The Virgen de la Sierra de Cabra Olive Cooperative receives a second prize at the Córdoba SME of the Year Awards

The company Facet Sustainable Jewelery S.A. has been recognized with the 2023 Córdoba SME of the Year award. The award ceremony was held in the Julio Romero de Torres room of the Palace of Congresses and Exhibitions in an event in which they wanted to highlight “the important work of this company, which has allowed it to become the winner for its commitment to innovation, for creating quality employment and for being a sustainable firm.” The seventh edition of the Córdoba SME of the Year Award has been organized by the Official Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of Córdoba, the Chamber of Spain and Banco Santander, with the collaboration of Diario Córdoba, to recognize the work of small and medium-sized companies as generators of wealth and job creators in the performance of their daily work.

The president of the Córdoba Chamber of Commerce, Antonio Díaz, pointed out at the inauguration “the need to support the growth and consolidation of our SMEs. This award is a way to give visibility to their efforts and their contribution to Córdoba's economic development and job creation. I want to praise the resilience of SMEs and their determination to continue creating jobs, opening up to the outside world, investing in innovation and increasing their social impact. Furthermore, it is an honor to be able to celebrate this event, demonstrating that this Corporation is close to companies, always keeping in mind our permanent vocation to serve them." He has also stressed that "the finalist SMEs are an example of positive attitude and commitment, betting with your daily work on the development of Córdoba."

For her part, the Córdoba area director of Banco Santander, Socorro Ortega, stressed that “at Banco Santander we are dedicated to the growth of companies and SMEs in all productive sectors of the economy, therefore, we are delighted to sponsor "One more year this award serves to support companies and entrepreneurs and allows us to once again recognize the efforts of Córdoba businessmen."

Facet is a company founded in 1987 dedicated to the design, manufacturing and distribution of high-end jewelry. It is an SME with its own design and product that has subsidiaries in the United States, France and Germany. In 2020, this jewelry firm opened a factory in Parque Joyero, settling in the capital of Córdoba and currently employing 80 people.

Four second prizes

The jury has awarded Cooperativa Olivarera Virgen de la Sierra de Cabra S. Coop. And, whose trademark is Monteoliva, an SME dedicated to the production of extra virgin olive oil, in the internationalization category. A Blitzscale S.A. (Interactvty), a pioneer company in the development of OTT 2.0 platforms, in the digitalization and innovation category. To Alias Concept S.L., dedicated to the manufacture and design of jewelry, with access to training and employment. And to the British Academy and Casa Internacional Córdoba S.A., a company that has been training in languages for 7 decades, in the sustainable SME category.

Finally, at the closing of the event, the president of the Andalusian Council of Chambers of Commerce, Javier Sánchez Rojas, highlighted “the values that the winners entail and that are representative of the companies of the 21st century with their commitment to innovation, digitalization , internationalization and sustainability” and has claimed that “to continue promoting the business and economic development of Córdoba, more investment and progress in infrastructure is necessary, such as the railway corridors, which take advantage of the great logistics potential of the province, and improvements in road communications in its connections with Extremadura, Granada and Jaén.”

The 2023 Córdoba SME of the Year Award, in which 23 companies have participated, has been open to small and medium-sized companies, with less than 250 employees, with an annual turnover of less than 50 million euros in the financial year 2022 and with headquarters social in the province of Córdoba. Facet, as the winning company, will compete for the 2023 National SME of the Year Award, which will be decided in the first quarter of 2024. Likewise, the winners of the runner-up prizes will also attend the national final in their respective categories, where the companies will be chosen. that have stood out for their internationalization actions, their training and employment or innovation and digitalization policies and those that have implemented more sustainability measures.

7,4436 participating SMEs since the creation of the Award

With this seventh edition, the SME of the Year Award is consolidated as the reference award for small and medium-sized Spanish companies. Last year, the sixth edition of the Award, a total of 1,766 companies from the 50 provinces and the Autonomous City of Ceuta registered, and 49 territorial Chambers of Commerce participated.

Since 2017, the year it was launched, there are already 7,436 SMEs that have participated in this contest.