Brussels to fund ‘Erasmus’ for SMEs[fr][de] 

The scheme is part of the Small Business Act  which was unveiled in July 2008 and will help 870 entrepreneurs to spend between one and six months in another EU member state in 2010. 

People starting their own businesses will be paired with established SMEs with the help of local chambers of commerce and other intermediary organisations. 

Funding for expenses varies according to the cost of living in member states and ranges from €560 in Latvia to €1,100 in Denmark, but entrepreneurs keen to avail of the scheme will be expected to raise additional funds and demonstrate that they have a viable business plan. 

“New entrepreneurs will gain competences and perspectives that will prove invaluable during the business start-up phase, while also enhancing potential cross-border activity and thus the probability of success,” said Ben Butters, Director of European Affairs at Eurochambers. 

Maive Rute, Director for Promotion of SMEs’ competitiveness, European Commission, said the project is similar to the long-running Erasmus programme which allows students to spend a year studying abroad. 

She said it will strengthen links between EU citizens and foster an entrepreneurial spirit among younger people. 

“Europe is not fully exploiting its entrepreneurial potential and needs to encourage more people to become entrepreneurs. 51% of young Europeans would be interested to follow an entrepreneurial route, but too few of them put their ambitions into practice,” she said. 

Businesses across Europe continue to focus on their national market rather than exploiting commercial opportunities elsewhere in the EU, with just 8% of SMEs exporting their goods and services within the EU. 

Rute dismissed concerns that the project would struggle to attract enough established businesspeople to host young entrepreneurs, saying there are 23 million SMEs in Europe and just 870 are needed to make the project work. An additional €5 million will be made available if the pilot project is deemed a success, she added.