SME Promotion and the current situation of the German Mittelstand rfciz marburg 5/20121

What is SME Promotion resp. Mittelstandspolitik? Why did German Mittelstand came out of the crisis strengthened? rfciz marburg 5/20122

SME Promotion: Improvement of framework conditions for SMEs last but not least because of their importance for employment rfciz marburg 5/20123

EU countries comprise historically a multitude of SME programmes rfciz marburg 5/20124

EU SME Promotion EU: 20 Mill SMEs, > 99% of all businesses Small Enterprise Charter 2000 EU - SBA Small Business Act 2008 SME Performance Review National Fact Sheets (Best Practices) EU Small Business Portal Integrale Part of Lissaboa Agenda rfciz marburg 5/20125

Under the Charter, Member States and the Commission took action to support small enterprises in ten key policy areas: Education and training for entrepreneurship; Cheaper and faster start-up; Better legislation and regulation; Availability of skills; Improving online access; Getting more out of the Single Market; Taxation and financial matters; Strengthening the technological capacity of small enterprises; Making use of successful e-business models and developing top- class small business support; Developing stronger, more effective representation of small enterprises’ interests at Union and national level. rfciz marburg 5/20126

EU SBA 2008 – 10 Bullets 1.Promotion of private entrepreneurship 2.Second chance after insolvency 3.SME right of way 4.SME sensitive national administrations 5.Increased SME participation in public tenders 6.Improved access to finance and payment morale 7.Improved integration in the internal market 8.Further qualification und innovation 9.Environmental protection as business opportunity 10.Enhanced share in market growth rfciz marburg 5/20127

Core Innovation Programme SME BMWi 2008 – 2013 Threshold < 1000 employees, before < 500 Programme for marketorientated promotion of technical/technological innovations Objective: to promote the innovate power of SMEs rfciz marburg 5/20128

Increase research, development and innovation Reduce financial risks of innovative projects Transfer research results in marketable products Improve cooperation between SMEs and research institutions Increase SME research and development and networking engagement Improve SME research, development and networking management. rfciz marburg 5/20129

Promotion Modules Kooperationsprojekte (ZIM-KOOP) Gefördert werden Kooperationsprojekte zwischen KMU und von KMU mit Forschungseinrichtungen. Kooperationsprojekte (ZIM-KOOP) Einzelprojekte (ZIM-SOLO) Gefördert werden einzelbetriebliche FuE-Projekte von KMU. Einzelprojekte (ZIM-SOLO) Netzwerkprojekte (ZIM-NEMO) Gefördert werden externe Management- und Organisationsleistungen für die Entwicklung marktorientierter Netzwerke innovativer KMU. Netzwerkprojekte (ZIM-NEMO) rfciz marburg 5/201210

BMWi 9 SME bullets 1/2010 rfciz marburg 5/201211

rfciz marburg 5/ Enhanced SME financing 2.Credit Mediator 3.New risk capital for high tech exploration 4.Promote business start ups and business heredity 5.Strengthening of SME innovation capacity 6.Secure skilled labour 7.Unlock foreign markets 8.SME tax benefits 9.Enhanced SME dialogue 12

German Mittelstand Strengthened out of the crisis? rfciz marburg 5/201213

Mittelstand - SME ? S: < 10 employees, < turnover 1 Million Euro M: 10 to 500 employees, max 50 Millionen Euro turnover rfciz marburg 5/201214

Roughly 3,6 Millionen German SMEs > 99% of all taxpaying companies 16 Millionen employees under social securiry 65,9 % of all employees under social security 38 % of total company turnover 47 % of net value added 83,0 % of all trainees rfciz marburg 5/201215

Owners equity: SME: Owners equity 15 – 20 % of total assets Large E: Owners equity % of total assets rfciz marburg 5/201216

German SMEs and Foreign Markets Export 2010: 26% (rising %?) 96% into Eurozone International engagement in order to gain - new markets - new product sources - new knowledge - skilled labour - Outsourcing not very relevant (German export quote 70%, > 1 Trillion €, almost 10% of world-trade 59% to EU, 40% to Eurozone) rfciz marburg 5/201217

Crisis expectations Insolvency spree -Takeovers through risk capital -Credit crisis -Lay off sprees -Resource scrambles inside companies rfciz marburg 5/201218

Four years after the crisis 2012 German Mittelstand largely robust and successful rfciz marburg 5/201219

-Fewer companies then expected bankrupt and taken over -Maschinery, plant and car manufacturing, chemical and pharmaceutical industries strengethened rfciz marburg 5/201220

Key Causes of the Success 1 Research & Innovation continued by and large during crisis German maschinery up to date = energy & raw material saving Orders from Asia were back earlier than expected (China!) rfciz marburg 5/201221

Key Causes of the Success 2 Permanent staff largely kept (further training and short-time work) Financial reserves build Companies are proffessionally structured Cost flexibility through corporatist agreements (state, unions, employers) rfciz marburg 5/201222

Key Causes of the Success 3 Highly motivated and skilled staff Use of temporary employment Relocating and offshoring Early internationalisation of German companies (on location in Asia) rfciz marburg 5/201223

German SME Challenges Lack of skilled labour (demography, vocational training) Buerocracy and overregulation (from communities to EU) Credit access Refinancing at the capital markets at companies own risk EURO-Crisis rfciz marburg 5/201224

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