Real business fabric
Sectors I know well in Spain.
Spain is the country of the SME: 99.8% of companies, according to the 2024 DIRCE from the INE, have fewer than 250 employees and 94% are micro-companies with fewer than 10. The autonomous-region map of subsidies, the digital transition pushed by European funds and the new regulatory frameworks (NIS2, DORA, AI Regulation) define fertile ground for consulting that knows how to move between vertical and compliance. These are the work fronts that generate the most demand at national level.
National SME fabric · 99.8% per DIRCE
The INE records 3.4 million active companies, of which 94% are micro-companies (1-9 employees) and 5.8% small (10-49). That structure defines a very specific client: family company, small management team, single or very close buyer, contained budget and a need for fast returns. The consultant who cannot move at that size does not penetrate the real market.
My work with Spanish SMEs always starts with a 2-3 week diagnosis that separates the urgent from the important, delivers quick wins in the first 30 days to gain internal credibility, and reserves 6-12 months to build what really differentiates: brand positioning and management system that sustains price.
Strong sectors · tourism, automotive, agri-food, banking, renewables
Five sectors concentrate most of GDP and of the investment in marketing and compliance in Spain: tourism (12-15% of GDP depending on the year), automotive (Ford Valencia, Seat Martorell, Renault Valladolid-Palencia, Stellantis Vigo and Zaragoza, Volkswagen Pamplona, Mercedes Vitoria), agri-food (Mercadona, Carrefour, El Corte Inglés as channel and wineries + meat + dairy as supply), banking (Santander, BBVA, CaixaBank concentrate ~80% of the market) and renewables (Spain is the 2nd European country in wind and photovoltaic).
For clients in these sectors I work on sector positioning with real benchmarks (what the leader does, what the close competitor does, what gap there is for a differentiated proposition), branded content that moves from slogan to measurable asset, and sector certifications that sustain the proposition (IATF for auto, IFS/BRC for food, ISO 27001 for banking, ISO 45001 for energy).
Autonomous-region subsidy map · national Kit Digital plus regional
Kit Digital (Red.es) has disbursed more than 3 billion euros in digital vouchers for SMEs since 2022 and remains active in 2026 with tranches III, IV and V. To this are added regional programmes (Adelante PYMES in Castilla-La Mancha, ENISA, Lanzadera, Andalucía Digital, ICEX Next, ICAF, lines from the Junta de CyL, IGAPE in Galicia, IDEPA in Asturias). The map is a mosaic that changes every year and demands specialisation by region.
Here my role is twofold: help the client understand which subsidies really apply to their case (not all of them, contrary to what their accountant may say), and prepare the documentation with judgement (memo, budget, action plan) so that it passes the first screening. The poorly requested subsidy is the lost subsidy.
2026 regulatory compliance · NIS2, DORA, ENS, AI Regulation
The year 2026 brings a regulatory wave that no serious B2B consultant can ignore: NIS2 transposed (updated Royal Decree 311/2022), DORA in full adaptation period for financial entities, ENS reinforced after RD 311/2022, and the EU AI Regulation with its first deadlines passed. Each touches a different universe of companies and all demand advisory that can translate norm to operations.
I support directors in the 'norm → risk → plan → deliverable' translation, prepare a compliance memo defensible before an auditor (AENOR, BV, SGS, LRQA), and build the integrated management system that avoids duplicating effort between norms. Compliance, well told, sells; badly told, frustrates the team.
2026 trends · ESG, applied AI, NIS2 cybersecurity, ENS for suppliers
Demands from large clients on the SME supplier concentrate on four vectors: ESG (sustainability report, carbon footprint, taxonomy), applied AI with governance (responsible use, ISO 42001), NIS2 cybersecurity (technical and organisational measures), and ENS for any supplier touching public administration. Those who do not respond lose the big account in 12-24 months.
For SMEs supplying large clients I prepare the commercial dossier that answers these four vectors with real data (no greenwashing, no AI-washing), the certifications that sustain the answer (ISO 14001 + ISO 42001 + ISO 27001 + ENS) and the narrative that turns compliance into a commercial argument against competitors who have not done the homework.