SMEs & Entrepreneurship
The EU is not fully exploiting its entrepreneurial potential and is failing to encourage enough people to become entrepreneurs. The prevailing attitudes towards entrepreneurship and the balance of risks and rewards make many Europeans less inclined start their own businesses. To become more competitive, Europe must develop a more entrepreneurial mindset across the whole of society.
Helping the European business community to flourish and grow is the essential purpose of the 2,000 regional and local Chambers in Europe. They are in daily direct contact with 19 million member enterprises (of which 99.5% are SMEs) and offer them a wide range of services including business development support, economic intelligence, assistance in the field of foreign trade and co-operation, etc…
Chambers of Commerce have traditionally hosted Euro Info Centres (EIC) and Innovation Relay Centres (IRC) and are now heavily involved in the Enterprise Europe Network, sharing their expertise and know-how as providers of concrete and value-adding services to the local business community. EUROCHAMBRES has been an Associate Member of the EIC network since 1998 and is now an Associate Member of the Enterprise Europe Network.
Through their activities, the Chambers promote entrepreneurship and contribute to the development of Europe’s entrepreneurial potential.
Creation:
More than 700,000 companies assisted per year, principally in 3 fields:
- one-stop-shops for start- ups;
- start-up campaigns;
- business registers.
Development:
One of the widest areas of work for Chambers since it crosses over many functions from providing access to finance, offering support networks, to lobbying for better regulation, etc.
Transfer:
Chambers have developed instruments such as transfer marketplaces and databases, mentor programmes, etc…
Creating the right framework for enterprise and promoting a more entrepreneurial climate in Europe are the key objectives for the Chamber network and EUROCHAMBRES.
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