1. 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

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

3. 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

4. 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)

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

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

12. Key Characteristics in Comparison

13. Perceived Risks of Entrepreneurship
Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009

14. Source: Flash Eurobarometer 283, 2009

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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)

18. 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 million, second call planned for 2012

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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”.

22. 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.

23. 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.

24. 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

25. 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.

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. For more information SBA and SBA Review
European Small Business Portal
SME Performance Review
Eurobarometer on entrepreneurial attitudes:
Entrepreneurship education:
Female entrepreneurship:
Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs:
European SME Week: