Hidden behind the sensational and worrying headlines about Brexit, the EU is working diligently on securing the future of Europe, much of which relies on the success of Europe’s entrepreneurs.

The Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan

In an attempt to tackle the devastating effects of the world economic crisis in 2008 on entrepreneurship, the EU established the Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan in early 2013. The initiative aims to reignite Europe’s entrepreneurial spirit as well as to clear existing hurdles for European entrepreneurs.

To achieve these aspiring goals, the European Commission identified three main objectives:

• • Proper education for and from entrepreneurs,
  • Removing of existing administrative and bureaucratic obstacles,
  • Building a truly entrepreneurial culture on the European continent.

The actual actions

Regarding entrepreneurial education, we can definitely observe substantial development. In 2015, University World News stated that all universities in the Netherlands offered education for entrepreneurship. Since 2008, the Small Business Act (SBA) of the European Union was created to get rid of several concerning legal obstacles for entrepreneurs. Moreover, the European Innovation Council launched its pilot stage in 2017. With this program, the EU is addressing the intensifying global competition around novel technologies by supporting the innovation and risk-taking capabilities of European start-ups and established companies.

The entrepreneurial generation

Under these circumstances, an increase in entrepreneurial activity is undoubtedly noticeable. Valuer, an AI-powered platform for finding early-stage startups for accelerators and investors, has just released a ranking of the 50 best cities for startups. Surprisingly, the ranking is mainly dominated by European cities, as the top 10 features six metropoles from the European continent. Additionally, according to World Economic Forum, Europe experienced a substantial increase in Entrepreneurial Employee Activity. As hinted in its study in 2016, Europe has the world’s highest number of EEA, adding up to 40 percent of the whole entrepreneurial activity.

Author: Simon Moser

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Source: Entrepreneur