Gas Natural SDG : The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation is offering an online, open-access and free course to SMEs on digital transformation

• This initiative, promoted in collaboration with theIEBS business school and the digital marketing agencytthegap, forms part of the First Export Programme of the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, through which the entity is supporting SMEs with their overseas development plans.

The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, with support from theIEBS business school and the digital marketing agency tthegap, will offer an open-access and free (MOOC) online course to SMEs on digital transformation aimed at boosting and accelerating processes of change and transformation among small- and medium-sized enterprises and professionals.

The course, which will begin on 10 November, is aimed at introducing SMEs to the processes of digitisation, and making business leaders and executives reflect on the future of organisations and the impact being caused by the changes we are experiencing through the application of such technologies as automation, machine learning, the connected society, the Internet of Things, Industry 4.0 and 3D printing.

The course will include basic knowledge on the digital economy and the adoption of digital platforms, information on the new organisational capabilities necessary for building a competitive business in the new digital environment, explanations on how to build new business models based on digital and customer-focused platforms, how to transform the organisation and business value chain via digital platforms and ICT, and a focus on the importance of developing a digital culture and intra-entrepreneurship within organisations to enable the deployment of transformation processes for the business.

The team responsible for preparing this project is made up by professionals who are leading digital change and transformation processes, such as David Alayón, head of innovation projects at Inditex; David Tomás, founder of the first company in Spain with a cellular organisational structure and author of the best-seller 'La empresa más feliz del mundo'; and Lluis Font, with over 25 years of experience in the digital industry.

First Export Programme

The initiative is part of the First Export Programme, through which the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation assists small and medium-sized enterprises with their international development plans. The programme is focused on supporting SMEs as they take their first steps in exporting anywhere in the world, with a complete, continuous training plan, free of charge, including classroom-based and online training sessions, advice and personalised tutorials.

The First Export Programme was first launched in Argentina in 2001 and has enabled over 25,300 companies to receive training on foreign trade and 1,200 SMEs in Argentina to begin exporting. It was launched in Spain in 2014 and over 1,600 entrepreneurs and executives from Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises have taken part so far. The programme has provided customised advice and consultancy to 83 of these SMEs, 15% of which are already exporting their products. To take part in the programme, interested companies need to provide a CIF (tax ID number) and sign up for the programme on the website: www.fundaciongasnaturalfenosa.org.

Within the framework of the programme, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation has also launched a new tool for Spanish SMEs to optimise their online sales performance. The software, developed by Vikinguard, enables ongoing monitoring of performance, availability and load time for any online store and sends notifications when a problem is detected.

Aware that e-commerce is a basic export tool for companies, the Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation has also decided to provide SMEs with access to a study on e-commerce load times in Spain and offer them the possibility of taking a free course in web analysis for e-commerce. Both the study and the course are available online and can be downloaded from the following link.

The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation

The Gas Natural Fenosa Foundation, founded in 1992 by GAS NATURAL FENOSA, focuses its activities on promoting information, training and increased social awareness in improving energy efficiency and technological innovation in the field of energy while respecting and protecting the environment, and promotes cultural activities through the Gas Museum aimed at preserving and spreading knowledge about the historical and cultural heritage of the sector. Its international activities are carried out in Algeria, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Morocco, Italy, Moldova and South Africa.

Barcelona, 19 October 2016.

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