"Municipio Emprendedor" initiative of EER 2011 region Murcia serves as a model for Spanish regions

Murcia Region's pioneer initiative "Municipio Emprendedor" (Entrepreneurial Municipality) was presented to the Spanish regional development agencies during their 7 th meeting on 11 February 2014 by the director of INFO Murcia, Mr Juan Hernández. This initiative is a success story of cooperation between regional and local administrations.

The "Municipio Emprendedor" project has been developed and implemented by the government of the Region of Murcia in the framework of its entrepreneurial action plan "Plan Emprendemos", which the region launched during its EER award year. The project is based on the idea that municipalities are the natural environment for the development of entrepreneurs and businesses. It recognizes the capacity of municipalities to promote economic activities in their territories. The entrepreneurial municipalities in Murcia Region stimulate the creation and consolidation of SMEs through measures of administrative burden reduction, actions of support and reactivation of commercial activity, reduction of municipal taxes on entrepreneurial projects, promotion of entrepreneurial culture and the provision of infrastructures.

Hernández emphasized that the initiative had become an instrument facilitating the interaction between development agencies, municipalities and enterprises, thus generating a novel ecosystem of entrepreneurship. He added that the entrepreneurial municipalities promote self-employment, the streamlining of procedures and the elimination of bureaucratic obstacles.

At the current stage, sixteen municipalities have signed a "Municipio Emprendedor" agreement. These are: Abarán, Águilas, Alhama de Murcia, Archena, Cartagena, Cehegín, Cieza, Fuente Álamo, Jumilla, La Unión, Lorquí, Molina de Segura, Mula, Puerto Lumbreras, Totana and Yecla.