Supporting VSEs and industrial SMEs in going through an unprecedented crisis. This is the objective sought by a new device set up at the instigation of Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Secretary of State to the Minister of the Economy, guest on Monday of the program Audition publique on Public Sénat / LCP and Figaro Live. The factory production capacity utilization rate, which was 78% in February in France, has dropped to 56% today.
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"The restart is a real challenge for business leaders , " says one side of the office of the Secretary of State. Three issues must be addressed. First, the resumption of activity, which is a real operational issue after a downtime. Next, cash management, which is often difficult for small businesses. Finally, supply chain management, which could have been undermined by the extraordinary period crossed.
Fourteen million euros released
To help companies, Bpifrance will make external consultants, from the pool of consultants referenced by Bpifrance, available to companies to help them face these challenges. Business leaders, busy with day-to-day management, do not always have the time to address these issues, which arose out of an atypical situation.
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Fourteen million euros will be released to accomplish these missions. This sum will be used to finance 80% of the system. The balance, representing between 2000 and 4000 euros, will be charged to companies wishing to benefit from the system. The government plans to reach 1,000 businesses. We must now go quickly to identify those who most need these aids and launch the missions. These will last on the order of three to four months. The objective is clear: to try to revive the French economy as quickly as possible by also providing aid to SMEs.