European Commission

It is the last day of 2019 and what a year it has been for Promoting Enterprise! Here on the News Portal we have been very lucky to meet some inspiring individuals in the world of entrepreneurship, who have taken the time to share their valuable insights and experiences with us. As this year draws to an end we have taken some time to look back on some of the highlights from 2019.

The year started off with a bang with the launch of the highly anticipated European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA), which went into their 13^th edition. This year saw some fierce competition with the announcement of a stellar EEPA shortlist, that went on to compete to become the EEPA Class of 2019 at the SME Assembly in Finland. You can find out more about all the projects in the EEPA 2019 Compendium.  

The Youth Essay Competition ran again for the fourth consecutive year and shook things up with two challenging questions for participants to answer, and asking for their speech as the next Commissioner. The standard of entries was very high, and the jury struggled to narrow the entries down to the top four finalists Radu Dumitrescu, Enzo Ercole Ribagnac, Estelle Beuve and Aureliano Ulndreaj. Our top four took on their final challenge, presenting and speaking at the SME Assembly 2019, where our delegates chose Radu Dumitrescu as this year’s winner. Congratulations Radu!

2019 also saw the launch of the next edition of the Secrets of Success brochure, “Entrepreneurs of Europe – Connecting, Sharing and Innovating”, featuring previous Ideas from Europe winners with cutting edge innovative ideas and businesses.

The SME Assembly 2019 was the flagship event of the year and took place in Helsinki, Finland under the Finnish Presidency of the European Commission. This year’s Assembly featured many inspiring and well-known speakers, including famed economist Mariana Mazzucato, the 2019 Schumpeter Lecturer, Professor Daniel Isenberg, the 2019 keynote speaker, Alberto Onetti, Chairman and Founder of Mind the Bridge and Petri Peltonen, Finland’s Under-secretary of state. If you missed out on our live coverage of the Assembly you can still read the Day 1, Day 2 and Day 3 summary posts right here on the News Portal. You can also continue the conversation in the Online SME Assembly LinkedIn group and get involved in the ongoing SME Strategy Exchange.

We hope that you have enjoyed following us in 2019 and see you in 2020!

The new SME strategy needs you and your input!

At the SME Assembly 2019 we collected and harvested ideas and topics raised throughout the sessions that address the 3 main challenges:

• Sustainability for SMEs in the context of the Green Deal and climate change
• Digitisation for SMEs
• SME broad-based growth

We are also looking for topics that you feel are important and that go beyond the 3 challenges. The Assembly harvest has been shared in the Online SME Assembly LinkedIn group so do not hesitate to join and invite others with interesting ideas and thoughts to share!

By joining the Online SME Assembly LinkedIn group you will have the chance to be part of the SME Strategy Exchange, during which follow up questions are being shared and where your ideas matter and are needed to spark further discussion.

Interested? Want to know more? Request your membership today and keep the conversation going!

SMEs encounter multiple challenges over their life cycle. They are often unable to access skills and knowledge and they experience more obstacles when having to recruit specialised professionals. 

This is where the INNOSUP Innovation Associate programme comes into play. The programme provides grants at European level to SMEs to employ a highly-skilled researcher – the ‘innovation associate’ – for a continuous period of one year. The associate’s task will be to turn the SME’s innovative idea into an innovation project.

Gaining such expertise can have many advantages. In the case of Intrapore GmbH, a German SME working on groundwater decontamination, the innovation associate brought knowledge from previous international research projects. The associate’s work enabled the company to modernise its remediation planning approach completely and helped unlock the potential of Intrapore business plan.

According to AMIGO, an Italian SME working on climate system analysis, its innovative project could not have proceeded without the innovation associate. Firstly, the SME was able to acquire her scientific background and expertise in extreme events identification and attribution. Secondly the associate supported the consolidation of an existing climate service prototype.

In the case of TubaScan, a Dutch SME dealing with molecular diagnostics, the associate managed to broaden the network of the SME thanks to new partnerships and collaborations. 

All three researchers received a longer contract in the SME at the end of the one year. Furthermore, they were able to gain new expertise through training courses organised by the programme.

In fact, during the 12 months of employment covered by the grant, as a part of the funding scheme, every associate participates in a training programme on industrial innovation and business management. At the same time, SMEs get financial support to implement a training and development plan tailored to the needs of the associate and the enterprise. 

Personnel costs, relocation costs, and travel and subsistence costs: everything is covered by the grant. 

The new call for the INNOSUP Innovation associate programme is now open until 15 January 2020. Do not miss this opportunity. Submit your application!

Read the original article on the EASME website.

During the SME Assembly 2019 the 13^th edition of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) took place. The EEPA recognise the best of the best, with six individual category awards, 1 Grand Jury Prize and Special Mentions.

Want to learn more about the 2019 winners? Now you can! The 2019 EEPA compendium is now available for you to read and explore here.

The EEPA Compendium is an annual publication that compiles all of the shortlisted projects to celebrate their achievements and provide an insight into the Awards process. This year’s Compendium features introductions to all of the shortlisted projects, as well as additional information on the Grand Jury Prize winner.

In addition you will find out more about this year’s prestigious jury, their experience being behind the scenes of EEPA, testimonials from previous winners about what it means to win an EEPA and previous Grand Jury Prize winners.  

To find out more about the EEPA, visit the EEPA website, and look through the previous compendiums from 2018, 2017 , 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, and 2012.

The SME Assembly 2019 might be over, but the conversation is still going!

This year the SME Assembly 2019 was an important contribution to the upcoming SME Strategy from the European Commission. During the Assembly delegates experienced the enterprising nature of Finland with a visit to Team Finland, and an entrepreneur expo throughout the event. In addition attendees of the Schumpeter lecture listened to a passionate Mariana Mazzucato give an inspiring lecture the importance of state finance, particularly patient finance and the importance of government support for SMEs willing to innovate. The following days of the Assembly brought delegates together to discuss, hack and innovate in support of the upcoming SME Strategy and provide valuable input for its creation.The results of the Assembly will be shared in the ‘Online SME Assembly’ LinkedIn group which is open to all delegates, speakers and stakeholders.

Be sure to watch the SME Assembly 2019 highlights, and follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the outcomes of the SME Assembly, upcoming EEPA winner interviews and exciting updates! Enjoy the newsletter and do not forget to submit your news, articles and updates to be featured in an upcoming issue.

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Can you imagine what the jobs will look like in the industry of the future? Innovation, digitalisation and technology are driving the industry towards more competitiveness and change. Workforce needs new skills, competencies and creativity. The project ‘Skills for Smart Industrial and Digital Transformation’, launched two years ago by the European Commission, has helped cities, regions and Member States shape policies tackling this new challenge.

The overall objective of the project was to develop a shared vision and supporting actions on skills for smart industrial specialisation and digital transformation. The challenge was to help policymakers, industry, and social partners in shaping the workforce’s transformation.

Throughout two years, the initiative has helped regions, cities and Member States in designing ambitious skills policies for smart industrial specialisation and digital transformation strategies.

Recommendations

After an extensive analysis of the current strategies, policies and initiatives on high-tech “T-shaped” skills in the EU and following a consultation process of more than 100 stakeholders, a comprehensive and ambitious “Skills for Industry Strategy 2030” has been put forward. 

The policy recommendations encourage the development of forward-looking, dynamic and interactive upskilling initiatives and call for significant investments mobilising and combining resources at local, national and EU level. They also underline the need for a data and technology-driven industry strategy and highlight the need for motivated and engaged leadership.

Best practices

Among the twenty best practices selected to inspire other interested players, many break with traditional ‘silo’ organisation structures. All of them encourage active collaboration and show that Europe needs new innovative and agile skills initiatives.

Airbus Engineer of the Future & AGUPP, Bosch Centre for Artificial Intelligence, Brainport Development, Cisco Networking Academy, or Skillnet Ireland are among the selected examples.

To find detailed and extensive information on the project and its results, check the full report and brochure.

Read the original article on the EASME website.

Radu Dumitrescu, 24 year-old from Romania, was proclaimed a winner of this year’s SME Week Youth Essay Competition during the European Commission’s SME Assembly.

Radu Dumitrescu is one of the Editors-in-Chief of The New Federalist web magazine. He has a Master’s in Comparative Politics and is interested in voter behaviour, European affairs, and corporate personhood.

In his speech as potential EU Commissioner for SMEs and Entrepreneurship he said: “So, what is our goal? To put the new industries at the heart of European SMEs – to create ‘Silicon Europe’. We can no longer afford to linger in coal, petrol, manufacturing jobs, farming and hard labour. They cannot be abandoned either, but the way to the future is through the digital, the online, the streaming and the virtual. That is where the state of the future will be, where voters will have their say, where poets will forge their dreams and where love will take hold of couples. But first, it is where money will be made – and European SMEs will pioneer the way during my term.”

The other finalists of this year’s SME Week Youth Essay competition were:

• Enzo Ercole Ribagnac (France)
• Estelle Beuve (France)
• Aureliano Ulndreaj (Albania)

The four finalists presented their speeches on the stage of the SME Assembly in Helsinki.  This was followed by a live vote from the audience to determine the winner.

The SME Week Youth Essay competition, run by the European Commission, is in its fourth edition.  This year the competition asked young people aged from 18-25 to prepare a speech from the perspective of the new Commissioner for SMEs and Entrepreneurship addressed to Europe’s entrepreneurs. Entries were received from 20 different countries, with the top two being Albania and Romania, followed closely by Italy, Greece, Turkey and Ukraine . The top 10 applicants then had to propose concrete measures and initiatives that could benefit from the application of the ‘Think Small First Principle’.

Read Radu’s Submissions:

• Round 1: Silicon Europe 2030
• Round 2: What concrete measure or initiative would you propose to apply the “Think Small First Principle” to? And why?

Read Enzo’s Submissions:

• Round 1: Speech as the Commissioner
• Round 2: What concrete measure or initiative would you propose to apply the “Think Small First Principle” to? And why?

Read Aureliano’s Submissions:

• Round 1: Speech as the Commissioner
• Round 2: What concrete measure or initiative would you propose to apply the “Think Small First Principle” to? And why?

Read Estelle’s Submissions:

• Round 1: A new generation of sustainable entrepreneurs
• Round 2: What concrete measure or initiative would you propose to apply the “Think Small First Principle” to? And why?

More information on the Youth Essay Competition is available here.

About the SME Assembly

The SME Assembly is the annual flagship event of the European SME Week and is hosted by the current European Commission presidency. This year the Assembly was hosted by the Finnish Presidency of the European Commission in Helsinki on 25–27 November 2019. Delegates from across the world came together to hack policy, discuss enterprise and create the governance structure of the Small Business Act.

Watch the SME Assembly 2019 highlights:

The third and final day of the SME Assembly started with an overview and discussion on the future roles for regions and cities in promoting both entrepreneurship and SMEs. The session was opened by Kristin Schreiber, Director for SME Policy and Entrepreneurship, European Commission:

“I believe we achieved a lot through the single market and now we to build on this momentum. I’m counting on you to come up with bright and innovative ideas for the new SME strategy”.

It was then time to review the annual performance of Europe’s SMEs for 2019, with the SME Economic Performance Review, led by Kristin Schreiber – Director for SME Policy, Ben Butters – Eurochambres, and Jan Bormans from the European Startup Network. For more information and to read the review and accompanying report in full, have a look here.

The highly anticipated Youth Essay Competition session kicked off with inputs from members of the jury, including Kristin Schreiber from the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, and Marija Elena Borg, last year’s competition winner. Congratulations to the three runners up, Estelle Beuve, Enzo Ercole Ribagnac and Aureliano Ulndreaj who gave excellent speeches to the SME delegates, and special congratulations to Radu Dumitrescu for being crowned this year’s winner!

The Assembly closed with a look at the future of sustainable SME Growth, and the contributions from this year’s participants towards the new SME Strategy. The winner of the best tweet competition, was also announced and received a signed copy of Schumpeter Lecturer Mariana Mazzucato’s book “The Value of Everything”. To close the SME Assembly, it was time to handover the torch to the next host presidency, Germany, who will be hosting next year’s Assembly in November in Berlin.

That’s a wrap for the 2019 SME Assembly! See you next year in…Berlin!

The SME Assembly may be over, but the discussion continues! Keep sharing your ideas on Twitter with #SMEAssembly2019 and by tagging @EEPA_EU and don’t forget to join and post in the LinkedIn group “Online SME Assembly” to keep the conversation going.

Watch the SME Assembly 2019 highlights:

Every year the European Commission analyses how much progress the countries made in implementing the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA).

The SME performance review is one of the main tools the European Commission uses to monitor and assess countries’ progress in implementing the Small Business Act (SBA) on a yearly basis. With an emphasis on the measures from the SBA action plan, the review brings comprehensive information on the performance of SMEs in EU countries and other partner countries. It consists of 2 parts: an annual report on European SMEs and SBA country fact sheets.

The SBA fact sheets are developed on the basis of a wide range of indicators and national policy developments, grouped according to the SBA’s ten policy dimensions:

1. Entrepreneurship
2. ‘Second chance’
3. ‘Think Small First’
4. ‘Responsive administration’
5. State aid & public procurement
6. Access to finance
7. Single market
8. Skills & innovation
9. Environment
10. Internationalisation

It is important to note that the figures presenting trend charts in the EU SME sector represent estimates for 2017-2020, based on 2008-2016 figures from the Structural Business Statistics Database (Eurostat).

For more information and to read the latest annual report, country-specific factsheets and the accompanying study, visit the European Commission website.

Watch the SME Assembly 2019 highlights:

Day 2 of the SME Assembly opened with inspiring and thought provoking speeches from keynote speakers Professor Daniel Isenberg, Alberto Onetti and Petri Peltonen.

Professor Daniel Isenberg spoke of the need to change our beliefs surrounding entrepreneurship and the fundamental need to focus on scaling up and ban unicorns from public discourse so as to ensure that this phenomenon does not skew relevant policy. Chairman and Founder of Mind the Bridge Alberto Onetti, followed on with his talk on how to get SMEs to innovate and the need to expose them to innovation and cross-border partnerships. Petri Peltonen closed the opening speeches with his call for SME policy to be more horizontal and cross-sectoral in order for SMEs to be recognised more strongly across different sectors.

The day continued with a participatory session on Sustainable SME Growth where delegates shared their thoughts and ideas on how to build and move towards a sustainable economy that works for people.

It was then time for the parallel sessions which included workshops, masterclasses and policy sessions spanning the upcoming SME Green Deal, the value chain in the Finnish maritime ecosystem, sustainable finance, jobs of the future, the opportunities for SMEs in the field of space data and more.

The day closed with the highly anticipated finals of the European Enterprise Promotion Awards. The Awards were opened by Markku Markkula, President of the European Committee of the Regions, who announced the opening of the next call for the European Entrepreneurial Region awards. The ceremony that followed celebrated the achievements and wins of projects across six different categories as well as an overall Grand Jury Prize winner.

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Find out all about the EEPA class of 2019 right here on the News Portal.

Congratulations to all the winners, and be sure to check out the updates and activities from Day 2 using #SMEAssembly2019 and by following @EEPA_EU on Twitter.

Watch the SME Assembly 2019 highlights: