The agreement signed between the Park and MicroBank will promote equal opportunities through a line of financing that encourages job creation and entrepreneurship for groups with the most difficulties.
The general manager of Málaga TechPark, Felipe Romera; the president of MicroBank, Juan Carlos Gallego González, and the territorial director of CaixaBank in Eastern Andalusia, Juan Ignacio Zafra, have signed a collaboration agreement to facilitate the financing of business projects through microcredits.
With the signing of this agreement, a financing line of one million euros is established to promote self-employment and encourage entrepreneurial activity, favoring equal opportunities between men and women, new residents, people with disabilities and with special attention to the groups in vulnerable situations. Based on this agreement, the creation or expansion of micro-businesses, self-employed businesses and self-employment projects will be financed with the aim of contributing to the development of the productive fabric and social progress. In addition, innovative business projects will also be financed.
Beneficiaries will be self-employed professionals and micro-businesses with less than ten workers and an annual turnover of less than two million euros. Applicants may opt for microcredits for a maximum amount of 25,000 euros or 50,000 euros in the case of an innovative initiative. Projects must have a business plan and a favorable viability report prepared by Málaga TechPark.
The criteria for granting microcredits by MicroBank fundamentally address trust in the person or team requesting the loan and the viability of the project, with access to people lacking guarantees and endorsements.
By virtue of this agreement, the entity undertakes to detect the financing needs, in order to promote self-employment and the establishment, consolidation or expansion of micro-enterprises and self-employed businesses and direct the natural or legal persons advised by the institution to MicroBank for it to analyze, and where appropriate approve, funding requests.
Málaga TechPark aims to boost the industry in the community by attracting and establishing companies and entities for research, innovation or singular production of applied technology.
MicroBank, CaixaBank’s social bank, completes the entity’s commitment to a way of doing socially responsible banking and generating a positive impact on society with its activity. MicroBank’s mission is to contribute to the progress and well-being of society by providing financing to those groups and projects where a social impact is generated.
During the first semester of 2021, MicroBank has financed 9,942 projects in Andalusia with a social impact worth 82 million euros, of which 8,054 microcredits worth 48.4 million euros were used to meet specific needs of families and 1,498 for an amount of 19 million euros was awarded to support entrepreneurs and micro-businesses. Specific lines by sectors with social impact managed to materialize 390 social economy, education, entrepreneurship, innovation and health projects in Andalusia for 14.5 million euros during the first six months of 2021.
In addition to the extensive network of CaixaBank branches, entities collaborate in the granting of microcredits and they provide knowledge of the people receiving the loans, in addition to advising and monitoring projects. Currently, there are more than 300 entities that actively collaborate throughout Spain. The collaborating entities are organizations of all kinds with experience in economic and social assistance actions aimed at promoting the creation of micro-businesses, promoting self-employment and encouraging entrepreneurial activity.