ALICANTE. The Valencian Community concentrates the 11% of small and medium-sized businesses in the countrywhich places it as the fourth autonomous region with the greatest presence of this type of society, only behind Madrid, Andalusia and Catalonia. A business fabric that faces 2026 in a context in which labor costs, economic uncertainty and bureaucracy have come to lead the concerns of those who undertake business. Furthermore, the outlook for business development has declined compared to the previous year. Only 49% of entrepreneurs in the country consider that their sector is growing, ten points less than in 2025.
These are some of the conclusions of the Emprende Report 2026prepared by Holded in collaboration with Toluna Corporate, based on a survey carried out in April of 1,530 entrepreneurs and self-employed workers from all over Spain. The study analyzes the situation of entrepreneurship, the difficulties in developing a business activity, financing and advice needs and future prospects. It also dedicates a section for the first time to the incorporation of artificial intelligence in business.
In territorial distribution, the Valencian Community occupies fourth national position, with 11% of Spanish SMEs. Ahead are the Community of Madrid, which concentrates 19.6%; Andalusia, with 19.3%; and Catalonia, with 14%. Between the four they bring together 63.9% of the country’s small and medium-sized companies. Castilla y León and Galicia appear next, both with 5.2%, followed by the Canary Islands, with 4%, and Castilla-La Mancha, with 3.8%.
Labor costs displace competition among concerns
One of the changes identified by the study is found in the problems that entrepreneurs point out in developing their activity. Labor costs occupy the first position, with 31% of the responsesfollowed by economic uncertainty, with 30%, and bureaucracy and regulations, with 29%.
Competition, which in previous editions shared the top positions with labor costs, is now in fourth place, with 25%. Behind them are the administrative and accounting burden, with 20%, and access to financing, indicated by 18% of the participants.
Lack of commercial visibility and difficulties related to marketing represent 16% of the responses. For its part, the shortage of qualified personnel and the obstacles to accessing new markets reach 14% in both cases. The digital and technological transition worries 11% of those surveyed and the lack of knowledge appears in 9%.
This last issue is included among the concerns raised by the study in an exercise in which artificial intelligence and other technologies are entering the activities of companies.
The results also reflect differences in priorities depending on the size of the business. Among entrepreneurs who work alone, maintaining activity and achieving economic stability are part of their objectives. On the other hand, when companies add workers, priorities related to hiring, expansion and digitalization increase.
Confidence in growth falls ten points
The evolution of business expectations is another section of the report. The percentage of entrepreneurs who consider that their sector is growing has gone from 59% in 2025 to 49% in 2026. At the same time, 26% express uncertainty about their evolution, six points more than the previous year.
21% consider that their sector is experiencing stagnation and 3% perceive a decline. Among entrepreneurs between 18 and 30 years old, 65% consider that their sector is growing, compared to 49% of those between 31 and 43 years old. This last group registers a drop of eleven points in the perception of growth compared to the previous year. Among entrepreneurs between 44 and 57 years old, the percentage that observes growth stands at 44%, while 30% express uncertainty. The situation changes among those over 58 years of age, where uncertainty reaches 43% and exceeds the perception of growth, which remains at 27%.
Future forecasts are also related to the challenges that entrepreneurs identify in their activity. Technological advancement and the need for constant innovation share the first position with inflation and the increase in raw material costs, both at 30%.
They are followed by competition with large companies, with 29%, and the lack of institutional support, with 24%. Changes in consumer habits represent 22%, while international conflicts, tariffs and geopolitical crises reach 21%, the same percentage as national political or economic instability and difficulties in finding qualified personnel.
Financing and advice continue to lead needs
Faced with these difficulties, entrepreneurs maintain their demands for support to develop their businesses, although the report detects an increase in responses in practically all categories compared to 2025.
Access to financing continues to be the main need, with 28% of responsesfollowed by legal, labor and tax advice, with 26%.
Training in digitalization and access to specialized training for entrepreneurs or workers appear with 25% each. There is also practical training in artificial intelligence applied to business, indicated by 23% of the participants.
For their part, 20% consider it necessary to receive support to integrate artificial intelligence and automate processes, while access to qualified external talent and help in data protection and cybersecurity reach 19%.
According to Holdedsupport needs have increased between four and fourteen percentage points compared to the previous year, depending on the category.
Financing and advice thus maintain the top positions among the resources that entrepreneurs consider necessary to grow, while technological training gains presence among their demands.
Microenterprises represent 94% of the business fabric
Furthermore, according to the report, SMEs represent 99% of the business fabric and account for two-thirds of employment, while microenterprises, those with between zero and nine workers, alone account for 94% of the total.
Small companies, with staff of between ten and 49 employees, represent 4.9%, and medium-sized companies, with between 50 and 249 workers, represent 0.8%. Large companies barely account for 0.16%.
These differences in size also carry over to investment in innovation. According to data from the National Institute of Statistics corresponding to 2024, large companies allocate 1.1% of their turnover to innovation activities, compared to 0.7% for SMEs.
The study also shows that business size influences business organization. Among entrepreneurs who work alone, 63% manage their activity without resorting to external advice, a percentage that has increased ten points compared to 2025. On the other hand, the use of external advice is more frequent as the workforce grows.
31% of SMEs use artificial intelligence
Digitalization occupies another section of the Emprende 2026 Report. Thus, 31% of SMEs use artificial intelligencewhile 75% of entrepreneurs consider that this technology plays a fundamental role in entrepreneurship. Among companies that already use it, the main application is content creation and marketing tasks, with 47.8% of responses. This is followed by data analysis, with 31.7%, and operational and administrative management, with 30.65%. It is also used in customer service, sales, business prospecting, finance, accounting and programming.
Respondents who use these tools estimate an average saving of 13.3 hours per week in operational and administrative tasks. Regarding its effects on activity, 42% mention an increase in productivity, 33% the automation of repetitive tasks, 32% an improvement in quality and 31% a cost savings.
However, the percentage that identifies an increase in sales stands at 22%, while 20% mention the development of new products or services. In relation to employment, 13% point to the creation of jobs and another 13% point to staff reductions.
The incorporation of these tools also encounters difficulties. Among companies that already use artificial intelligence, 37% identify economic costs as a barrier, followed by lack of technical knowledge, at 28.6%, and technical difficulties, at 27.3%.
Among those who still do not use it, however, the most cited reason is that they do not consider its application to the business necessary, with 20.4%, followed by lack of knowledge or technical difficulties, with 15%.
Despite its incorporation into companies, artificial intelligence still does not occupy the first position among the tools that entrepreneurs consider decisive for the growth of their businesses. Social networks lead this classification, with 22.45%, followed by business management software, with 13.17%. Artificial intelligence appears in fifth position, with 11.5%.
Job autonomy continues to be the main reason for starting a business
The report also analyzes the motivations that lead to starting a business. Autonomy and control of work life lead the responses, with 33%, followed by financial independence, with 29%, and the search for a balance between personal and work life, with 28%.
Among the participants, 54% are men and 46% women, although female participation has increased two percentage points compared to 2025. By age, entrepreneurial activity is mainly concentrated between 31 and 57 years of age. Regarding their personal economic situation, almost half of those surveyed consider that they are living better financially than before starting a business.
The support of family and friends continues to be the main support identified during the implementation of the projects. At the same time, the percentage of those who claim to have undertaken entrepreneurship without having a reference or notable support increases by four points.
Looking ahead to the coming years, digitalization, mentioned by 38%, and artificial intelligence, with 36%, lead the trends that respondents consider will shape their sectors. They are followed by sustainability, with 31%, and teleworking, with 26%.
Source: valenciaplaza.com
