Melilla approves aid for self-employment and self-employed workers on temporary disability leave

The Governing Council of the Autonomous City of Melilla, in its ordinary resolution session on August 20, 2026, approved the modification of the Strategic Grant Plan of the Autonomous City of Melilla for the 2024-2026 period, incorporating a new line of aid aimed at fostering the culture of entrepreneurship through self-employment. The agreement, promoted by the Ministry of Presidency, Public Administration and Equality, is published in the Official Gazette of the Autonomous City of Melilla (BOME) number 6410, dated September 1, 2026, with the official reference BOME-A-2026-988.

The proposal originated from the Ministry of Economy, Trade, Technological Innovation, Tourism and Promotion, which submitted its proposals on July 14 and 16, 2026, and received a favorable report from the Technical Secretariat of the Presidency on August 19. The new line, titled “Aid for the promotion of the culture of entrepreneurship through self-employment”, has a budget of 327,760.77 euros for the 2026 fiscal year, fully financed by the Autonomous City’s own funds.

Aid for new freelancers and those suffering from temporary disability

The grant line is aimed at two groups of natural persons who carry out their economic activity in Melilla:

• Those who establish themselves as self-employed workers and have not been registered in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) in the six months prior to their registration.
• Freelancers already registered who are, or have been, in a situation of temporary disability since January 1 of the year the call is published.

In both cases, beneficiaries must maintain their registration in the RETA uninterruptedly throughout the grantable period. The call will be annual, provided there is an express budgetary provision, and will be processed under a competitive bidding regime through regulatory bases and a public call.

Management through Proyecto Melilla S.A.U.

The managing center for the line will be the public instrumental company Proyecto Melilla S.A.U., which will be responsible for monitoring the aid through its management office, while the evaluation will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Economy, Trade, Technological Innovation, Tourism and Promotion. Funding will be channeled through the budgetary application 08/43300/74000 of Proyecto Melilla, with no external funding sources planned.

Technological innovation, video games and artificial intelligence

The same modification updates the amounts of the nominative grants of the General Directorate of Technological Innovation, in accordance with the 2026 budget. Among the strategic objectives are:

• Training in technological innovation and digital tools to improve the employability of unemployed youth and freelancers, through the projects “Emprende y Avanza” and “Reactiva tu Futuro”.
• Representing and promoting the city of Melilla in the competitions in which Titans Melilla Gaming, a Melilla-based video game team, participates.
• Training activities oriented towards the online gaming sector to attract personnel with the necessary skills.
• Promotion of entrepreneurship, innovation, and technology in the city.
• Creation of a specialized training offer in applied artificial intelligence, accessible from Melilla and attractive at a national level, promoting research lines in ethical, responsible, and secure AI.

Additionally, a grant under a competitive bidding process is maintained to encourage the creation and consolidation of innovative or digital companies in Melilla, with the aim of generating stable and qualified employment linked to the territory.

Relevance to the local business fabric

The incorporation of this line reinforces the role of self-employment as a strategic pillar for the economic and social survival of Melilla, in a context of structural unemployment that the Department itself seeks to steer toward entrepreneurship. For future freelancers and those experiencing temporary disability, the aid represents direct support for the sustainability of their businesses, while grants for technological innovation and the video game sector open new opportunities for the local business fabric.

Source: Official Gazette of the Autonomous City of Melilla (BOME), number 6410, of September 1, 2026, pp. 4577-4583 (official reference: BOME-A-2026-988).