a sequencing failure: Canary Islands SME grants and production investments work better if someone knows they exist before the machine is idle.
The part almost nobody reads in the call
Under Line 1, software and external collaborations are eligible expenses. The aid covers 30% of costs, up to €60,000 per project. I am not telling you to invest in communication instead of production. I am telling you that both fit in the same project, and that submitting them together makes more sense than leaving one for “when there is time”.
Always check the conditions of the call currently in force: amounts, percentages and eligible expenses can change from one call to the next.
How to put it in order in three steps
- Before expanding, write in one sentence who you work for and what problem you solve. If it will not come out, the problem is not the website.
- Look at what a customer who searches for you finds today. Website, Google listing, LinkedIn: it is your commercial documentation, like it or not.
- Put the digital part inside the investment project, not as an extra.
In our web development and SEO and project management services you will find how we set up these actions, from defining the content to launch.
Producing more is only half the job
Producing more is half the job. The other half is that someone knows about it before the machine is idle. Did you expand capacity this year? Did demand grow at the same pace? Tell us on our LinkedIn page.
Frequently asked questions about Canary Islands SME grants
Do Canary Islands SME grants also fund the website?
Under the Line 1 cited, software and external collaborations are eligible expenses, with 30% coverage up to €60,000 per project. Always check the call currently in force.
Why does demand not grow after expanding capacity?
Because the grant funds production capacity, not demand: if customers cannot find you, fixed costs rise without new revenue.
Is it better to invest in communication or production?
Both: they fit in the same project. It is better to submit them together than to postpone the digital part.
Where do I start?
With one sentence saying who you work for and what problem you solve, and then with what a customer finds today on your website, Google listing and LinkedIn.
Planning an investment with public funding?
We can help you build the digital part into the project: website, content and online presence that bring in demand.