The Food Coop BCN supermarket is not like the others. It opened earlier this year as a pioneering super cooperative in Barcelona, where all its members (500 so far) can essentially buy agroecological and local products. That dream of sustainable, non-profit consumption, which points directly to “social transformation & rdquor; was conceived a few years earlier, but finally had a somewhat easier delivery thanks to a municipal grant to revive or promote economic activity in the city after the hard times of the pandemic. “It allowed us to do more things and have a cushion & rdquor ;, they say.
With Barcelona bursting with travelers it is hard to remember the scene of a year ago, with hundreds of closed or recently reopened businesses, or fear of undertaking in the face of an uncertain outlook. After the ravages of covid on economic activity, various aid was opened at the stroke of euros. The city council then announced a new part of the plan ReActivem with eight million that ended up being 9.2, to relaunch shops, restaurants, nightlife, services and tourist accommodationafter paralysis. In this time they have been rewritten 217 economic survival stories of businessmen and entrepreneurs, small and not so small, and also of entities that develop productive activity.
Rovira Rosea member of Food Coop BCN and a member of its communication circle, reports that her project, an assembly and in full expansion (members contribute a small fee and then three hours of work per month in the establishment to adjust costs as much as possible) not only facilitates the healthy food (among other products) and responsible, but has resurrected the forgotten Aragó Passage, by occupying the space of an old sheet metal shop. With the money obtained, they have been able to break into the market with more equipment and better facilities.
Multiplier effect
The first deputy mayor for Economy, Labor, Competitiveness and Finance, James Collboni, recall that the entire game for the reactivation of the city was 87 million, in very diverse sectors, but that this specific call not only aimed at the “most affected” areas; due to the covid-19 crisis, but to generate “a multiplier effect for the small economy & rdquor ;.
And it is that with the aid “the requesting businesses benefited but also those who carried out the projects, executed them or supplied the materials & rdquor ;. On the other hand, the injection of those 9.2 million euros has also meant “doing the business of the city more sustainable and energy efficient, one of the main current challenges”.
Previously, these activities had received small direct aid, but only to cover expenses forced by the pandemic (ventilation systems, screens, computers…), up to a total of cfour million for 2,700 beneficiaries.
The new batch of last summer triggered the applications to more than 800, details the manager of this area, Albert Dalmau. This time the purpose was the reactivation of those who started again after a lowering of the blind, and were willing to also contribute their own resources. The actions supported by grants they were conditioning and reforms to improve safety and accessibility; acquisition of machinery and elements related to the improvement of production, service, digitization or distribution; o Making improvements in terms of sustainability and recycling. In other words, to return to activity with better tools than before the health crisis.
Jordi Grau saw in the ad “the push that was missing & rdquor; to dare to address the comprehensive reform of hortaclic, the electrical appliance store that his father opened more than half a century ago and that is now part of the Mielectro chain. “It was the time”, after the pandemic brought back neighborhood customers, especially for its IT offer. “We have been able to do everything, floors, walls, blinds, shop windows & mldr; & rdquor ;, he recalls. He had to ask for a loan (the help comes after completing the process), but his bond with the bank will now be for two or three years “instead of eight or ten & rdquor; and with much less pressure on the back.
The new phase is approached with confidence, knowing that despite the competition of the Internet and large chains, proximity, “customer service, trust and being there if there are problems & rdquor; they are rising values, says the also president of the axis Cor d’Horta.
With this umbrella, up to 50% of investments have been subsidized for projects of some importance that have a total cost of more than 20,000 euros. The municipal endowment was up to 100,000, but the average aid reached 42,338 euros.
Restoration to the head
Dalmau details that a 42% of the subsidized projects have been restaurant establishments; 24%, for businesses; 18%, services; 10%, tourist accommodation and visitor economy, and another 5%, for nightlife.
Among the restaurants there are cases such as Triki-Trac, on Carrer de Numància (Sants-Montjuïc), which the entrepreneur Diego Álvarez promoted in 2018, tired of working for others, with a simple Peruvian-influenced cuisine. “When he had hardly been free for a year and was beginning to raise his head, the covid came & rdquor ;, he adds. Surviving the pandemic was an exercise of will, in which the owner and head chef multiplied: “I have had to do everything for many months. You sweep, you scrub, you set up the terrace & mldr; & rdquor ;, he relates.
From the experience, he found that to return to the load he would have to improve some elements of the business that had taken advantage of the transfer, but it was time to renew. He had already put the improvements on track when the aid was opened. “It has been a respite, knowing that you can make ends meet with a small mattress & rdquor ;, she details, in full recovery and with a team now of 12 people.
By zones, the Eixample captured 34% of the projectsfollowed by 18% in Ciutat Vella, 12% in Sarrià-Sant Gervasi, 7% in Horta-Guinardó and Sant Martí and so on until reaching the entire territory.
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And in terms of size, it should be noted that the majority (59%) has been for the smallest investments (with grants between 10,000 and 40,000 euros), while 21% of ha went to the media (they received between 40,000 and 70,000) and the rest were large (up to 100,000). All have passed a process of project report, technical details, budgets and subsequent audits, controlled by a commission with representatives from different areas of the city council.
In some cases, it has encouraged the social and solidarity economy, as is the case with the Els Tres Turons Foundation, that works on professional insertion, support for independent living and inclusive leisure for people with mental health disorders, with a total of 87 workers. Alfons Santos, its director, details that the injection has allowed them to improve and gain facilities, such as a new social club, with a much lower debt than expected. At the same time, they have resurrected spaces that had been empty for a long time and revitalized an area previously without activity.