Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs ow to make the EU more entrepreneurial Hearing in the European Parliament Brussels, 11 July 2013 Christian WEINBERGER, Senior Adviser - Entrepreneurship & SME Policy
A How it works
... to facilitate exchange of experiences, learning and networking for new EU entrepreneurs through periods spent at SMEs of experienced entrepreneurs in another country.
EYE in Practice
Benefits for Host & New Entrepreneurs Benefits for Host Entrepreneurs Access new skills and innovative knowledge Work with a young fresh mind contributing new ideas Gain knowledge and intelligence about the foreign markets Opportunity to establish new business partnerships with Benefits for New Entrepreneurs Get experience & advice from seasoned entrepreneur Develop international contacts Get knowledge about foreign markets Providers, clients, co-venturing opportunities
STEP 1: Online application 1.Application from NE (business plan, CV, motivation); 2.Application checked by IO ; 3.HE states interest to participate (CV and motivation); 4.File is checked by IO. 5.Admission to on-line How catalogue to apply? : www.erasmusentrepreneurs.eu
STEP 2: Searching & Matching 1.Entrepreneurs search for possible partners with tools in the on-line-catalogue 2.IOs contact other IOs in other contries to "recruite" a suitable Entrepreneur 3.Automatic matching by the computer based on profiles 4.Proposals are established
STEP 3: Contracting and preparation 1.Draft relationships are formed 2.Negotiations on duration, objectives and content 3.Agreement on "Committment document" 4.NE does predeparture induction; 5.NE receives a grant.
STEP 4: Stay abroad 1.Duration: 1-6 months; 2.On-the-job training, work on concrete projects 3.On-site support provided to the NE by the Host IO; 4.Reporting about the exchange.
STEP 5: Feedback and final payment 1.Electronic feedback questionnaiers for HE and NE 2.Final payment to NE upon sucessful completion 3.Re-insertion of HE into the catalogue (if inter-ested to continue)
Main Actors Involved 11
The 4 Steps of an Exchange
B Expected Output
14
C Results
Feedback from New Entrepreneurs
Feedback from Host Entrepreneurs Would you consider hosting another NE in the framework of this programme in the future?
Feedback from Host Entrepreneurs
EYE Growth path (based on completed relationships by YE) YE Relationships 2009 54 2010 310 2011 626 2012 1.157 2013e 1.820
2013 Call for Intermediary Organisations (cycle 6) Submission Deadline 9 July 5 Mio budget available 91 proposals submitted 35 Mio funding request Following previous experiences not all proposals will fulfill the quality standards (2012 ca. 55% above) Severe shortage of budget
D Conclusions & Status
Achievements Sucessful proof of concept Excellent Feedback from both NE and HE Indications of direct effects on EU competitiveness Positive initial evaluation report Sound base to start into the future Direct answer to the youth unemployment problem
Challenges (1) Big differences in performance of IOs (Intermediary organisations) Critical mass requirements not yet attained in certain respects Shortage of budget constrains the growth of the program Reductions on HR for the Commission limit the efforts on promotion, growth & extension
Challenges (2) Successful matching requires significant effort and specific skills on the side of the IOs Absence of national co-ordinators provides both benefits and draw-backs Delicate balance between promotion efforts and matching efforts Finding the right media mix
E Way Forward
EYE is part of CoSME Fully integrated part of CoSME Budget allocations made directly from the CoSME budget Negotiations to re-allocate budget from other CoSME action lines Program Evaluation planned for the first 5 year cycle
Externalisation to EACI Program management to be externalised to the EACI Executive Agency in 2014 EU level Support office planned to be maintained Promotion and support to benefit from synergies with existing operations No merger currently planned with EEN (required competences of actors do not sufficiently overlap)
EYE 2020 Task Force Set up to evaluate options for improvements Analyse the bottlenecks & provide recommendations Develop new working methods to allow faster scaling-up Review potential for combination with other funding sources Develop recommendations for modifications Deliver report by 2 Q 2014 Design point is 10.000 exchanges in 2020
Info & Contacts Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs - General info http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/support_ measures/erasmus Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Detailed info & Registration http://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/ entr-erasmusentrepreneurs@ec.europa.eu support@erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu