Amazon brought together 15 Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) selling on the Spanish store at the Amazon Sellers’ Advocacy Forum. The event aimed to raise awareness about regulatory challenges faced by SMEs selling online, meet with company executives at Amazon's corporate office in Madrid, and visit the fulfilment centre in Illescas, Toledo, among other activities, to see how customer orders are prepared and shipped using the most advanced technology.
Additionally, the SMEs had a working 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 their international expansion.
As Víctor Juárez, CEO of Creators CO, a SME specialising in art supplies, notes, "today's SMEs can be proud of our achievements, but with fewer bureaucratic and regulatory barriers, entrepreneurship in Spain would be much greater." Similarly, Marga López from Aeioubaby emphasises that "politicians need to understand that behind online commerce are SMEs like us."
"Digitalisation and e-commerce are transforming how Spanish companies operate and grow. Our goal is to continue supporting the 17,000 Spanish SMEs selling on Amazon through tools and training so they can reach more customers and increase their international sales figures. If 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 job creation in Spain," said Ruth Díaz, Amazon Spain Country Manager.
More than 60% of Amazon's sales come from independent sellers, mostly SMEs. Currently, there are almost 17,000 Spanish SMEs selling on our store, and in 2023, they exceeded €1 billion in exports for the first time. Additionally, we invest annually in resources and digital skills training to help SMEs grow. A good example is our 'Despega' programme, 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 these two days was the visit to the Congress of Deputies, where the companies met with the Commission of Economy through Adigital (the Spanish Digital Economy Association) and its E-commerce Observatory, to present a manifesto with ten recommendations to support Spanish SMEs' growth through digitalisation, training, and policy development aimed at ensuring their access to the European single market. Among the measures proposed in the letter are those that help overcome regulatory barriers, lack of specific training, and difficulties in accessing financing.
Marga López, co-founder of AEIOU Baby, was the spokesperson for SMEs and conveyed the obstacles faced by SMEs when selling online and presented the manifesto to members of the Congress's Commission of Economy. In her speech, she emphasised that "for many of us, online commerce 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 selling online in Spain."
For Susana Voces, president of Adigital, "Spain has the right context to lead secure and reliable e-commerce that enhances the growth of our SMEs and helps consolidate the Digital Single Market." Thus, Voces argues that "Spain should aspire to be the leading e-commerce hub in southern Europe."
The recommendations align with those contained in the recently presented European Union Competitiveness Compass, which highlights the need to eliminate unnecessary burdens and harmonise regulations to facilitate business growth, pointing to the digitalisation of procedures and interoperability of systems between member countries as priorities.
