What are SMEs looking at?

Paul of Benedicitisco-founder of GoodEnergydedicated to the installation of solar panels and provider of renewable energy for companies and retail clients in general, maintained that we must understand that the economic scenario does not depend on one, but there are always opportunities. “You have to focus on what you do have in order to grow,” he mentioned. GoodEnergy was one of the 12 finalist companies in the 2026 edition of the SME Awards, in the shortlist of the SME in Commercial Expansion category.

In the field of renewable energy, the deregulation of energy rates opened an opportunity for companies that provide solar panels. “Argentina has a very large energy deficit, there are places where they do not have the power to work,” explained de Benedictis.

The company, co-founded by de Benedictis with Julián Bartoli in La Plata, took advantage of this scenario of growing demand. “Companies are looking to lower costs and that opens an opportunity for this type of products,” he added.

For your part Cristian CidGeneral Manager of Sudamerica Inspection Servicesanother of the shortlisted companies in the SME in Commercial Expansion category, recalled that throughout the company’s history in the industrial services, inspection and certification sector, they understood that the Argentine situation requires extreme flexibility and a quick reading of the industry’s needs. “We analyze that in the face of challenging economic contexts, large corporations become rigid in their response times,” he said.

For Cid, SMEs have the advantage that they can be more agile and offer more personalized services than large companies. “Firstly, there is the growing need for the local market to optimize costs by extending the useful and safe life of its assets, where certification under the ISO 17020 standard is key,” he explained. On the other hand, the company is working on its accreditation as a Person Certification Body for the safe handling of lifting and road equipment under the ISO 17024 standard. “It is a niche where we decided to invest heavily to differentiate ourselves from the traditional competition,” Cid added.

Ignacio OlivieriAdministration and Finance Manager at Arpexrepresentatives and distributors of brands of corks, capsules, muzzles, caps for sparkling wines, crown caps, among others, said that the company tries to look “beyond the situation.” “We have been in the market for many years and we know the wine industry deeply. In the medium and long term we believe that companies that manage to improve their productivity, professionalize their processes and adapt quickly will have good growth opportunities,” said Olivieri in dialogue with Clarín. Arpex was a finalist in the Industrial SME category.

The manager explained that at Arpex the focus is on continuing to strengthen the operation, gain efficiency, incorporate technology, develop new businesses and maintain high quality standards. “Today there is a very big opportunity for SMEs that are capable of professionalizing themselves and making decisions based on information. In contexts like the current one, efficiency stops being just an advantage and becomes a necessity,” added Olivieri.

Francisco Costafounder and CEO Certronic y Laboremdedicated to cloud technological services, said that the current scenario presents great opportunities for companies that can transform technology into concrete solutions for their clients. “Many companies still find it difficult to incorporate artificial intelligence and achieve real impact in their daily operations. We see an opportunity in helping that potential translate into verifiable results,” he said. The firm was a finalist in the SME Digital Innovation category.

IMS is an Argentine company dedicated to the design, development and manufacturing of displays for fresh or processed foods. Throughout their career, the company learned that internationalization is a process that requires a long-term vision, the ability to adapt and a solid value proposition. “At IMS we understand that the international context presents challenges, but also opportunities for Argentine companies that have competitive products, technical knowledge and capacity for innovation,” he stated. Melina MartelliCommercial Design Manager of the company, who was part of the finalist shortlist in the Exporting SME category.

For his part, Nicolas Siafas, product manager in Julasofta company that provides technological solutions with social and environmental impact, said that the software and hardware ecosystem is facing a context in which players are agile and that allows proposals to be quickly brought to the field for testing. “From that point of view, finding digital solutions to the growing problems that municipalities have is an important opportunity for those of us who have the vocation to come up with technology and business proposals,” he summarized.

Siafas said that one of the challenges of the company, a finalist in the SME Digital Innovation category, was to achieve the interest of actors such as municipalities and cited the example of Dionti, a smart monitoring solution for metered parking.

For Cid, it is essential to be rigorous in financial management and the constant reinvestment of profits. “To grow sustainably you do not have to depend on aggressive debt, but on the real cash flow generated by the business,” he said. At the same time, he also mentioned the importance of focusing on certified quality.

As a recommendation for other industrial SMEs based on his own experience, Olivieri stated that it is essential to know the business numbers very well, take care of working capital and make informed decisions. He also mentioned not losing sight of the client. “In difficult times, many times the temptation is to focus exclusively on lowering costs. But we also have to ask ourselves how we can generate more value for our clients and differentiate ourselves,” he said.

Costa said that combining technology with deep business knowledge is key for the benefits of AI to be realized in the daily work of companies and their suppliers. In this sense, he added that the main recommendation is to start by identifying a specific business problem and, from there, evaluate what technology can provide a solution. “It is not about incorporating artificial intelligence simply to be at the forefront, but about finding where it can really generate value,” he added.

Siafas agreed that the important thing is not to apply AI per se Rather, the problems, challenges and efficiency points that can be addressed within the organization must be identified, and based on that, see what technologies can be used to achieve results that are operationally applicable to the business.

From the export business, Martelli recommended preparing with a clear and differentiated value proposition to compete internationally. “It is important to know the market you want to enter, analyze the competition, understand the regulations and requirements of each country, and carefully evaluate export costs and logistics,” he analyzed.

The winners of the 2026 SME Awards were Sides (Exporting SME and Gold SME), Alkemy (SME Digital Innovation), Eddis Educativa (SME Commercial Expansion), Bisignano (SME Industrial), and Las Marías Establishment (SME to the Trajectory). The final shortlists had been made up of the following 12 companies:

• Exporting SME: The finalists within this group were Sides (Buenos Aires), International Merchandising (CABA) and LPC Condor Technologies (Buenos Aires).

• Digital Innovation SME: Julasoft (Buenos Aires), Certronic (Buenos Aires) and Alkemy (CABA).

• SME in Commercial Expansion:GoodEnergy (Buenos Aires), Sudamerica Inspection Services (Buenos Aires) and Eddis Educativa (CABA).

• PYME Industrial: La Pasteca Naval Solutions (Buenos Aires), Bisignano (Santa Fe) and Arpex (Mendoza).

The 2026 SME Awards had as partners the Association for the Development of Business Management (ADIRAS), the PyME Observatory Foundation (FOP), the business consulting firm San Martín, Suárez y Asociados (SMS) and the Argentine Family Business Club (CANF).

The Honorary Jury of the 2026 edition of the SME Awards was made up of Hector ArandaCEO of Clarín, Santiago García del Río, business development director from Banco Galicia, Ricky Sarkanyfounder of Sarkany, Franco Radaverogeneral manager of Tiendanube Argentina, Marysol Rodriguezmanager of institutional relations and government at Sinteplast, Daniel Serrot, director MBA Business School of UdeSA, and Carlos Panindustrial director and automation director of Industrias Guidi.

The winners of each category will receive communication spaces in Clarín, consulting from San Martín, Suarez y Asociados (SMS), workshops from the Argentine Family Business Club (CANF) and access to the Executive Education Programs of the University of San Andrés (UdeSA).