NGEU European Funds (Digital Cycle)

As the top representatives of Spanish companies in the energy, industrial and banking sectors announced a few days ago in "Wake Up Spain": "European funds are an immense opportunity to transform the Spanish economy and to maintain and create jobs".

After this, the President of the Government presented last Tuesday, April 13, a "Recovery, Transformation and Residence Plan". Where he explained the main objectives and items to use the 140,000 million euros of European funds until 2026, facing the recovery after the coronavirus crisis as an opportunity to modernize and digitize the Spanish economy.

Grupo Álava contributed our vision on these grants at the round table "European NGEU Funds: The accelerator of the digital and energy transformation of our companies | Ciclos Digitales", held on May 20. For an hour we talked with different professionals, who brought interesting points of view to the table:

• Abel Linares - CEO Nunkyworld
• José María González - General Manager at APPA
• Antonio Sagardoy - CEO at Bros Group
• Fernando Perez - Directo Madrid in Zabala
• José Fernández - CEO at MonoM
• Moderator: Juan Antonio Gil

The "Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan" (€140 billion of public investment until 2026) aims to accelerate the digital transformation of the economy and society, providing a favorable investment climate and strengthening the size of companies. Thus, it will increase the productivity and competitiveness of the entire economy through disruptive digital technologies such as Artificial Intelligence. Driving a humanistic digitalization, it will put people at the center and align with a Digital Bill of Rights agreed at national, European and global level.

There will be a strong concentration of investments and reforms in the first phase of the NextGeneration EU plan, which covers the period 2021-23 and is endowed with 70KMill€. The Plan foresees allocating 39% of the investment to boosting the green transition and 29% to digital transformation, aligned with the Spain Digital Agenda 2025. The Spanish economy has not had the capacity to significantly increase productivity and per capita income nor the resilience to face periodic crises. The plan has 4 transversal axes for a green, digital, cohesive and egalitarian Spain.

These axes are projected in 10 lever policies that gather the 30 components that articulate the investment projects and reforms to modernize the country. The main axes of reform and investment are framed in the integration of renewable energy and Smart Grid, in the development of recharging points, the green hydrogen roadmap, 5G connectivity, modernization and digitization of the AAPP, the promotion of AI ENIA National Strategy for Artificial Intelligence and digital skills.

The main investment programs of the 1st phase are Sustainable Mobility:

• 13KMill€ - SME Digitalization
• 4KMill€ - Digital competencies
• 3.6KMill€ - 5G Roadmap
• 4KMill€ - ENIA
• 500Mill€ - Smart Grid
• 1.4KMill€ - H2 Renewable Roadmap

José María introduces the session with a very positive and realistic point of view, contemplating that these funds are significant enough for all businesses in the sector to have a place. In the energy sector we can include different very beneficial activities and within them he explains how and in what 40% of the funds will be allocated in this green ecological transition: 1550 million € in green hydrogen, 1670 million € for self-consumption and 1600 million € Smart Grid.

Abel talks about the different stages of digital transformation, how it started with the change in 2000 and how companies that joined the second stage of robotization overcame more successfully the changes we are facing with the Covid pandemic. We are now in the third wave of digital transformation, with artificial intelligence that relies on data, algorithms and intelligence being key in this third stage. We are encouraged to investigate this technology further, as:

• It affects communication models: it puts the customer at the center of the equation.
• Visualization modeling, improvement: quality processes, research and analysis
• Arithmetic models, mathematical models that help us to evolve

Antonio Sagardoy develops one of the main current problems: the digital divide, where he points out that companies are aware of the need to transform digitally. He indicates that they have some complexity and change is not easy, but they must analyze what talent they have at home. Identifying what you have and what talent you need is vital to accompany this transformation process. In addition to making courageous decisions, knowing what changes we need from micro to macro and selecting the team of people. This implies a change of habits and behaviors where technology plays an important role, but we need profiles that have in addition to high capacity, are flexible, and curious, to accompany us in the digital transformation.

Fernando Pérez tells us when and how the funds will be confirmed, a very interesting perspective to be able to plan our business. Comparing the injection from the European Union with other years, which has meant a tenfold increase in the amounts, it will be a management challenge for the public administration. We will have to keep an eye on the calls for traditional and new grants, public tenders and public-private cooperation projects.

José Fernández offers us his vision within the industrial revolution, where these technologies that apply to Industry 4.0 and digital transformation are found. There are many technologies that we currently have: big data, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, collaborative robots... and we need to know how to integrate all this offer with our business models.

Conclusions: These funds are a great opportunity to address digital transformation. We must be brave when facing new challenges and make decisions that help us to develop professionally, being aware of the change of behavior and habits that we have to acquire and learn. The customer must be at the center of the digital transformation system and these processes must improve our Customer experience system.