SME and Entrepreneurship Policy of the EU Brussels, 7 November 2011 Marko Curavić – Head of the Unit E.1 - Entrepreneurship European Commission Enterprise and Industry

SMEs - EU’s growth engine 67.4% of private jobs and 80% of new private jobs 58% of total business turnover

Difficulties faced by SMEs Access to finance Business and regulatory environment Availability of skills Access to markets Access to research and innovation Networking among companies

The “Small Business Act” Adopted in June 2008 Main objective: create a common framework for SME initiatives and implement the “Think Small First” principle 10 principles and a set of policy actions to implement them About 90 policy initiatives and 5 legislative acts (national and European level)

The 10 SBA principles 1. Support entrepreneurship 2. Give a 2nd chance (failure) “Think Small First” (reduce burdens) Public administration responsive to SME needs (e-government) 5. Improve access to public procurement & use of state aid 6. Facilitate access to finance 7. Benefit from Single Market opportunities 8. Access to skills and innovation 9. Eco-innovation/environment opportunities 10. Access to external markets

Why a Review of the SBA? Good progress since the adoption of the SBA but: Need to continue improving SME business and administrative environment to prepare for new challenges (crisis) Need for stronger governance to ensure the implementation of the SBA at European and national level

The SBA Review Four priority areas: Enhanced governance 48 new actions smart regulation access to finance access to markets promoting entrepreneurship Enhanced governance 48 new actions

SBA Review Examples of actions Smart regulation - New goal: start a business in 3 days for €100 Access to markets - A new strategy for EU SMEs going international Access to finance - Simplify rules for greater access of SMEs to EU funds Promoting entrepreneurship - Mentoring schemes for women entrepreneurs

Enhanced governance The network of the SME Envoys: European and national SME Envoys & SME representatives at European level meet 2/3 times per year SMEs will have their say with the SME Assembly: representatives of small businesses from all over the 27 Member States will gather yearly

The perception and attitudes of European citizens towards entrepreneurship lag most other countries… Entrepreneurship is in decline. The current economic crisis must play a role but a declining trend was observable even before the start of the crisis. This situation affects Europe more than the USA as Europe starts from a lower base, so further reductions could lead to higher long term impact. In fact 50% of Europeans have NEVER thought about starting a business vs 30% in the USA and only 45% of Europeans prefer being self employed vs 55% of Americans. In terms of how feasible it would be to become an entrepreneur, only 28% of Europeans think it would be feasible vs, 36% in the USA. These results are lower than those of 2004: Europe 31%, USA 44%. Europe also lags in terms of "Opportunity" vs "Necessity" driven entrepreneurship. "Opportunity" entrepreneurs are 55% in the EU vs. 62% USA. One of the reasons for the higher US figures could be that 73% of all US citizens but only 49% of the people in the EU declare that they have a good opinion of entrepreneurs. Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009

Preference for Self-Employment in Comparison Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009

Key Characteristics in Comparison

Perceived Risks of Entrepreneurship Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009

Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009

Mission Statement – Promotion of Entrepreneurial Spirit “Winning the hearts and minds of European citizens” Building knowledge – “know about” Building skills – “know how to do” Changing attitudes – “wanting to do and being confident”  Targeting the general population and selected groups

Definition of Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship refers to an individual’s ability to turn ideas into action. It includes creativity, innovation and risk taking, as well as the ability to plan and manage projects in order to achieve objectives. This supports everyone in day-to-day life at home and in society, makes employees more aware of the context of their work and better able to seize opportunities, and provides a foundation for entrepreneurs establishing a social or commercial activity (2006 Commission Recommendation on Key Competences for Lifelong Learning)

Entrepreneurship Education Commission Communication on “Fostering entrepreneurial mindsets” (2006) Oslo Agenda on Entrepreneurship Education in Europe (2007): a detailed menu of actions Call for proposals on “Entrepreneurial Culture (2009) High Level Reflection Panels on Entrepreneurship Education (5 Panels in 2009/2010), Symposium "Teacher Education as a critical success factor” (April 2011) Teacher Training Laboratories to exchange methods and good practice (4th quarter 2011 – 2nd quarter 2012)

Activities at EU level Efforts focus currently on increasing European coordination so as to develop more systematic strategies. Present goals: 1) Increase the exchange of experiences and practices across Europe, particularly among policy makers: - Expert Groups, High Level Reflection Panels, Symposium, Teacher Training Laboratories 2) Promote European projects that will become a model or a reference for the multiplication and dissemination of activities in this field: - 9 European projects currently funded under the CIP for EUR 3.2 million, second call planned for 2012

Entrepreneurship Education – Key Issues High importance of involving teachers Make entrepreneurship an integral part of the Curriculum Engage businesses Engage non-profit / intermediary organisations Besides formulating a national strategy, link entrepreneurship education into local and regional strategies

European network of female entrepreneurship ambassadors Aim: Role models to inspire other women to become entrepreneurs by "telling their story". 270 ambassadors in 22 European countries In 2010, 141 events and workshops with over 8300 participants in 10 countries. First results from 6 countries: 101 new women-led companies have been created. 20 grants for EUR 976 000.

Female Entrepreneurship Ambassador – Dr. Karin Uphoff / Germany Uphoff pr & Marketing GmbH is a full-service agency, with a focus on small and medium-sized businesses as well as on companies and organisations in the healthcare industry. In 2003, Dr. Karin Uphoff set up her own business, and today has ten employees. Her company has received several awards, among them awards for “innovation”, “entrepreneurship”, and “family-friendly policies”.

Female Entrepreneurship Ambassador – Susanne Rostmark / Sweden Susanne Rostmark founded FriGeo in 2003 to commercialize the results from her research in environmental soil science. The technology is patented by Susanne and her co-workers. Freeze-Dredging is a technique used for uptake of contaminated sediments and objects. Firstly it stabilizes the contaminated sediment by freezing and then the frozen segment is lifted up and above the water. While the contaminated soil is frozen when lifted there is a very small risk for redistribution of contaminated sediment during uptake. Susanne lives in far north of the Arctic Circle in the cool, cold and creative, Kiruna and uses the joy of frozen water not only for business but also as an enthusiastic skier.

European Network of Mentors for Women Entrepreneurs Call for proposals Budget: EUR 1 million Aim: coverage of 15 countries. Received 53 proposals. Evaluation report: 17 AL, BE, CY, ES, FYROM, GR, HU, IRL, IT, MNTG, NL, RO, RS, SI, SLO, TUR, UK. Objective: Mentors to assist women entrepreneurs by providing advice and support with the establishment, management and growth of their enterprises.

Other ongoing activities The European Network to Promote Women’s Entrepreneurship (WES) 31 members - government representatives Annual activity report Women Enterpreneurship Portal Women entrepreneur organisations, projects, conferences for WE

New and host entrepreneurs benefit from Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Benefits for Host Entrepreneurs Benefits for New Entrepreneurs Access new skills and innovative knowledge Work with a young fresh mind contributing new ideas Gain knowledge and intelligence about the foreign markets Opportunity to establish a new business partnership with an entrepreneur from another country Get experience & advice from seasoned entrepreneur Develop international contacts Get knowledge about foreign markets Providers, clients, co-venturing opportunities How does this action promote the mentioned objectives? Via a close collaboration between a nascent and an experienced entrepreneur during an exchange. The nascent (new) entrepreneur will get first hand experience in the creation and management of a small company in another country. Apart from the personal experience, that is most valuable as has been proved by other European exchange programmes, the entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to get knowledge about foreign markets, access new skills and develop international contacts.

How does Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Work? European Commission – definition of strategic and financial framework Support Office: day-to-day operational management of the programme Intermediary organisations Manage and promote The Exchanges Between Entrepreneurs Local and national business support organisations active in business support (e.g. Chambers of Commerce, Regional Development Agencies, Innovation Centres…) Recruit and assess entrepreneurs Proactively look for exchanges Support new entrepreneurs before & during the stay Promote Erasmus for Entrepreneurs at national, regional and local level Co-financing of max 90% of eligible costs in accordance with the regulations for Erasmus for Entrepreneurs To be able to offer this opportunity to entrepreneurs, we have to go local: entrepreneurs are very busy and not usually aware of international opportunities. On the other hand, they do not always speak a foreign language. Therefore, they need to be told about the programme in their own language. For this purpose, a network of local contact points, that we call “Intermediary Organisations” has been created across the participating countries. A Support Office coordinates and supports the network with the assistance of the Commission. It is also in charge of the promotion of the actio to the general public and at European level. With this organisation, entrepreneurs get the information directly from the intermediary organisations in their country, in their language, and apply with them.

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs So far: Almost 4000 accepted candidates from all over the EU (Spain and Italy are the main actors in EYE) Approx.800 on-going or finished relationships 80 grants for EUR 11.3 million Positive feedback from entrepreneurs: 90%: exchange fulfilled objectives; 85% of NE recommend the programme; 85% of HE ready to repeat the experience.

For more information SBA and SBA Review http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/small-business-act/index_en.htm European Small Business Portal http://ec.europa.eu/small-business/index_en.htm SME Performance Review http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/performance-review/index_en.htm Eurobarometer on entrepreneurial attitudes: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/facts-figures-analysis/eurobarometer/index_en.htm Entrepreneurship education: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting-entrepreneurship/education-training-entrepreneurship/index_en.htm Female entrepreneurship: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sme/promoting-entrepreneurship/women/index_en.htm Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs: www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu European SME Week: http://ec.europa.eu/sme-week Marko.Curavic@ec.europa.eu