Reempresa has been launched in 2010 to support SMEs based on Catalonia.

Since 2011 it has helped several owners selling their companies and entrepreneurs who wanted to start a new business. Reempresa is a Public-Private Partnership meaning that it closely works with the regional government institutions and private business owners. It gives access to a unique Marketplace, based on a One-Stop-Shop system. The digital platform, that can be found on their website, allows to develop and facilitate selling procedures. Although, the main Reempresa’s activity is to match buyers and sellers, it offers training workshops that can help both parties of the agreement .

COUNTRY

Catalonia – Spain 

ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

• Catalan Employers Association CECOT
• Private Foundation promoting self-employment in Catalonia Autoocupaciò

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

2011, ongoing

TARGET GROUP

The project is mainly referred to companies that are about to close and future entrepreneurs who do not want to start a new business activity from scratch. However, it has to be said that this activity has a huge social and economic impact at local level. Businesses, thanks to these operations, have the possibility to generate new job positions. Therefore, Reempresa’s beneficiaries are not only entrepreneurs but Rural population, Urban population, Unemployed people, Women and Ethnic minorities as well.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

Reempresa aims to connect business owners without successors with potential buyers who want to be entrepreneurs, but don’t want to start from scratch. Reempresa is a One-Stop-Shop system where expert advisors provide support along the business transfer process. It aims to smooth the acquisition process thus making the transfer easier.

• Entrepreneurs using Reempresa’s services will have access to a unique Marketplace with expert advice and specialized training
• Reempresa offers an innovative solution to those employers who don’t want to start from scratch and buy an already existing business
• They arrange meeting between sellers and potential buyers.
• Focusing on local entrepreneurs this system helps small and medium enterprises to grow through acquisition of other SMEs.

Reempresa created a methodology that represents an equal service for both parts.:

1. Introduction of the parties
2. NDA between parties
3. Negotiation: to validate the agreement between both parts
4. Letter of intent
5. Due diligence: which is optional
6. Business transfer contract

RESULTS ACHIEVED

Reempresa has involved 185 million euros of investments and 9.500 sellers with 17.000 potential buyers.

Retail is the main sector sold and bought representing almost the 30% of enterprises processed by Reempresa. Moreover more than 80% of enterprises sold thanks to these services work excellently.  It has more than 3.800 success stories and it has prevented the shutdown of 11.000  companies.

KEY CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING THE INITIATIVE AND SOLUTIONS USED TO MITIGATE THEM

Key challenges can be defined as follow: public funding from regional and eu institutions and client networking. Reempresa is funded by public supports, this allows them to offer free services to all the clients needing consultancy. Therefore Reempresa has to work constantly with public institutions in order to guarantee its own activities. Secondly, Reempresa Market place is based on client networking between sellers and potential buyers. Thus, in order to match the supply side and demand side, it is crucial for them to have a powerful structure of entrepreneurs.

Reempresa has been identified as a successful project thanks to two key factors: standardization of the transfer procedure and of all documents and promotion through social network.

The former has helped the project to gain relevance in different European regions while the latter has supported Reempresa to be known by interested parties and collaborators. 

Moreover, thanks to Reempresa experience, existing clients get an extra value. Indeed, it is extremely beneficial for those who want to become entrepreneurs as the most critical phase of opening a new business is attracting customers. 

Lastly, Reempresa platform represents a remarkable opportunity for other companies which want to take over other businesses and make their market grow.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

Creating a network is the main goal of Reempresa. This network prevented the loss of jobs and firms in Catalonia aiming toward efficiency’s targets. Moreover, thanks to the agreements signed between businesses and local, regional and national public authorities, Reempresa offers free services to their clients, contributing to the sustainability.

Furthermore, looking at the replicability of the initiative, other countries, such as the US, have set platforms for business transfers. Thus it has been recognized that methodology, approach and policy instruments of this model can be replicated everywhere.

SMEs are the backbone of the Moroccan economy, representing 95% of the private sector and creating 50% of the job offer. That said, even though the Moroccan financial system is open and competitive, the funding mix addressed toward SMEs and start-ups is still dominated by the bank sector (bank loans represent the primary funding source for Moroccan SMEs – around 68% according to the International Finance Corporation –
IFC). In order to overcome this issue, the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MoEF) of Morocco and CCG, signed an agreement in 2016 called the Innov Invest Fund that provided CCG with the mandate to operate a seed, early-stage, and VC financing programme through public funding.

The Innov Invest Fund strives to create opportunities and jobs through the development of a more robust private sector by increasing the sources of financing and supporting entrepreneurial innovation.

This initiative offers a comprehensive package of financial instruments to sustain innovative projects and the initial stages of the start-up life cycle through grants, soft loans, equity, quasi-equity, cash advances and technical assistance. The objective is to enable new and existing innovative SMEs to access risk capital, other types of financing (e.g. soft loans) and critical non-financial support.

COUNTRY

Morocco

ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

The Innov Invest Fund is managed by CCG and sees the partnership of Venture Capital Funds and Programs (SEAF, DGCF), DFIs (KfW, AfDB), Moroccan banks and Pension Funds, incubators and accelerators.

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

2017, no ending date.
The Innov Invest Fund was launched in 2017 and became operational during 2018 with the selection of the first bunch of accelerators/incubators and the establishment of 4 early-stage/venture capital funds.

TARGET GROUP

The programme targets start-ups operative in the innovation field for less than five years.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

CCG, as an innovation finance enabler is enhancing Marocco’s plans to boost technology SMEs and innovative start-ups by pursuing the following targets:

1. Fund innovative start-ups through Public Private Equity Funds;
2. Support existing Funds for innovative start-ups;
3. Strengthen the ecosystem, ensuring a good quality deal flow.

METHODOLOGY

RESULTS ACHIEVED

• In the framework of the Innov Invest Fund, CCG has launched three funds in private/public partnership together with key international players.
• They have also raised $70 million of equity funds to be earmarked for start-ups investments.
• They have funded already 230 start-ups and projects, mainly through grants and soft loans.
• More recently they have also started to invest in Equity Tickets, targeting individuals (health care) and IT startups.

KEY CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING THE INITIATIVE AND SOLUTIONS USED TO MITIGATE THEM

• The legal framework on bankruptcy is rigorous in Morocco, and in the event of company failure, it imposes consequences also for the investor’s capital. This legal context leads to the fear of funding start-ups and other initiatives well-acknowledged as risky investments.
• The high level of risk related to start-ups and venture capital companies also explains the limited investments coming from banks, pension funds and insurance institutes.
• The lack of tax incentives is another hurdle to face, which is expected to be overcome by offering an asymmetrical return distribution on investments in order to attract private investors.
• The need to enhance partnership among start-ups and universities has been addressed by allowing grants to enable the purchase of R&D services from universities.
• Another challenge that hinders start-ups from thriving is the lack of partnership among them and larger companies belonging to the private sector.
• Public standards requirements (paperwork, prior references, financial capabilities) also limit the access to the market.
• Another challenge to be faced is the need to promote the bonds between incubators and venture capital funds to ensure a good quality deal flow (creation and scaling of financially viable enterprises). In order to achieve this target, the Innov Invest Fund offers incentives to foster incubators working with funds also not managed by CCG.
• The last problem to point out is the lack and the relevant cost of technical expertise to support start-ups and venture capitals in their development process.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

Given the success of this initiative, it will be maintained without a limited time horizon. 

Some start-ups that benefitted from the programme achieved a strong development and have been able to expand themselves in overseas markets arousing the interest of banks which offered them technical support.

The replicability of the programme and its feasibility to be implemented in other countries have already drawn the attention of other nations of the MENA region, like Jordan.

The entrepreneurial ecosystem in Egypt is one of the fastest in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region, however, an in-depth analysis reveals also that the number of female entrepreneurs is remarkably small. By taking the Egyptian female entrepreneurial ecosystem into consideration, TIEC pointed out that the main barriers that hinder the development of companies led by women are the lack of knowledge and confidence together with the will to avoid the competition with men. In order to enhance women’s confidence and help them develop their business in Egypt, TIEC started  “Heya Raeda”, a program for female entrepreneurs that also involves female coaches, female trainers, and mentors. The Heya Raeda is a nearly-stage Entrepreneurship Programme for female entrepreneurs operating in the ICT field that produce technological products (Website, Mobile Application, Software, IOT platform, …) or that use technology to foster the selling of their products (online platform / digital marketing interface).

COUNTRY

Egypt

ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

The initiative was funded by the Information Technology Industry Development Agency.  Among the partners that sustained this project, there is the International Labor Organization (ILO) (2017-2018).

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

2017 – Present

TARGET GROUP

The project addresses early-stage female entrepreneurs (female-led startups, small businesses wishing to become startups, and females with new venture ideas).

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

The Heya Raeda is a program aimed at training female entrepreneurs on startup methodologies in order to help them develop their business ideas. The main target is to provide the attendees with knowledge, tools, and skills needed to successfully run their business.

METHODOLOGY

RESULTS ACHIEVED

The number of female entrepreneurs who graduated until 2019 is 209 while they are expected to be 300 only in 2020, 10%of which are should turn their activities into potential startups (registering their company and joining an incubator). The results of 2019’s surveys showed the following data:

• 50% of the companies were still in business;
• 15% of the participants to the Heya Raed a program find another opportunity in a follow-up program in Egypt;
• 14% of the attendees had their company registered.

KEY CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING THE INITIATIVE AND SOLUTIONS USED TO MITIGATE THEM

So far, the main challenge faced by the program has been the reaching of its target audience. To overcome this issue TIEC is making partnerships with many entities involved in the promotion of female empowerment. TIEC also promotes and gives visibility to the initiative in online communities for women. After every edition the female entrepreneurs have to take part in a survey, this is a very important instrument to understand barriers to participation and to adjust the structure of the program following the ladies’ needs (for instance the number of hours to attend every day and the schedule).

LESSONS LEARNED

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

Fund: The Initiative is funded by the government. Sustainability is guaranteed as long as the program keeps achieving its KPIs. The KPIs evaluated each year are the followings:

-number of participants;

-number of graduates joining a follow-up program;

-number of graduates registering their companies;

-number of jobs created by those graduates.

Operations: The workshops are delivered by service providers from the private sector, which makes the workshops easier to replicate in other countries and for multiple editions.

Training Content: TIEC defines the content of the workshops, but takes also advantage of the expertise of different service providers in order to make the training more effective according to the subject.

Target Market: In order to give the chance to take part in the program to the highest number of brilliant female entrepreneurs, all the lessons and the learning materials are in Arabic. The number of female entrepreneurs running a small business that could take advantage of a program like Heya Raeda is remarkable and since the structure of the initiative is not complex, its applicability in other countries would considerable support the spur of female entrepreneurship.

During the eight-month process INTRASOFT employees worldwide were challenged to create innovative ICT-related products and services with the aim to promote innovation drawing upon the key message “Innovation is appreciated and will be fostered with priority”.

The Innovation Competition was part of the 2017 – Year of Innovation, umbrella initiative.

COUNTRY

EU and beyond.

ORGANIZATION IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

The initiative is implemented by INTRASOFT International S.A. (holding INSME Vice-Presidency).

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

From the 1^st of May 2017 to the 31^st of December 2017.

WHO FUNDS THE INITIATIVE

The initiative was funded by INTRASOFT International S.A.

TARGET GROUP

All INTRASOFT employees.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

The vision of the contest was to establish an innovative promoting culture within the company. In this effort, the aim was to maximize participation through an enjoyable process and uncover business potential lying within the organization. In addition, the process intended to boost an inside/out approach to innovate. The key message of the competition was “Innovation is appreciated and will be fostered with priority”.

METHODOLOGY

The competition run in two main phases.

The first phase was an open call inviting all employees to submit their innovative idea by completing a short submission form that included 5 key questions related to their idea.
The evaluation criteria were set and published on the website of the company.
The 10 top ideas were selected and promoted to the second stage of the competition that was related to the feasibility plan for their innovative ideas. Participants were requested to prepare a business plan and a short pitch in a video format. In order to develop the business plan and the pitching the 10 finalists were supported by training material and 10-hour workshops. Those workshops included group webinars and also one on one webinars per team.
The winner was selected by the jury committee – composed by ten internal and external key technology and business experts – and according to the evaluation criteria set from the beginning of the competition. The criteria were related to the following:

• Innovation
• Team Composition & Business Acumen
• Competitive Advantage
• Business Potential
• Sustainability
• Level of Readiness.

The winning team won a cash prize and the opportunity to bring its idea to life either by getting into an internal or external incubation program.
A dissemination campaign was organized in order to support and promote the competition throughout the lifetime of this project in all sites.

RESULTS ACHIEVED

• The competition added value to the INSTRASOFT existing offering: both the winning idea and the runner-up – nominated as most promising idea – were further explored by the company and the owners. Those ideas were promoted and resulted in new solutions brought to the market and tested among INTRASOFT customers.
• More than 40 business ideas were submitted and the most active offices have been the ones based in Belgium, Greece, Jordan, Kenya, Luxembourg.
• A successful task force including professionals from 5 different departments to organize the competition was created, taking benefit from the expertise of each department (New Ventures, Research Innovation Development, Marketing, Human Resources and Legal).
• The creation of innovative ideas entailed a stronger cross collaboration among the team members representing diverse departments and offices of the group.
• INTRASOFT employees had the opportunity to include external people in their team and this stimulated Open Innovation for the Group.

KEY CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING THE INITIATIVE AND SOLUTIONS USED TO MITIGATE THEM

Since it was the first initiative of this kind INTRASOFT met challenges in raising employees’ interest and actively engage them. In order to deal with this challenge INTRASOFT organized info days in all branch offices by benefitting also from the CEO participation. In addition the top management of all departments contributed to encourage and engage employees through dedicated events.

Further challenges were related to:

• The organisation of the competition and of the whole process as it required a significant effort of coordination among all the groups involved.
• The engagement of people from different countries and cultures.

This has been successfully managed through the establishment of task forces involving experts and professionals with different expertise and guided by a common vision that facilitated a very positive collaboration.

LESSONS LEARNED

The initiative gave evidence to the importance of the support of the top management for the successful implementation of the initiative. This is a bit negative, it was the top management that highlighted the importance and they supported it, it was a bottom down approach. Furthermore the engagement of people from different background and the idea of triggering a cultural change made clear the importance of an effective communication and dissemination as well as the need for special attention to cultural differences.
In addition to this, the implementation of the contest confirmed that more initiatives like this have to be adopted in order to foster an innovative culture.
Finally, initiatives of this kind require a significant amount of time, therefore in case such competition will be organised again in future it will be essential to properly estimate the time needed for the implementation of the project.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

As part of the INTRASOFT strategic plan, the company decided to promote more innovative internal actions. In addition the initiative is considered to be sustainable because on the one hand the winning and the most promising ideas continue to take benefit from the competition as the winners have the chance to test their service/product among real customers, on the other hand INSTRASOFT enlarged its offering to the market.
Given the positive impact of the innovation competition, the possibility to organise similar initiatives is highly considered .