This is how digital solutions for small and medium businesses win the global challenge launched by Banco Santander and Oxentia

data protection platform; A social media marketing solution based on artificial intelligence; Customer Relationship Management to manage customer relationships; A tool for cyber security and regulatory compliance and compliance. These are the four winning ideas of the challenge Global Challenge Santander X / Helping Businesses Thrive.

More than 700 ideas have competed in this international challenge, aiming to Startups NS scales, To provide innovative projects that support SMEs in their digital transformation and improve their efficiency. In Europe, SMEs account for 55% of the economy and 65% of employment. Because of that, at such a difficult time for them, Santander X It appeals to the entrepreneurial community around the world. We want to identify and support the most innovative solutions to help small and medium-sized businesses, facilitate the digitization of their businesses, take advantage of new opportunities or improve the way they operate.” This is how Antonio Simós, CEO of Santander Spain, explains the philosophy of the international challenge launched last May Santander Bank, via Santander Universities, NS Oxentia Foundation, which already has its four winning projects.

In the category startOne of the winners was Privasee (UK), which is a data protection platform based on data set and a self-updating privacy policy. It is an automated tool that finds and tracks company data in real time, identifying risks and reducing the time and money required to comply with regulations and avoid wrongdoing. The second winning idea is from Social Paper (Mexico), which offers a social media marketing solution for small and medium businesses using artificial intelligence. It is a social media management platform All in oneDesigned specifically for small businesses. “With Social Piper, businesses won’t need creative designers, social media consultants, and even community managers‘, they point out.

Category Awards a plus they have relapsed Whyline (Argentina/US), with a CRM for customer relationship management and a marketing channel that unlocks traffic and data sources to make everyday experiences or activities more fluid. It is a cloud-based application, where organizations allow their users to schedule appointments, avoid lines, and notify them when it is their turn. Allen (Germany) is the other a plus Award-winning, with cybersecurity, regulatory compliance and compliance through artificial intelligence. consists of a software A cybersecurity platform that enables organizations to improve transparency, compliance effectiveness, and collaborate more effectively across their businesses.

Each of the winning projects will receive a cash prize, which in case Startups It will reach 10,000 euros, and in that of Expand, to 50,000. In total, 120,000 euros to promote its development. In addition, the four solutions will have expert guidance provided by experts from the global Oxentia Foundation network, and will have the opportunity to present their solutions to Fintech Station, the open innovation team at Santander, and increased visibility on the financial group’s social networks and channels.

The evaluation and selection of Ultimate Solutions was conducted by ten international experts, leaders in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises, entrepreneurship, innovation and investment. The jury published its verdict in an event broadcast on flow via www.santander.com.

the challenge Santander X Challenge / Helping Business Prosper It is part of Banco Santander’s commitment to the advancement of individuals and businesses. The entity, which has four million SME customers, has been recognized for the third time in five years as Best Bank in the World for Small and Medium Business 2020 By Euromoney magazine in its awards Leadership Excellence.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 crisis has revealed that one of the main shortcomings of SMEs is the lack of digital transformation. According to the Spanish Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (Cepyme), only 14% of SMEs had a digitization plan before the pandemic began, a percentage that would be significantly lower if only micro-enterprises, those with fewer than ten workers. To fill this gap, the government offered Digitization plan for SMEs 2021-2025, which will include unprecedented investment from European funds aimed at the technological modernization of companies and aims to reach 1.5 million small and medium-sized enterprises in five years.

In private business, the Cantabrian entity has made clear its intention to be “part of the solution to this unprecedented health and economic emergency”. The Bank has developed technology platforms, solutions, services and applications to help companies improve their knowledge, improve their operations, and spur innovation. This is the case, among many other examples, from Finance & GoA leading digital financing service of one hundred percent for invoices issued and pending for collection for small and medium-sized companies and independents, which takes place in a virtual environment with maximum security and facilitates the management of treasury or Santander Zone, another tool that helps businesses and businesses connect with more than five million potential consumers.

But it also provided the cash to be able to maintain or reopen businesses for many families, as well as support their exit abroad with €20,000 million. “Many entrepreneurs have had very difficult months and still need our support now that they are starting to recover.”, commented on her social networks Anna Botín, President of Banco Santander. Last year, in the worst moment of the pandemic, it gave out 1,000 million euros in new loans every day. In total, the bank supported six million customers through various emergency measures. It was announced last March A new oxygen balloon: the bank pledged to support the recovery with an additional 40 thousand million in its loan portfolioEspecially to help the sectors most affected by the crisis.