The IAF will promote 100 companies and 80 startups per year within its new strategic plan

New image, new objectives and new challenges . The Aragonese Institute for Development ( IAF ) presented this Friday its new strategic positioning plan 2024-2027 which includes five axes : Growth, Innovation, Entrepreneurship, Territory and Connectivity, in addition to a corporate transformation. Each of the axes has an associated program and among the main novelties, 100 companies with “growth projection” will be promoted each year and 80 innovative startups will be “accelerated or created” , for the time being until the end of the legislature.

This was explained by the managing director of the IAF, Daniel Rey , during the presentation of the new positioning at the Hotel Alfonso in Zaragoza, which was attended by the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, and the Second Vice President, Mar Vaquero. Rey explained that the programme will focus on SMEs with the aim of “increasing their size” to “improve productivity and competitiveness”. In this way, and especially, it will promote companies that have “development potential, opening up to new markets , diversification and launching new products and service lines”.ADVERTISING

INNOVATION, TERRITORY AND CONNECTIVITY

A business action that is part of the Growth axis with the “Aragón grows and competes” program, while the startup line is located in Entrepreneurship, with the “Innovative Entrepreneurship” program. On the other hand, within the Innovation axis, the Aragón Technological Hub program will be developed to implement new technological tools in companies and the Territory axis will focus on the Just Transition Fund to promote the province of Teruel. Finally, in the Connectivity axis, work will be done with the “IAF Conecta” program to facilitate the relationship between the administration and the company .

The President of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, has pointed out that this change of direction in the IAF responds to a need to evolve at the same pace as an increasingly diversified and technological economy. “The IAF wants to change and promote because it creates prosperity, attracts investments, strengthens our economy and generates employment. This will create a solid economy, which is the best foundation for us to be able to carry out a more important social policy than we already do,” he explained.

AZCÓN HAS REITERATED THE COMMITMENT OF THE ARAGON GOVERNMENT TO SMEs

He also wanted to highlight the role that SMEs have in the Community , since “they represent 99% of the business fabric” and create “50% of the jobs”. In this sense, he wanted to reiterate the support of the Government of Aragon for their development, in contrast “to what the central Government is demonstrating” . “They suffer day after day, the occurrences, impositions or attacks by the Government of Spain: four-day work weeks, reductions in working hours or the increase in the minimum wage without taking into account the particular realities”, he added.

“Instead of weakening our companies, we want to offer them help and solutions ; instead of raising taxes, we want Aragon to have a fairer fiscal framework; instead of complicating things with bureaucracy, we want to simplify and reduce it, and instead of complicating the business fabric of rural areas, we will continue to demand the 20% aid that small business owners in Teruel are demanding,” said Azcón.

For her part, the second vice-president, Mar Vaquero, has emphasised the diversification of the economy , which has been the main reason for the new IAF strategy to promote “all key sectors in the Community”, from the agri-food sector to the aeronautical sector. Within this renewal, in addition to the lines of work, a new logo has been launched with changes in colour, typography and relief, accompanied by a new corporate identity.