A new project for business development is born in Mijas, 'Puente al comercio' (Bridge to commerce). It is an initiative of the Department of Commerce and Business Development which "aims to unite the Mijas Town Hall with the traders of the municipality", said the councillor responsible for the area, Juan Carlos Maldonado (PMP), during the presentation, which took place on Thursday 17th at the premises of Pinturas Andalucía in Las Lagunas, the first company interested in participating.

"Of course we could not miss it and we are proud and delighted to host the launch of this project, because I believe that at a collaborative level and in terms of relations between the institution and the companies it is extremely important to strengthen ties. I think that, as the programme is called, it is a bridge, a way, to have interaction in both directions", said the head of Marketing and Communication at Pinturas Andalucía, Manuel Espíritusanto.

Strength comes in numbers

Those businesses that join the programme, whose slogan is ‘Cruza con nosotros’, (Cross with us), will be able to obtain greater visibility, for example in the local media, thus increasing their positioning in the sector. "Mijas has an enormous potential in terms of commerce, but it is true that the commercial habits in some cases are not what we would like from the Town Hall and the traders have also told us so", added the councillor, who pointed out that now there is still "a lot of work" ahead in terms of coordination between the local administration and the entrepreneurs . A path "that is not easy", said the councillor, but the ultimate goal of this initiative "is none other than to give visibility and promotion to our businesses".

Positioning

Companies interested in joining the programme can contact the Employment Promotion Department of Mijas. A team of workers, students of the Employment and Training Programme ‘Mijas Gestiona’, are also part of this project, Maldonado explained. All participating businesses will be able to attend a networking event organised by the Town Hall, "which will consist of a traders’ fair in which, every year, we can highlight the value of our commercial offer, but we will continue working day by day because it is something that requires a lot of effort, a lot of communication with the traders and above all to be able to make the most of the potential that Mijas has", said the councillor.

A living project

According to Maldonado, "there are many elements that affect this project and the important thing is communication with the Town Hall, listening to the needs of the traders and trying to implement them, to achieve the satisfaction of the businesses themselves, that are the ones who in the end make the neighbourhoods come alive, creating employment and, at the same time, it is also about the neighbours seeing that they have all the services they need around them".

 

Pinturas Andalucía, an example of perseverance

Pinturas Andalucía, with several shops in the municipality, is the first company interested in participating in the ‘Puente al comercio’ programme. Pinturas Andalucía has about 50 shops throughout Andalusia and employs more than 200 people, 70 in Mijas. "We are a brand that for almost 45 years we have been fighting, struggling and trying to win over the capitals, because we were born on the coast like many other companies, and what we are trying to do is to make ourselves visible outside the coast, so it is important to have support to achieve all these objectives", said Espíritusanto.

Local businesses

Puente al Comercio is "open" to all businesses, whether they are newly created or already established, Maldonado added. "We should be proud of businesses like Pinturas Andalucía. To see how it is possible that entrepreneurs like them have managed to go beyond the municipality of Mijas and make it possible for the rest to have that possibility". But also, Maldonado pointed out, "we have to work above all on consumer habits to promote local businesses". In short, that the people of Mijas have in their municipality possibilities to satisfy all their commercial needs and, then, to complete them with other shopping options if they need it.

 

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