Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are the economic backbone of the European Union. Numbering more than 20 million, these companies represent 99% of European businesses and account for more than two thirds of employment. In the past five years 85% of new employment has come from SMEs. As...

The present report is part of the 2017/18 SME Performance Review. The year 2018 is a special year, as the Small Business Act (SBA) celebrates its tenth anniversary and also, in the autumn of 2018, it will be ten years since the financial and economic crisis of 2008 hit the world economy....

The adoption of Regulation (EU) No 2017/821 means that EU-based importers of tin, tungsten, tantalum and gold from conflict-affected and high-risk areas will soon have to conduct supply chain due diligence as a matter of law. Various small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are directly...

The European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPAs) have just concluded their 11th annual edition. The longevity and continued success of this programme is testament to the fact that fresh and exciting innovations in the promotion of enterprise across the EU continues to thrive. Recognising,...

Having sufficient access to finance is an important determinant for the development of an enterprise. It is a well-known phenomenon that SMEs face different challenges when accessing finance compared to large scale enterprises (LSEs). LSE's for instance, have direct access to capital markets...

This brochure outlines the key EU funding opportunities available to dual use SMEs, explains how this funding works and provides some eye-catching examples of how the EU has helped dual use SMEs fully capitalise on their potential.

The present report is part of the 2016/17 SME Performance Review. It focuses on the performance of SMEs in the EU-28, and two special chapters review recent developments in self-employment, an important segment of the EU-28 SME population, and discuss start-ups and scale-ups.

This report presents the mid-term evaluation of the Innovation in SMEs Actions of Horizon 2020, which supports SMEs by providing both direct financial support to individual enterprises and indirectly through supporting SME and innovation agencies with the creation of a favourable ecosystem for...

This brochure outlines the key EU funding opportunities available to dual use SMEs, explains how this funding works and provides some eye-catching examples of how the EU has helped dual use SMEs fully capitalise on their potential.

The guide aims to illustrate how strategic regional public support can offer SMEs a favourable environment, and support them in implementing resource-efficiency measures with a view to saving costs and staying competitive. It should be viewed as a practical toolbox, with ideas and input having...