The company space in Lagos was inaugurated last Thursday, May 31st, in a ceremony in which the “Algarve Revit+” project was also presented.
Ana Teresa Lehmann, Secretary of State for Industry, Maria Joaquina Matos, Mayor of Lagos, and Vítor Neto, President of NERA – Business Association of the Algarve Region, were present, addressing entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs.
The launch of these two projects, aimed at the business sector, is not, in the words of Maria Joaquina Matos, a mere coincidence, but the result of a strategy by the Municipality to revitalize the local economy.
For Edil Lacobrigense, «it's not about putting Lagos on the map, but putting Portugal in Lagos», so that entrepreneurs can have easier access to the services they need to implement their business strategies.
Referring to Espaço Empresa as evidence of the good articulation between public administrations (central and local) and the Revit + project as a manifestation of the Municipality's good relationship with economic agents, the Mayor stressed that there are opportunities that cannot be missed – a perception that led the Municipality to join the group of pioneer municipalities in hosting the Espaço Empresa – and that not taking risks would be much more negative for entrepreneurs, as in this, as in other areas, there is a whole path to be explored, aiming at constant innovation and business dynamization.
Maria Joaquina Matos was confident that Espaço Empresa will have the same demand and success as Espaço Cidadão, also installed in the main building of the Municipality.
Ana Teresa Lehmann visited the premises of Espaço Empresa in the Municipality of Lagos and recalled that this project is very special for the Government, as it results from the joint initiative of the Ministry of the Presidency, the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and It has a very noble purpose: to bring public administration closer to companies and streamline procedures, concentrating around 100 services in a single counter.
Therefore, he praised the municipalities that knew how to seize this opportunity and, through it, tell businessmen how important they are. Referring specifically to Lagos, the Secretary of State underlined the involvement of local and regional actors, as well as the sustainable growth in the number of companies based in this municipality, which, in her opinion, reveals business dynamism.
Espaço Empresa is an initiative promoted by IAPMEI – Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation, AMA – Agency for Administrative Modernization and AICEP – Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade of Portugal, in which the Municipality of Lagos is a pioneer, by integrating the network of 21 Espaço Empresa branches throughout the country.
This structure to support and support the economy of the Barlavento do Algarve region works in the Municipality, bringing together in the same place several areas of competence of the Central and Local Administrations linked to the development of business activity in the municipality, and in the region, seeking to minimize efforts, constraints and difficulties of entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and investors, in accessing information and in the relationship with the Public Administration as a whole.
In Lagos, the Espaço Empresa branch is open on weekdays, between 9:00 am and 17:00 pm, and offers a wide range of services. Some of them are already provided by the autarchy, such as, for example, in the areas of industrial licensing, the legal regime for commerce, services and restaurant activities and local accommodation.
Others are new, such as support for business innovation, access to information and digital tools for internationalization, enrollment in business training actions, information on Portugal 2020, the incorporation of companies, SME certification, support for implementation of the business idea, among others.
Convergent initiatives, aimed at strengthening the participation of entrepreneurs in the region's development, was how Vítor Neto referred to the simultaneous inauguration of Espaço Cidadão and the presentation of the Revit + project, a program for the revitalization of the business space in Lagos.
The president of NERA considered Lagos a very important council, due to its history and tradition, but also for the dimension and characteristics of its business fabric, taking the opportunity to reveal some data. For example: the number of companies headquartered in Lagos (5), of which half are companies, representing 10% of the region's business fabric, as well as the significant number of industrial companies (100).
For Vítor Neto – despite recognizing that most companies are linked to tourism and will continue to be, as it is our main sector of activity – “we don't have more tourism, what we have is the other sectors (agriculture , industry, fisheries) less”, a situation that causes a deficit of trade balance in the Algarve, explained by the excessive import of agricultural and food products.
According to the official, the great challenge of the region is the rebalancing of its economic structure and the need to, while maintaining tourism as a strong area, also be stronger in other sectors of the economy.
Once the interventions were completed, the Municipality of Lagos provided the Secretary of State for Industry and its delegation with a visit to two companies in the municipality of reference: Sopromar- Estaleiro Naval and Hotel Avenida, a recent hotel located in the city centre.
The remaining participants remained at the XXI Century Palace Palace to attend a more detailed presentation of the Revit + project, which was in charge of Catarina Cruz, Algarve's Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR), Brandão Pires, first secretary AMAL – Algarve Intermunicipal Community, and technicians from NERA.
This session marked the start of the project, which has an implementation period until September 2019, during which activities will be developed together with the companies at no cost to them, aiming to revitalize the three existing business reception areas in the municipality of Lagos (Chinicato, Pinheiral and Marateca) that will benefit from this program, as a result of the approval of the application presented by the Municipality.
Creating a management model, promoting the business areas and the 60 companies located in them and promoting training actions are the three main lines of action, which will give rise to initiatives such as: the creation of a website with all business areas in the Algarve , the creation of a distinctive brand for the business areas of each municipality, promoting cooperation between established companies, thematic workshops and exhibitions and spaces for business promotion.
In this session, a questionnaire was also distributed in order to identify the needs and expectations of entrepreneurs. The next meeting was scheduled to be held, which will have as its objective the creation of statutes and the constitution of a Commission that represents all companies and handles the matters of common interest.
The Algarve Revit+ is promoted by the Business Association of the Algarve Region (NERA), the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL) and the Algarve Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Algarve) and co-financed by CRESC Algarve2020, Portugal 2020 and the European Regional Development Fund ( ERDF).
This project aims to revitalize the region's business areas, by strengthening the training and promotion of small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) installed in these areas, in innovative management and marketing models, framed in a collective logic, through the creation of the Network of Business Areas in the Algarve.
Only five Business Reception Areas (AAE's) will benefit from this program in the region, and the Municipality of Lagos saw its candidacy for Algarve Revit + approved with three AAE's, namely Municipal do Chinicato, Pinheiral and Marateca, which correspond to more than 60 companies installed.
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