To maintain the attractiveness and competitiveness of Swiss companies, the Federal government’s economic promotion activities includes a strategy that focuses on digitalization for the period 2020-2023. These measures also concern SMEs.
The Message on Economic Promotion for the Years 2020 to 2023 was approved by the Federal Council on February 20, 2019 and accepted by Parliament on September 11, 2019. One of its main purposes is to continue the development of economic promotion instruments whose funding expired at the end of 2019. The total budget for the operation is 373.1 million Swiss francs.
These investments by the Swiss government improve Switzerland's attractiveness and competitiveness as a business location. In this context, the digitalization of the economy is an essential component.
Six areas of activity
To strengthen and support Switzerland's competitiveness as a business location, the Swiss government's economic promotion activities include implementing various measures:
- to reduce regulatory costs
- to facilitate access to financing
- to support innovation projects
- to promote development of networks and cooperation
- to improve management and dissemination of knowledge
- to ensure effective marketing of Switzerland as a business and tourism location.
Five financial focuses
The five proposed financial decrees that the Federal Council has submitted to Parliament concern e-governance (E-governance: SECO initiatives), the organization promoting innovation in the field of tourism, the Switzerland Tourism, Export promotion and location promotion in Switzerland. These decrees are intended to ensure continued funding and development of instruments useful to these five sectors from 2020 to 2023.
A focus on digital services
In the current climate, it seems inevitable that the instruments of economic promotion should be digitalized. The advantages of converting existing tools into digital format are numerous: saving resources, process optimizing, more effective communication, etc.
One of these is particularly interesting for SMEs: EasyGov.swiss, the online desk for companies. Digitalization of the tourism sector is also strongly encouraged, since such a transition has the potential to improve the country's attractiveness. Finally, efforts in the area of digitization will be made within the framework of the New Regional Policy (NPR), which has established itself as a promotional tool for the relevant stakeholders. Since 2008, the NPR has supported more than 2,400 projects focused on the economy.
