Good practice:

INTERNATIONALISATION PLAN FOR EXTREMADURA’S ENTERPRISES (PIMEX)

Financed by Regional Funds and European Social Funds (ESF), PIMEX is a Support Program to help Extremadura companies to initiate and go forward in their internationalisation process. SMEs with motivation to internationalise their products and/ or services are reached and provided with the tools needed to achieve their objectives.
As for the specific support offered to the companies participating in PIMEX, it can be classified into technical, training and commercial support.
• Technical support: Technical staff of the International Area within Extremadura Avante supports the participating company in the development of the plan
• Training support based on training pills regarding strategic planning and addressed to management or commercial director
• Support in actions for external promotion: Actions and expenses valued at a maximum of 2,500€ per company are supported
Participants in PIMEX commit themselves to participate in the following formative actions:
• Assistance to three face-to-face group training sessions
• Assistance to three individual tutorials in the facilities of the participating company
After the training, companies participating in PIMEX will have a SWOT analysis as well as an action plan or international roadmap.

For the development of this Good Practice, the resources needed are:
• Technical staff support
• For the 2016 annuity, the PIMEX Plan has a cost/budget of 88,280 euros (75,000 for actions + 5,000 for training + 8,280 € for consultancy)

• Since 2002, more than 500 Extremadura companies have participated in this program and have received the adequate support to strengthen their foreign trade departments.
• In 2016, 30 SMEs participated in this program.
• The satisfaction level obtained from the quality survey is around 8 points out of 10 in all editions.
• Participating SMEs acquire skills and abilities to face internationalisation processes in an autonomous and stronger way, in the short / medium term.

­The potential for learning of this Good Practice has been identified in relation to:
• A close technical monitoring to each participating SME, by mean of a supporting team: technician (trainee working full time in-company) together with an external senior consultant advising upon request.
• A methodology for the implementation process: “Learning by doing” methodology and tools, supported by senior consultants
• Metrics for the evaluation of the program.
To sum up, PIMEX has been identified as a specific tool providing training, technical and commercial support for developing skills on internationalisation management.