Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs

Last updated

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a European mobility scheme initiated by the European Union in 2009, [1] which gives new or aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to get a first-hand, practical coaching from experienced entrepreneurs running small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in one of the 27 EU Members States.

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is financed by the European Commission and operates with the help of intermediary organisations [2] competent in business support, coordinated by a Support Office [3] (currently run by EUROCHAMBRES).

By February 2017, more than 4,500 exchanges [4] have been established and over 15,000 applications [5] have been received.

History

In 2007, the European Parliament introduced a new budget line entitled "Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs”. The European Commission then started to design the Pilot Project with the aim of supporting mobility periods abroad for recently established and nascent entrepreneurs, with a view to improving their skills and fostering the cross-border transfer of knowledge and experience between entrepreneurs. [6] Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs comes under the Small Business Act for Europe which considers this initiative a key contribution “to create an environment within which entrepreneurs and family businesses can thrive and entrepreneurship is rewarded”. It currently falls under Programme for the Competitiveness of enterprises and SME's (COSME) 2014–2020. [7] [8]

Related Research Articles

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are businesses whose personnel and revenue numbers fall below certain limits. The abbreviation "SME" is used by many national agencies and international organizations such as the World Bank, the OECD, European Union, the United Nations, and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Erasmus Programme</span> European Commission programme for education, training, youth, and sport

The Erasmus Programme is a European Union (EU) student exchange programme established in 1987. Erasmus+, or Erasmus Plus, is the new programme combining all the EU's current schemes for education, training, youth and sport, the most recent programme covering the years 2021–27.

In the European Union education is at the responsibility of its Member States and their Ministries of education that they have; in such, the European Union institutions play only a supporting and overseeing role. According to Art. 165 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the Community

shall contribute to the development of quality education by encouraging cooperation between Member States, through actions such as promoting the mobility of citizens, designing joint study programmes, establishing networks, exchanging information or teaching languages of the European Union. The Treaty also contains a commitment to promote life-long learning for all citizens of the Union.

The Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) is an Executive Agency of the European Commission. EASME was founded in 2003 as the Intelligent Energy Executive Agency (IEEA) and was renamed the European Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI) in 2007, finally becoming EASME in 2014. It is responsible for managing specific programmes in the fields of energy, the environment, and business support. Its goal is to promote sustainable development while improving the competitiveness of European industries. While the Agency has its own legal identity, it reports to several Directorates-General of the European Commission, which remain responsible for programming and evaluation of the programmes.

A micro-enterprise is generally defined as a small business employing nine people or fewer, and having a balance sheet or turnover less than a certain amount. The terms microenterprise and microbusiness have the same meaning, though traditionally when referring to a small business financed by microcredit the term microenterprise is often used. Similarly, when referring to a small, usually legal business that is not financed by microcredit, the term microbusiness is often used. Internationally, most microenterprises are family businesses employing one or two persons. Most microenterprise owners are primarily interested in earning a living to support themselves and their families. They only grow the business when something in their lives changes and they need to generate a larger income. According to information found on the Census.gov website, microenterprises make up 95% of the 28 million US companies tracked by the census.

Interreg is a series of programmes to stimulate cooperation between regions in and out of the European Union (EU), funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The first Interreg started in 1989. Interreg IV covered the period 2007–2013. Interreg V (2014–2020) covers all 27 EU member states, the EFTA countries, six accession countries and 18 neighbouring countries. It has a budget of EUR 10.1 billion, which represents 2.8% of the total of the European Cohesion Policy budget. Since the non EU countries don't pay EU membership fee, they contribute directly to Interreg, not through ERDF.

The Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) of the European Commission is meant to improve the competitiveness of European companies facing the challenges of globalization. The programme is mainly aimed at small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which will receive support for innovation activities, better access to finance and business support services. It will run from 2007 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Security and Defence College</span>

The European Security and Defence College (ESDC) is an autonomous EU body under the overall responsibility of the HR/VP, that provides training and education at EU level in the field of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP), which is part of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Enterprise Europe Network</span>

The Enterprise Europe Network is a cross-border business network that provides support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to innovate and grow internationally. It is co-funded by the European Union's COSME and Horizon 2020 programmes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pakistan–European Union relations</span> Bilateral relations

European Union–Pakistan relations are the international relations between the common foreign policy and trade relations of the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. There has been no EU State Leader's visit for over twenty years.

Fraternité 2020 (F2020) was a European Citizens' Initiative initiated at the Young European Citizens' Convention, Cluny 2010. The convention was awarded French national winner of the European Charlemagne Youth Prize in 2011. F2020's objective was to enhance EU exchange programmes such as Erasmus or the European Voluntary Service (EVS) to contribute to a united Europe based on solidarity among citizens. It was declared Europe's very first ECI on May 9, 2012, and boasts registration number ECI(2012)000001 in the Commission's ECI database. To be successful, it needed to collect 1 million signatures before November 1, 2013. This target was not reached. The number of signatures actually collected was 71,057.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bank Windhoek</span>

Bank Windhoek Limited is a commercial bank in Namibia, which is licensed by the Bank of Namibia (BoN) to operate in the country. It provides financial services to its clients, which include personal, commercial and Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) banking and accounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ERENET</span> Research and development network

ERENET is an open-ended research and development network aiming at carrying out research on entrepreneurship and developing entrepreneurial curricula and teaching materials among the Central- and Eastern European high-schools and academic universities. The network is based on a partnership relation among its members.

SME Europe is the official business association of the European People's Party with the aim of defending the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises at European level. The organisation was founded in May 2012 by the three Members of the European Parliament, Paul Rübig, Nadezhda Neynsky and Bendt Bendtsen.

The Small Business Act for Europe(SBA) is a package of principles put forward by the European Commission in 2008, designed to assist small businesses within the European Union (EU). The package contains ten "guiding principles intended for adoption "at the highest political level" across the EU. It is not a legislative act as such.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrey Novakov</span> Bulgarian politician (born 1988)

Andrey Grishev Novakov, Bulgarian: Андрей Гришев Новаков is a Bulgarian politician who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament. A member of the GERB party, which is affiliated with the European People's Party on a European level, he was previously a leader of a youth wing of his party.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Digital SME Alliance</span>

The European DIGITAL SME Alliance is a community of small and medium ICT enterprises (SMEs). Its members are national sectorial digital SME associations in 30 countries and regions in the EU and neighboring countries, all together it associates more than 45,000 SMEs. DIGITAL SME was established in 2007 to represent the voice of ICT SMEs and their interests in the European institutions and other international organisations. DIGITAL SME is the first European association of the ICT sector exclusively. The current president is Oliver Grün.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">European Defence Fund</span>

The European Defence Fund (EDF) is a component of the European Union's (EU) Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) which aims to coordinate and increase national investment in defence research and improve interoperability between national armed forces. It was proposed in 2016 by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and established in 2017. The fund has two stands; Research and Development & Acquisition. In July 2018, the European Commission announced that the EDF budget for 2021-2027 would be €13 billion. This sum was later revised by the European Commission as part of the new EU budget proposed on May 27, 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to which the EDF will be allocated €8 billion over this budget period.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are called as KOS or KOM in Azerbaijan. SMEs have a leading position in the provision of economic growth and employment in Azerbaijan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jörgen Warborn</span> Swedish politician (born 1969)

Jörgen Tage Wilhelm Warborn is a Swedish entrepreneur and politician of the Moderate Party who has been serving as Member of the European Parliament since the 2018 elections. On 22 of October 2023, Jörgen was elected as one of the top candidates of the Moderate Party for the European elections on 9 June 2024. In parliament, he serves as coordinator and spokesperson for the European People's Party in the Committee on International Trade; Politico Europe has named him as the most free trade friendly politician in the European Parliament. In April 2024, Warborn was elected as president of SME Global, an international network for small- and medium sized business. In september 2024, Warborn was also elected as president of SME Europe, the biggest political organisation in Europe that operates for the rights of small and medium sized enterprises.

References

  1. "Home". erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu.
  2. "Business exchange - Erasmus entrepreneurs".
  3. "Business & Programme support - Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs".
  4. http://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/press/EYE_Programme_statistics_(January_2017)_58a61ff0b9417.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  5. http://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/press/EYE_Programme_statistics_(January_2017)_58a61ff0b9417.pdf [ bare URL PDF ]
  6. "Enterprise and Industry - European Commission". Ec.europa.eu. 2008-06-13. Archived from the original on 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2013-08-15.
  7. "COSME. Europe's programme for small and medium-sized enterprises. - European Commission". Archived from the original on 2015-12-10. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  8. "Supporting entrepreneurs".