The purpose of the Observatory is to raise awareness among authorities and society about the importance of providing financial education to SMEs, small business owners, and families, in order to improve the quality of their financial decisions.
Madrid, May 10, 2024 – NTT Data and IE Foundation have announced today the signing of a collaboration agreement in which NTT Data joins the Observatory on Household and SMEs Finances of IE Foundation as a sponsor to promote research around financial management and capacity-building for Spanish SMEs.
With this agreement, the Observatory launches a new line of research focused on SME finances, aiming to explore topics such as the financial information small business owners gather and report regarding their businesses, how they use it for decision-making, and the impact these decisions have on their results.
NTT Data brings its strategic vision in the financial sector to the Observatory, aligning it with its commitment to social responsibility. Its expertise in corporate banking needs and in developing technological solutions for the sector enables NTT DATA to provide an innovative perspective to address the growing need for financial education in the Spanish SME business environment.
The signing of the agreement was attended by Gonzalo Garland, Executive Vice President of IE Foundation, and Sergio Lahoz Cruz, Partner and Director of Global Banking in Europe and LATAM at NTT Data. Sergio Lahoz stated: “Our participation in the Observatory on Household and SMEs Finances of IE Foundation aligns with our commitment to contribute to societal improvement. We consider it strategic to investigate the financial capabilities of SMEs to identify the gaps that their owners and managers have, with the goal of designing and developing management tools that help them grow, digitalize, and internationalize profitably.”
In the words of Gonzalo Garland, Executive Vice President of IE Foundation: “The development of financial competencies in SMEs is essential to improving the management of a sector that is strategic for reducing unemployment, promoting flexibility and innovation, and enhancing the health of the economy. This research initiative will allow us to develop better training programs for small business owners, who are the engine of the economy.”
Laura Núñez, Finance professor at IE University and Director of the Observatory and who will lead this new research line, explains: “In recent years, our research team has been analyzing the financial literacy of Spanish households. Our current concern is to extend this research to the SME sector, as financial literature has focused on large corporations. Therefore, we want to examine the gap and biases between financial management theories presented in corporate finance books and the reality of Spanish small and medium-sized enterprises.”