Young SMEs Project Newsletter Issue 1, 2012

Young SMEs – The ProjectYoung SMEs is an INTERREG IVC [Priority 1: Innovationand the knowledge economy; Sub-theme:Entrepreneurship and SMEs] project involving 12transnational partners from across the EU, lastingfrom 2012-2014. The main objective is to jointlydevelop local and regional development strategyrecommendations and instruments to support SMEsduring their early years of operations with particularemphasis on SMEs in years 3-5 of their operations.Specific goals include - to identify, collect, analyse anddisseminate good practices in the field of supportprogrammes for new SMEs between partner regionsand develop policy orientations and approaches to beadopted by and applied in the other European regions,to improve SMEs policies and practices in the partnerregions, to raise exchange levels, enriching goodpractice transferability for future users, to advancerecommendations for future policy design able toimprove support programmes for young SMEs atregional or local level.

Sustainable Young SMEs: Interregional Knowledge Exchange“Sharing inter-regional knowledge to define Supporting

Programmes for Young SMEs”

Interregional Project Partners

1st Thematic Seminar held in WaterfordThe inaugural YSMEs thematic seminar washosted in Waterford City, June 13th & 14th. Thefocus of the seminar was the thematic area of‘Business Development and Marketing’. ProjectPartners were given a wide ranging overviewof the regional structures and public supportsavailable to SMEs, micro-enterprises andentrepreneurs. Representatives from SERA,the City & County Enterprise network, South-East Business Innovation Centre, WaterfordInstitute of Technology, and Waterford CityCouncil gave presentations and engaged inroundtable discussions over the 2 days.

Project partners at a roundtable discussion in Waterford City Hall, June 2012

SMEs – Central to the European economyMore than 99% of all European businesses are SMEs,providing 2 of every 3 private sector jobs andcontributing more than half of the total value-addedcreated by businesses across the EU. Although thereare many supports to SMEs, these supports start todissipate after 3 years and leave SMEs exposed andmore likely to fail in the long run. The YSMEs Project isseeking to address this deficit.

Did you know?According to the Global

Entrepreneurship Monitor 2011, 2,200 people are starting a new business

in Ireland every month!Currently, only 11% of Irish SMEs export.20% of early stage entrepreneurs expect to employ 20 or more staff after 5 years.

Men are 2.5 times more likely to be entrepreneurs than women

The New Frontiers Entrepreneur DevelopmentProgramme, funded by Enterprise Ireland is deliveredtwice annually across the South-East region by the

Waterford Institute of Technology andInstitute of Technology Carlow. Overan intensive 6 month period, participantswill learn how to establish and run a newhigh growth potential company. If youbelieve that you are capable of building a

new company, creating employment and generatingrevenue and export sales in your locality, act now andapply for a place on Ireland’s largest entrepreneurdevelopment programme. Contact Eugene Crehan,Director of Programmes, Centre for EnterpriseDevelopment & Regional Economy, at 051-302953 orecrehan@wit.ie for more information.

Entrepreneur Development Programme

•35 City & County Enterprise Boards nationally,•Offer free business advice and subsidised training,

•Over 27,000 people received support from CEBs in 2011,•17,000 students participated in the 2011/2012

Student Enterprise programme•Over €12.2 million paid out in grant aid to start ups and

small businesses in 2011

Supports for SMEs across the South-East Region

“Starting and growing enterprises is fundamental to achieving regional economic growth”,

Tom Hayes, Head of Micro Enterprise & Small

Business, Enterprise Ireland

City Manager cites poor accessto credit as biggest barrier for businessesMichael Walsh, Waterford City Managerhosted a roundtable discussion with theproject partners at City Hall. Discussing thecontext for urban development and businessgrowth within the City and wider region, Mr.Walsh said that undoubtedly the lack of accessto credit for either new or existing business,was a major impediment to growth andbusiness development. The City Manager saidthat there was no easy solution but that theCity Council would try and work withbusinesses to offer positive support and wasengaging directly with banks and credit unions.

“One person starting a business is a triumph in economic terms”

Jerry Kennelly, Tweak.com

Rosemary Ward, Business Consultant at

South-East Business Innovation Centregave a detailed presentation on the role of

SEBIC in supporting and promoting innovation in SMEs in the South-East Region. SEBIC

provide many services and functions including consultancy, incubation space, financial assistance

sources, enterprise culture.

"ArcLabs is all about encouraging, mentoring and supporting innovative and ambitious early-stage business ventures. The centre has all of the leading-edge facilities that companies need and expect, but much more than that - it is an exciting networking community, driven by entrepreneurial spirit in which businesses can thrive and become successful.“ Tom Corcoran , ArcLabs Manager

Rosemary Ward, SEBIC at the YSMEs Thematic Seminar

Exchange of Experience – Good Practices from the Project Partners

CIME – Creativity & Innovation in Micro-enterprises

- A highly successful Ireland-Wales project led by SERA with partners from Kilkenny CEB and universities in Swansea and Cardiff- An ERDF INTERREG IVA Project 2010-2013

“…Gives micro-enterprises across South-West Wales and South-East Ireland, access to leading edge development

and training programmes, designed to encourage creativity and innovative

thinking within their Businesses”-75 companies assisted-Key creativity and innovation tools such as modelling, mentoring, mapping, ideation-www.cimeproject.com-Free CIME toolkit: tools.cimeproject.com- A SERA Good Practice for YSMEs

Oldham Council –Business Breakfast Briefings•free events for local business engagement•communicate Council message and policies•understand business issues•direct line to Council staff /officials

Falkirk Council –Guide to Successful Retailing•business courses aimed at retail sector (financial planning, marketing, visual merchandising)•flexible bit-sized sessions •1-2-1 mentoring•High participant satisfaction ratings

City of Koblenz –IHK & HWK: Personal

Advisory Business Services•company support•individual personal advisory services •business start-up and consultancy advice

Malta Enterprise –Gateway to Export: Get

Ready to go Global•developing skills to make your enterprise export ready •improving quality standards•3 step process to exporting

IDEAGEN

An Enterprise Ireland

initiative aimed at stimulating new ideas, entrepreneurship and

research opportunities . 4 events run across the

South-East , 127 participants, informal networking,

brainstorming, sectorally-based. Originally a pilot, now

a national event

For more information on the Young SMEs project, contact Terry O’Brien, EU Projects Officer at the South-East Regional Authority

at dir@sera.ie 00353 52 6126200, follow us @Official_SERA , visit www.sera.ie or go to the official project website www.youngsmes.eu

Co-financed by the EU’s European Regional Development Fund

and made possible by INTERREG IVC

12 partners across Europe8 Thematic Working Groups:

Funding, Management, ICT, Business Development & Marketing,

Co-operation, Local Networking, Public Sector, Academic