EIB and COTEC Portugal present report on 'Digitalisation of SMEs'

The Advisory Hub – a partnership between the EIB Group and the European Commission – provides targeted support to identify, prepare and develop investment projects across the European Union, building on the expertise of the EIB and its partner institutions.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) and COTEC Portugal presented a report on "The Digitalisation of small and medium-sized enterprises in Portugal: models for financing digital projects".

The study was carried out by the EIB under a European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH or Advisory Hub) assignment for COTEC, the Portuguese Business Association for Innovation with a mandate from the Portuguese Ministry of Economy to address the innovation and digitalization of Portuguese companies. The Advisory Hub – a partnership between the EIB Group and the European Commission – provides targeted support to identify, prepare and develop investment projects across the European Union, building on the expertise of the EIB and its partner institutions.

At an event held in Lisbon, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro and COTEC Portugal Board President Isabel Furtado presented the key conclusions of the report, which provides an analysis of the current status of the digitalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Portugal.

The study explains that SMEs continue to play a key role in the Portuguese economy, representing more than three-quarters of the country's workforce. It also finds that while the access to finance conditions of SMEs in Portugal have improved in recent years, Portuguese companies still need to step up their efforts to invest more in digitalization in order to converge with the EU average, particularly those working in traditional sectors such as construction, retail, and hospitality.

The report identifies the main barriers preventing digital adoption among Portuguese SMEs, namely those related to financing mechanisms. It outlines recommendations for increasing the technical and managerial know-how needed to implement digital projects, identifying clusters and digital innovation hubs as key partners to encourage the digitalization of smaller companies in Portugal.

At the report launch event, EIB Vice-President Emma Navarro stated: "We are glad to join forces with COTEC to foster the digitalization of small and medium-sized Portuguese companies, a step that is crucial for them to continue growing and that also represents an opportunity to strengthen their competitiveness and to promote their internationalization. The study we are presenting today provides valuable information and tools to accelerate this process and is a good example of how Portugal can benefit from the expertise of the European Investment Advisory Hub to develop innovative financial solutions for SMEs."

Isabel Furtado, President of the Board of COTEC, said: "We are very pleased with the results of the project developed with the EIB and expect the recommendations of the report to have a positive impact on the financing instruments to support SMEs' innovation strategies, contributing to a higher degree of digitalization of business processes and an acceleration of the productivity and competitiveness of Portuguese companies, SMEs in particular."

Jorge Portugal, COTEC's General Manager, highlighted the findings of the report, emphasizing "the importance for the banking system to develop tools to recognize companies with innovative processes, which as a rule have a higher growth potential, export more and generally pay higher salaries, thus reducing financing risks. The financing of innovative companies is an opportunity to accelerate the sustainable growth of the Portuguese economy."