The Barcelona’s town hall will allocate 7.5 million in credits and grants to reactivate the Social and Solidarity Economy (ESS) and the Proximity Economy in the neighborhoods before the crisis of covid-19 and with the aim of preserve 500 jobs.
The first deputy mayor announced it in a telematic press conference, Jaume Collboni, which has ensured that from this Tuesday the first applications can be submitted to qualify for the first grants and for 30 calendar days.
It is a plan that combines measures and actions at six and 12 months to help companies, entities and projects affected by the drop in activity, as well as those that were in the initial moments.
7% of GDP
“The ESS and the Proximity Economy represent 7% of the city’s GDP,” Collboni recalled, adding that the objective of this plan is to stop the blow from the coronavirus crisis in its economic activity.
He recalled that this plan, endowed with 7.5 million, is part of the extraordinary fund of 25 million already announced by the City Council to face the effects of the crisis on the city’s economy.
New lines of credit
This measure includes new credit lines worth four million agreed with ethical financial entities Coop57 and Fiare Banca Ètica and Fundació Fiare, to which is added a remnant of previous agreements of 500,000 euros.
Likewise, a million in grants will be given to the ESS through the ‘Enfortim l’ESS’ aid line and 1.76 million to the ‘Impulsem el que fas’ line of Barcelona Activa for the Proximity Economy, reaching a budget of 2.76 million between the two.
Barcelona Activa also promotes the ‘Aixequem l’ESS’ service to accompany these companies in a personalized way during the Covid-19 crisis, which has a budget of 100,000 euros and plans to serve 350 companies.
The consistory has activated cooperation agreements with four of the representative entities of the ESS for the more than 2,000 entities that have associates, and that will receive 150,000 euros in direct subsidy for actions and contingency plans.
It also includes an agreement with the entity Coòpolis as a group of cooperatives managing the Ateneu Cooperatiu de Barcelona for advising cooperatives in the city, with a contribution of 45,000 euros and the forecast of helping 20 projects.
– .
