{"id":2633,"date":"2017-02-28T12:06:25","date_gmt":"2017-02-28T11:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/?p=2633"},"modified":"2017-02-28T12:06:25","modified_gmt":"2017-02-28T11:06:25","slug":"off-to-conquer-the-world-be-aware-of-the-difficulties-of-internationalization-although-start-ups-seem-to-be-doing-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/startupxplore.com\/en\/blog\/off-to-conquer-the-world-be-aware-of-the-difficulties-of-internationalization-although-start-ups-seem-to-be-doing-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Off to conquer the world? Be aware of the difficulties of internationalization (although start-ups seem to be doing better)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most SMEs in Spain want to grow beyond their borders. <\/span>This is what a Study on the internationalization of Spanish companies<\/a> carried out by the Chamber of Commerce<\/strong> last year has revealed. Seventy percent<\/strong> of the 1,300 executives from the small and medium-sized exporting companies who participated in this study considered that internationalisation “was a key factor to overcoming the crisis”<\/strong> and 80% said that their company would continue to “invest in their international expansion in the coming years”.<\/p>\n

However, the study also reflected certain shadows. According to less than half of those interviewed (45 per cent), international business was more profitable than doing business at home; however most of them did not seem satisfied with their progress: 77 per cent felt that their share of international business should grow more<\/strong> in the coming years.<\/p>\n

Beyond the SMEs that decide to go for other markets, global reality is quite different. According to data from the Spanish Foreign Trade Institute (ICEX<\/a><\/strong>), last year the number of exporting companies was 147,000, only 4.55% of the total.<\/strong> The percentage of companies that export regularly has increased, but growth has been very slight. In addition, Spanish foreign sales are too concentrated: 100 companies account for 39.2% of exports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

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Despite these figures, Alicia Montalvo, ICEX general manager of institutional cooperation and coordination, said a few months ago<\/a> that managers had understood that internationalisation was “the way to grow” and a “strategic choice”, but added that Spanish companies still had much to work to do beyond their frontiers. In fact, this institution helps Spanish SMEs who wish to internationalise their business and consolidate their presence abroad, through its \u2018ICEX Next\u2019 support program<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, what obstacles do SMEs face to internationalise, in addition to their limited corporate dimension? According to the aforementioned Chamber of Commerce study, 56% of these companies consider lack of financing to be their main obstacle<\/strong>. The selection of a commercial or industrial partner in the target market and the regulatory aspects are other problems cited by the managers surveyed.<\/p>\n

Startups, more funding and more success<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Although funding is an obstacle for all SMEs, the situation is much brighter for start-ups. According to estimates by the Spanish Association of Capital, Growth and Investment (Ascri), Spanish start-ups received <\/a>659.4 million euros of financing last year,<\/strong> 83% more than the previous year. Foreign investment in Spanish start-ups rose 152% last year <\/a>to 388 million euros, which shows that investors from other countries are also increasingly focusing on Spanish entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n

“Spanish start-ups are being created with an increasing global conception”Mar\u00eda Benjumea<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although investment declined in the last months of the year<\/a>, the re-start of three new venture capital<\/a> fund managers (Nauta Capital<\/a>, K-Fund<\/a> and Kibo<\/a>) and the creation of Nuclio Venture Builder<\/a>,<\/strong> an incubator founded at the beginning of the year by the entrepreneur and business angel Carlos Blanco<\/a>, show that the machinery of investment continues to function.
\nNuclio<\/a>