INITIATIVES

Our members play a vital role in implementing and achieving the EU Lisbon Strategy, designed by the heads of EU Member States and aimed at creating the most competitive and flexible economy in the world by 2010. Our advocacy approach focuses on key entrepreneurship policy topics and seeks to demonstrate through business cases that Europe can and must work harder to provide the conditions for growth entrepreneurs to play their role in the achievement of the Lisbon Strategy.

Innovation & Growth Financing remains by far the most critical issue for developing entrepreneurship in Europe. Too many important gaps exist in Europe preventing entrepreneurs with growth potential from finding appropriate sources of finance for their business projects.

Europe’s 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth seeks to promote sustainable solutions in order to reduce the equity gap without distorting competition or calling for more State aids or programmes.

High-level policy meeting on "Innovation" in Paris on December 8, 2006 organised by Microsoft and Science Business
 Please find here the results for download.here for the Report (PDF, 900 KB) 

Project in progress

Europe’s 500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth, the association for fast-growing companies in Europe, has developed a financing concept that closes the gap between the bank loan and venture capital market as well as reducing the financial risk for growth companies. Governmental or EU guarantees shall be granted to the companies against a yearly risk reward fee according to their risk rating. This means that the State would even be able to make a profit.

Financing Presentation delivered by Martin Schoeller at Handelsblatt Forum on 5 May (Power Point Presentation 170 KB)

Find more about it on Innovation and Growth Financing Project Sheet (PDF)

See what the German press says about this initiative

Contact
Prof. Dr. Hans Waschkowski, Advisory Board Growth Financing, Financial Consultant
(former Board member of Landesbank Baden-Württemberg)
email: waschkowski@t-online.de
tel. +49-711-325803

ENTREPRENEURIAL EDUCATION

Europe's 500 supports the work of the European Foundation for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER) in promoting entrepreneurship education in Europe. EFER was founded by Dr. Bert W. M. Twaalfhoven, board member of Europe's 500.

While an increasing number of Europeans are interested in starting their own businesses, few of Europe's entrepreneurs are growth-oriented. The facts show that Europe is not well-equipped to nurture growth entrepreneurs capable of building pan-European or global companies. While there are many underlying factors which contribute to that problem, a large one is the lack of exposure of young people to entrepreneurship and a lack of training in managing and growing companies.

For more information about the work, research and projects of European Foundation for Entrepreneurship Research (EFER), please visit www.efer.nl

PROMOTING PAN-EUROPEAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP 

The current European entrepreneurship policy paradigm seems to reinforce national barriers instead of lowering them. The official EU policies and initiatives for entrepreneurship privilege exchange of best practice among Member States, covering large series of topics with very few concrete follow-up measures and feedback. A more efficient approach would address the key three or four policy issues at EU level that would help creating a level paying field for entrepreneurs to nurture business projects with Europe scope.

Europe’s 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth seeks to dialogue with EU decision-makers to achieve an important shift in European entrepreneurship policy. Creating a truly European entrepreneurial space means among other reducing the regulatory burden, promoting growth entrepreneurship and disseminating best practices.

Project in progress

Our organisation is cooperating with EFMD (European Foundation for Entrepreneurship Research) on a report aiming at learning from successes and failures, identifying major barriers to the development of 'gazelles' and, together with key stakeholders at European level, working pragmatically towards creating a proper environment that could stimulate birth and development of truly European fast-growing enterprises.
This is a very much needed process. It is in this context, that we have taken the initiative and prepared the ground for the publication of a manifesto in support of the breeding and growing of pan-European ventures.

Find more about it on Project Sheet Pan European Entrepreneurship 

Contact

E-mail: petra.stadler@europes500.com
Tel. +49 89 55277106

INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND SOCIAL STANDARDS

The “wealth of nations” was one of the main concerns of Adam Smith. Today Adam Smith is quoted when the discussion on removing trade barriers focuses on globalization.

Globalization offers an enormous exchange of goods and an increase in wealth in a number of developed countries and the “Fast-Developing-Nations” (Schwellenländer in German). For the poorest countries, however, globalization does not yet really improve the situation for the largest proportion of the population and the living conditions remain poor in spite of the globalization. Extremist groups are even blaming globalization as being the reason for continued poverty. So far it has been a big challenge to show improvement (for example in Latin America). The tensions in connection with globalization and third world poverty leads to political unrest and even favour terrorism in some countries.

It is obvious that there is a correlation of income per capita / wages and the most relevant social indicators. We do not want to emphasize on what is well known – the poorer the salaries the more terrible are the problems – but we want to create awareness that an increase in income can be the right strategy to solving many of the most important issues simultaneously. An increase in income for the weakest will allow the free markets and the state to provide more of what is urgently needed. Our goal is to develop a strategy to really help them to help themselves by creating incentives and mechanisms that lead to an increase of wages.

A project was started from Europe’s 500 – Entrepreneurs for Growth together with MVV Beratung & Ingenieure (Germany).

Find more about here: ICCFairWages

Article Marin Schoeller, President of Europe's 500 on Fair Wages (PDF) 

September 25, 2007
Sustainable Growth
Views from the Europe's 500 Growth Companies
Speech Martin Schoeller at the European Parliament invited by the British Chamber of Commerce

Contact
Martin Schoeller, President Europe's 500 Entrepreneurs for Growth
email: martin.schoeller@schoeller.org
tel. + 49 89 599277 106
 

Europe's 500 is supporting the project EXPEDITION WELT - a social and entrepreneurial initiative of the University Witten-Herdecke. For more information please see www.expedition-welt.de