Amazon has brought together 15 of the most successful Spanish SMEs who sell on its platform in the I Amazon Sellers Forum. The event aimed to showcase how these businesses prepare and send customer orders with the most advanced technology. In addition to this, SMEs had a work session with Icex, the Spanish export agency, to address the challenges they face in international sales and learn about the tools developed by ICEX to support them in their international expansion.
As Víctor Juárez, CEO of Creators CO, a Leonesa SME specialized in crafts, points out, “Today’s SMEs can be proud of our achievements, but with fewer bureaucratic and regulatory barriers, entrepreneurship in Spain would be much greater.” Marga López, from Aeiouby, also highlights that “politicians need to understand that behind online trade are SMEs like us.”
“Digitization and electronic commerce are transforming the way Spanish companies operate and grow,” says Ruth Díaz, general director of Amazon in Spain. “Our goal is to continue supporting the 17,000 Spanish SMEs that sell on Amazon through tools and training so that they can reach more customers and increase their international sales figure. If more and more companies adopt e-commerce as a strategic pillar, we will not only strengthen the country’s business fabric, but also boost economic growth and employment generation in Spain.”
It’s worth noting that more than 60% of Amazon sales come from independent vendors, mostly small and medium enterprises. There are currently almost 17,000 Spanish SMEs selling on the Amazon store, and they exceeded one billion in exports for the first time in 2023. Amazon invests every year in resources and training of digital skills to help small and medium enterprises grow. A good example of this is the ‘Take off’ program from Amazon, which has already trained more than 45,000 SMEs and entrepreneurs in Spain, and aims to reach 50,000 before the end of 2025.
Visit and meeting at the Congress of Deputies
The highlight of the event was the visit to the Congress of Deputies, where this group of companies met with the Economy Commission by Adigital (the Spanish Association of the Digital Economy) and its Electronic Commerce Observatory. They presented an open letter with a total of ten recommendations to support the growth of Spanish SMEs through digitalization, training, and development of policies aimed at guaranteeing their access to the single European market. Among the measures proposed in the letter are those that help overcome regulatory barriers, the lack of specific training, and difficulties in accessing financing.
Marga López, co-founder of Aeiou Baby, was the spokeswoman for SMEs and presented the obstacles facing SMEs when selling online. She emphasized that “for many of us, online trade has been the key to our growth. We all share the challenge of growing our businesses in an increasingly competitive digital environment. We also share the goal of building a more favorable environment for SMEs that sell online in Spain.”
For Susana Voces, President of Adigital, “Spain has the right context to lead a safe and reliable electronic commerce, which enhances the growth of our SMEs, and helps consolidate the single digital market.” Voces defends that “Spain must aspire to be the Hub Leader in Electronic Commerce of Southern Europe.” The recommendations are aligned with those contained in the recently presented Competitiveness compass of the European Union, which highlights the need to eliminate unnecessary loads and harmonize regulations to facilitate business growth, indicating as priorities the digitalization of procedures and the interoperability of systems between member countries.