COUNTRY

Colombia 

PROPAIS – Corporación para el Desarrollo de las Microempresas / PROPAIS – Corporation for SME´s Development in Colombia

District of Bogotá – District Government Secretariat and Local Development Funds

District Government Secretariat and Local Development Funds and PROPAIS

2022-2024 

This initiative prioritizes microenterprises made up of mothers who are heads of households, young people, people over 55 years of age, microenterprises oriented towards green conversion with environmentally sustainable practices, people with disabilities, victims of the armed conflict, cultural and creative microenterprises, and members of ethnic communities.

An initiative that seeks to contribute to the strengthening and consolidation of micro and small businesses affected by the crisis generated by COVID 19, through technical support, strengthening knowledge and go through capitalization processes provided by the program. It also aims for strengthen business skills through training modules for micro and small businesses in business and commercial subjects, supporting micro and small businesses in consolidation and formalization through monetary incentives for capitalization.

• Call and selection of 6.000 beneficiaries
• Definition of population eligibility criteria
• Diagnosis and identification of business gaps
• Gathering of information for the construction of investment plans for each of the beneficiaries according to their individual conditions and business projections
• Categorization of each of the chosen microenterprises
• Design and implement adequate routes to strengthen production and strategic knowledge to increase soft skills in microentrepreneurs

• Strengthening with technical assistance and incentives for reactivation and consolidation for up to eight million pesos m/cte. ($8,000,000), approximately USD$2,000, which may only be used as working capital or support for formalization.
• Strengthening of business capacities through accompaniment and specialized technical assistance that will allow the development of multidisciplinary business skills, which is carried out in knowledge capsules for free consumption in a web environment, in addition to attention in physical spaces prepared to advise and accompany the micro-enterprises that participate in commercial meetings on aspects of business formalization.
• Entrepreneurs will co-create investment plans in dialogue with the diagnosis of gaps and needs that are carried out, receiving accompaniment and support in the identification of needs and projection of their businesses in the market. These gaps and needs will be addressed with the resources provided in capitalization by the program.

With the program, more than 6,880 micro-enterprises and productive units have been served to date that have received technical assistance, financial support, productive strengthening and commercial activation through the program, managing to overcome gaps and barriers that prevented their positioning in the local market. National and international.

It has managed to generate and sustain more than 19,980 jobs.

More than $95,100,000,000 Colombian pesos (approx. $23.7 million dollars) have been invested in the productive and commercial strengthening of these Productive Units, and in the capitalization of their investment plans to overcome the difficulties generated by the COVID 19 pandemic and other aspects that affected the economy of the city.

• To generate credibility and trust in citizens who recognize in the District Mayor’s Office and the government secretariat their work in guiding and leading the formulation and monitoring of policies aimed at strengthening democratic governance at the district and local level, by guaranteeing human and constitutional rights, peaceful coexistence, the exercise of citizenship, the promotion of peace and democratic culture, the use of public space, the promotion of organization and citizen participation and the coordination of political relations of the District Administration at its different levels.
• The challenges range from knowledge of the territory to guaranteeing that the dissemination and promotion of the programs were aimed at the entire community of both entrepreneurs and micro-entrepreneurs who were unaware of the District’s offer.
• Hard work had to be done in the diffusion through different means of communication available, to inform about the population targeting and the great effort to encourage participation and permanence in the programs, especially in the early stage of formation.

In relation to the call stage, it is necessary to have an additional 50% to 70% to the global goal by locality of registered participants, since many of them do not meet the requirements and supports indicated by the program, they do not really belong to the locality that they indicate or desert in the initial stage, which generates delays in the execution and demands additional efforts in reopening calls and reviewing new participants. Continuing about training and considering that microentrepreneurs and entrepreneurs have little time and many lack skills in the use of technology, it is essential that the training process last between two to three hours maximum and that the process can be monitored aware of the needs and conditions of the participants. Next, in line with the care of public resources, the issuance of the policy requires tighter times since this is a previous and mandatory step for the disbursement of capitalization resources and execution of the investment plan, which avoids delays and reprieves in the beneficiaries that have surpassed the previous stages of the programs.The need to facilitate training with real access to those beneficiaries of the program who did not have the skills to use digital tools, managing to have personalized support and in many cases managing physical locations in the participating localities to carry out face-to-face training and advice on the construction of investment plans, all within the time allotted for the execution cycle of the programs.

Considering that the Local Microenterprise Program and Local Impulse are in their third and second version respectively and the continuous learning and improvement that the District Administration and its operating allies have had have potentiated each of its stages from the planning, execution and liquidation of the process, the programs have a percentage of sustainability and replicability of 100%.

Although these programs were born in the face of the economic crisis generated by the pandemic, in their evolution the objective changed from reactivation to economic consolidation and their recognition and citizen satisfaction is high. Due to the above, the programs can be sustained and replicated in any territory where it is sought to reactivate and consolidate micro-entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs through efficient training and a great economic benefit that promotes, strengthens and potentiates the formal and informal, traditional and innovative economy.

Now, the District Administration is in the readiness stage of the fourth version (2023) of Local Microenterprise and the third of Local Impulse thanks to full compliance with the goals, the closure and effective settlements in past versions and the positive impact in the economy of local populations, where it is expected to contribute more than 16 billion pesos (more than USD$3.5 million) to strengthen and capitalize of 3,152 entrepreneurs, and 9 billion pesos (more than USD$2 million) to strengthen and capitalize 844 microentrepreneurs in the city of Bogotá.

COUNTRY

Italy

SIMEST

UNIONCAMERE

PROMOS ITALIA

Italian Government

Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAECI)

Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (MIMIT)

Italian Trade Agency (ITA)

Società Italiana per le Imprese all’Estero (SIMEST)

Servizi Assicurativi del Commercio Estero (SACE)

Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP)

Unioncamere

2020- ongoing 

Italian SMEs and companies that wish to become present in international markets and/or already work with foreign markets and need a boost in this landscape. The platform is helpful for “conservative” SMEs that don’t export at all or don’t consider unfamiliar markets, or those who haven’t unlocked their full potential yet.

In 2018, the Italian Trade Agency (ITA) began a discussion on how to centralize all the export services offered by the country system in a single public portal to support SMEs, simplify the life of Italian companies and include all national and regional services of export and internalization.

The platform was born out of the “Patto per l’export”, the strategic agreement signed in 2020 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, with the aim of providing Italian companies with a single point of reference for navigating the world of export.

Subsequently, ITA, together with SACE, MAECI, SIMEST, CDP, Unioncamere and other institutional contributors developed the portal with the aim of including all services for companies in a single virtual space: the Export.gov.it digital platform.

The project of the new public portal, online since September 2020, has the mission to support the internationalization of Italian firms, especially SMEs, to develop their business worldwide.  Through the export.gov.it digital portal, Italian SMEs are enabled to analyze the various markets to identify those most suitable for their business, and then promote their business on the international scale, activating e-commerce networks, participating in targeted events, identifying channels, intermediaries, partners and new foreign customers to aim for their business growth. Benefits from this platform include effective communication in the digital landscape, integrated promotion focusing on innovation and high-tech sectors, training on internationalization focusing on the digital literacy deficit of SMEs, maximization utilization of international e-commerce, strengthening the participation of SMEs in international fair trades and modernizing the traditional fair trade system focusing on digitalization, finance and subsidize startups and young entrepreneurs and IP protection overseas.

By accessing the websites of each contributor directly through the export.gov.it platform, companies can take advantage of many services:

Such as:

Equity loans: they aim to support the Italian firms to buy a productive site in a foreign country through SIMEST’s own funds and a buy-back agreement with the Italian partner

Export credit support: SIMEST manage the “Fondo di Venture Capital”, a fund to support the internationalization processes of innovative start-ups and SMEs. SIMEST will support the Italian firm with SIMEST capital, as well as manage public funds so the venture capital can be accessible. In the case of companies outside Europe, SIMEST could offer a subsidy on the bank or other intermediaries’ loans (including CDP), obtained by the Italian company for the acquisition of its stake in the foreign country. This will reduce the interest rate of the banking loans.

Soft loans: they support Italian firms entering foreign markets in their growth and internationalization processes.

SEI project (Supporting Italian Export): In 2018 Unioncamere promoted the SEI project that provides first assistance for SMEs, digital export opportunities hub, and financial advisory services. SEI follows the SME’s journey starting from a training phase that will then evolve into an export check-up and export readiness assessment. Also, this project offered new instruments including training and support exports, vouchers, racing and contacting counterparts by using platforms and digital tools.

Business Matching CDP: it is an instrument inside the export.gov.it., developed with MAECI and SIMEST, that aimed to support SMEs in internationalization, create new commercial partnerships, opening new international markets touching China, USA, Japan and South Africa among others. This platform is algorithmically based, meaning that the system will propose partnerships, supporting also through translation services and B2B meeting organizations.

The objective of the initiative is to give Italian SMEs easier access to all services made available by the various public actors (both national and regional) for the internationalization of enterprises. Export.gov.it is a one-stop shop, meaning that it encompasses various services and a comprehensive range of digital tools in one single digital space, allowing SMEs to access export services with the goal to boost Made in Italy products worldwide and build around them the new strategy for the internationalization of the Italian production system following the Italian Pact for Export.

The main methodology around export.gov has started with the creation of a multistakeholder digitalized hub that is easy to use for SMEs that want to start or strengthen their international presence. Export.gov.it presents users with a 7-step approach that summarizes the company’s journey:

1. Preparation: the platform presents an educational section where companies can find the essential information to start their export safely and independently. It includes services such as an export flying desk, a free assistance help-desk service to guide companies through the internationalization process, the SEI project, an integrated guide and accompaniment program, as well as the export e-book, an all-inclusive guide to setting up a solid and stable report business.
2. Target country identification: a section in which all the information is gathered for companies to choose their target market consciously. There are tools for market analysis and for identifying country priorities.
3. Market entry plan: step 3 consists in tools to build a network of potential distributors, customers and importers. it provides all the information to identify foreign partners and facilitate market entry.
4. Promotion and digitalization: In this section, companies can find digital tools and facilities during the search for personnel abroad, customized consulting and subsidized financing dedicated solely to SMEs.
5. Contract negotiation: this step offers protection for business investments. The website provides all the information and services for the business evaluation, loan guarantee and credit insurance services.
6. Risk mitigation: this section is dedicated to managing risks and embarking on an internationalization journey with peace of mind through the assistance of ITA in resolving trade disputes, and SACE.
7. and, finally, Growth strategy. The last step is useful to consolidate and expand companies’ exports. The platform subsequently gives the possibility to attract foreign investors.

The platform’s governance is structured with the sponsor, Product Managers and management board (SACE), and three digital work groups: workgroup digital, stakeholders, and communication workgroup, which increase the visibility of the website. Integration of other satellite digital tools such as matchmaking platforms, webinar spaces and/or export assessment/planning instruments provided by partner institutions is a crucial characteristic of the digital space, that is continuously updated to ensure efficiency and relevancy at any given moment.

Creation of a centralized hub where all relevant information for SMEs that wish to be present on the international level can be found with just a couple of clicks. Users have priority access to press releases and various tools such as training, planning and matchmaking. Export.gov.it has reached over 99000 companies in Italy and will continue to offer services to newcomers or SMEs that are just now getting started.

Successful integration with various digital tools developed by relevant institutional realities such as CDP’s algorithmic Business Matchmaking platform or ITA’s digital export academy.

Effectively boosted Italian exports which have reached record levels in the past years.  In 2022 Italian exports reached 625 billion euros according to the latest data, which means almost 10 billion more than in the same month of 2021 for the trade balance, but a manufacturing surplus of over 100 billion euros. ISTAT data in 2022 registered over 20% growth.

A multi-stakeholder initiative where collaboration was key, a multitude of information that had to be summarized and organized in an efficient manner, updating useful information constantly and well after platform launch, the necessity of a multilanguage approach, lack of digital skills in certain areas for SMEs. Also, a risk was aiming too high and not being able to provide a well-rounded experience for users.

Even if challenging, having various actors on board meant continuous feedback and integration with relevant tools, as well as a large team of experts working on this platform. All the institutional partners give their own services. MAECI offers information about foreign markets and opportunities to participate in international tenders, training for companies willing to start exporting or improvement for companies already exporting abroad. The Italian Trade Agency offered its contribution to discovering foreign markets, sectors and opportunities, preparing to enter these markets, and promoting services for Italian companies with a multichannel approach (trade shows, conferences, B2B meetings, market research and communication campaigns). SACE, backed by the state, focuses on loans granted by credit institutions, offers debt collections, judicial and insolvency proceedings, and guarantees for tenders. SIMEST subsidized funding for internationalization, venture capital participation and venture capital fund. CDP supported companies to achieve innovation and growth goals, Unioncamere, supported in document production necessary or export, promoted enterprises in international markets: organisation of trade missions, access to EU initiatives and programmes, implementation of international agreements, assistance in attracting foreign direct investment, promotion of commerce with foreign countries, support on the patents and licenses acquisition. Finally, Conferenza delle Regioni e delle Province Autonome presents and promotes current regional programmes and initiatives.

Also, a 24/7 helpdesk and digital chatbot have been created to support entrepreneurs wherever and whenever they need it.

It is important to focus on the “how” rather than the “what”: meaning that SMEs’ issues and problems are well-known by all relevant actors across the globe, however, what is missing in this picture is often a solution-oriented approach.

Collaboration is key: it is important to create a network of relevant institutions that are oriented towards the clients and entrepreneurs in order to unlock their full potential. Strategizing is important, but so is usability, as it is true that all the services on export.gov.it are provided by different institutions, however, the company’s journey on the platform is unique and a standalone experience that must run smoothly and efficiently.

Digital and financial alphabetization is crucial for business owners and workers in 2023 and lacks must be addressed.

Export.gov.it is an excellent example of collaboration between ministries and other institutions in an efficient and solution-oriented way that can be replicable in other countries or geographic regions. The study tour conducted in Rome by INSME and the MED MSMEs programme proved that it was possible to share this know-how and lessons learned in order to inspire action and collaboration in the Southern Mediterranean region. Italy’s effort in the export field is a focal case study characterized by redesigning public support for exportations, implementing the digital transition, and strengthening human capital.

The 4th  Policy Lab organised by INSME in the context of THE NEXT SOCIETY project, in collaboration with the EU-funded project MED MSMEs, was the occasion to explore how PortNet was implemented and how it operates, its future goals, and the replicability of this inspiring project.

COUNTRY

Morocco

ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

• PortNet S.A.
• National Ports Agency “ANP”
• Moroccan Customs “ADII”
• Ministry of Foreign Trade
• Moroccan Freight Forwarders Association “AFFM”
•  Moroccan Exporters Association “ASMEX”
• Federation Association of national Associations of ShipBroker and Agents
• Moroccan Agency for Logistics Development “AMDL”
• General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises “CGEM”

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

2008, no ending date.

TARGET GROUP

● Importers
● Exporters
● Freight Forwarders
● Shipping Agents
● Handlers
● Banks
● Administrations
● Shippers

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

PostNet’s aim is to simplify and digitalise international trade procedures, allowing more and more companies to export while enhancing the competitiveness of Moroccan foreign trade and logistics through technology and community intelligence.

METHODOLOGY

• The trade and logistics platform PortNet is specific to Morocco but inspired by the Singaporean model. PortNet was set up in accordance with international standards and following the international recommendations of UNCEFACT, the OMD, and the OMC for the establishment of single windows.
• A client-centric organisation, with service customised according to the need of the user.
• Inclusive collaboration between actors of the community, a sound public-private partnership.
• A resilient infrastructure, important to ensure continuity for businesses, that respects standards thus ensuring the interoperability of the platform.
• Agile solutions for all types of businesses (micro, small, medium) put in place by 60 employees, aged 30 years old on average, with computer science, engineering, or business backgrounds.
• By effective dialogue, maintained with all parties involved in trade facilitation and, through innovation, the use of technology, and community intelligence. This includes holding national change management workshops in collaboration with all stakeholders in the international trade community, focus groups, B2B meetings, committees, and workshops.
• PORTNET S.A. has also developed an IT service center, named PortNet S.A.
  Business Unit, a human platform, software to implement internal and external digital projects for the benefit of the ecosystem as well as for the transfer of technology and for the establishment of Single Window of Foreign Trade. This entity represents an autonomous, innovative and agile Digital LAB, regardless of technology and services. Among other things, it enables: Managing PortNet S.A. and partners services through an intern system and an external system, building new services offerings and creating added value. Indeed, this entity is an operational accelerator in the construction of PortNet’s strategic roadmaps, making real the innovative ideas and a revealer of the feasibility of the ideas brought by all PORTNET S.A. employees and its ecosystem community.

RESULTS ACHIEVED

Today, PortNet delivers, through more than 120 innovative community services, a real competitive advantage to its ecosystem of more than 55,000 users from administrations, institutions, and companies across the country: 10 public administrations, 11 ports in Morocco, 20 financial institutions and covers 70% of the supply chain in the country.

Moreover, Morocco has improved its Doing Business 2017 ranking of 7 places from 75th to 68th place due to PortNet, and in the first quarter of 2021, positioned 20^th in the UNCTAD Liner Shipping Connectivity Index (LSCI), which measures the extent to which a country is connected to the rest of the world (it was ranked 85^th in 2006).

Dematerialized exchanges via PortNet have enabled Morocco to save nearly 800,000 trees annually, reducing paper consumption and CO2 emissions:  the equivalent of the annual consumption of 7,735 households in terms of freshwater, 42,053 households in terms of electricity, and 15,727 households in terms of waste.

The platform contributes to improving the business climate, trade, port, and logistics competitiveness of Morocco, thanks to:

• End-to-end integration of the international trade chain.
• Faster trade processes: before PortNet, procedures for exports lasted 2-3 days, as they needed to collect paper documents from shippers, analyze them and submit them to the shipping lines. Today, PortNet allows to finish all the procedures in 15-20 minutes: such breakthrough frees up resources and time for companies, allowing them to be more consumer-centric.
• A resilient platform for a simpler, transparent, and secure supply chain.
•  A successful model for the national partnership between government and the private sector.
• The National Single Window of Foreign Trade Procedures PortNet has won several national and international awards and has been awarded 4 times on the occasion of the editions of the National Grand Prix of Electronic Administration, E-mtiaz in 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2019.

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

• Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for the development of digital platforms need to have strong governance, with clear and transparent objectives.
• Involving SMEs and convert them into digital, paperless procedures for export was not an easy task: easy and frequent communication and training courses for entrepreneurs were fundamental to engage companies and people to conduct change.
• The early-stage involvement of the private sector is crucial to increase participation and to establish milestones together, fulfill the international requirements, protocols, and standards to ensure interoperability and compliance with the law.
• Covid-19: PortNet served as a powerful tool against Covid: businesses in the PortNet network and their customers, were already used to having removed in-person contacts (up to 80% fewer contacts), and this proved beneficial both in reducing infections and in not having to adjust to a new business system.

LESSONS LEARNED

Customer satisfaction, collaboration, continuous improvement of the platform, and feedback collection during the initial phase are key factors of success. The challenge is succeeding in developing the skills and digital competencies of stakeholders, accompanying them when services are upgraded through continuous training sessions.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

The PortNet platform will run indefinitely.

Based on its community governance, the collaborative nature of its digital services, and its integrated coverage of supply chain processes, PortNet has become, over a short period of time, a model and an international reference in the implementation of single windows for external trade and community port and logistics systems.
The replicability of the initiative and the feasibility of implementation in other countries have already drawn the attention of other nations and organizations, which were inspired by PortNet and would like to transfer the model elsewhere: UNCEFACT, ASEAN, AACE, IPCSA, COMCEC, UKRAINE, IRAQ, KENYA, ABU DHABI, and others.

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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.

The first policy lab explored the Startup Act which is part of the wider strategy called Digital Tunisia 2020, promoted by the Tunisian Government.

It identifies a legal framework that includes 20 measures in favour of investors and startups. These measures are structured around five main themes:

• define and label the startups;
• support entrepreneurship;
• create an environment that makes easier the establishment, development, and liquidation of companies;
• access to funding;
• access to international markets.

The background that led to the development of the Startup Act was characterized by the following elements:

• The Tunisian entrepreneurship ecosystem is dominated by public sector entities.
• The hierarchical structure of the business sector in Tunisia inhibits the entry of young entrepreneurs who are not yet part of established business networks but who are usually willing to bring innovative, often unconventional ideas into the market.
• The business activity is highly concentrated in Tunis and a few other coastal cities, this makes more difficult the creation of jobs.
• The high rate of youth unemployment, especially in the country’s southern and interior regions where the digital sectors have started more slowly.
• The low coordination of funding programs makes some companies more dependents on outside funding than on maintaining a competitive edge.

COUNTRY

Tunisia

ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

The Startup Act was established by the joint effort between the private sector, the civil society, and the Government (Startup Task Force).
The Startup Task Force reported directly to the Minister of Technology and it was comprised of the main stakeholders of the startup ecosystem: entrepreneurs, investors, representatives of banks and accelerators, and administrations (public sector entities like APII, the Tunisian Agency for the Promotion of Industry and Innovation).

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

2016 – 2019

TARGET GROUP

The project addressed:

• Startups
• SMEs
• Innovative entrepreneurs

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

The Start-up act is the result of a bottom-up approach to foster entrepreneurship and represents the first step to establish the country as a digital hub.

In particular, the initiative aims to:

• boost socio-economic development and expand technological infrastructure;
• facilitate the launch and development of Tunisian start-ups, especially in the high-tech sector;
• streamline the process of creating and liquidating a business;
• increase the access to finance and support the growth of innovative startups and small and medium enterprises;
• boost the economic growth of the country and the employment rate, especially among young people;
• promote the internationalization of the Tunisian enterprises;
• make easier customs procedures for imports.

METHODOLOGY

The Government – by embedding a participative approach – developed a framework based on the following pillars that define exactly who can benefit from the Startup Act and how.

1. Startup definition
In order to apply for the “Label” the company should not be older than 8 years, have less than 100 employees, more than 2/3 of its shareholders should be founders or angel/hedge funds, investors. Furthermore, the company should have an innovative business model, preferably technologically-based, and its activity should significantly boost economic growth.

2. Entrepreneurship culture
The Government i) gives one-year leave, extendable to two years, to set up a new business to public and private sector employees after which they have the right to return to their old jobs, ii) provides a state-funded salary for up to three founders per company during the first year of operations and the payment of patenting fees for startups locally and internationally.

3. Facilitated procedures for creation, development, and exit
The creation of the Startup Portal, the point of contact for Startups to facilitate administrative and regulatory processes. Entrepreneurs, startups, and investors in Tunisia can go through a smooth online application process to obtain the ‘Startup Label’, and therefore benefit from the Startup Act law.

4. Access to funding
Startups can benefit from tax exemptions up to eight years and on capital gain.

5. Access to international markets
The Startup Act raises the maximum amount startups can pay through a prepaid card that allows web users to pay for online transactions in foreign currency. Each startup is allowed to open a “special foreign exchange account” in the country.

The law will facilitate custom procedures considering the startups as “authorized economic operators” under its customs code, with the companies being exempt from certain imports and customs procedures.

• The contribution came from the startup ecosystem, from the entrepreneurs, the lawyers, etc…every actors contributed in each step while the Government was playing the role of the facilitator of the transformation. All the ecosystems pushed in the same direction and shared the same vision.
• The whole process has been designed to be digital.
  The online portal enables a multitasking approach and enhances collaboration with other ministers and government entities.
  The entrepreneurs can manage the whole process online removing red tape.
• The whole ecosystem advocated and shared the full story of this law.

RESULTS ACHIEVED

More than 280 Startups have been labeled and took advantage of the Startup Act.
Detailed data and figures about the results achieved are available on this page. 

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

The legal aspect was the biggest bottleneck for the development of the Startup Act in Tunisia.
Another challenge was to make sure that – despite the appointment of a new Minister of Technology – the Startup Act will move forward.

To sum up, the Startup Act in Tunisia comes from the need to make up for the following barriers:

• the lack of an adequate legal and regulatory framework for such initiatives has so far prevented the development of the digital sector in general and entrepreneurship in particular. The expansion of the digital sector, in which the Startup Act is only one element of the broader Digital Tunisia 2020 strategy, requires additional important reforms.
• The main challenge faced has been the restrictions coming from the existing laws.
• A key challenge in line with the principles of the Startup Act would be the reform of the foreign exchange policy and e-commerce legislation in Tunisia. In particular, the government’s regulation that limits the convertibility of the dinar into foreign currencies prevents small innovative companies from entering the global market.

  The Startup Act allowing startups to set up a foreign currency account can only be an interim solution. This highlights the need for policy reforms and more likely of greater political resistance than law, such as the Startup Act, limited to a specific target group.
  The Startup Act also promotes an overhaul of the Tunisian education system.
  Tunisian schools, in fact, are still not all able to provide an adequate training for the digital sector.

LESSONS LEARNED

The Tunisian startup community played a relevant active role in the legislation and represents a great example of collaboration between civil society, private and public sector.
Some of the features of this process can serve as a model for further bottom-up legislative processes to encourage awareness, transparency, and stakeholder participation.
Financing alone is insufficient to boost the growth of innovative startups and technology-based SMEs, services like mentoring, training, business advisory consulting, and networking are needed to sustain the growth of startups and SMEs.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

A legislative framework aimed at fostering the creation and growth of the startup ecosystem can be replicated in other countries – as demonstrated by the interest it generated in many countries (e.g. Senegal and Rwanda). Innovative firms spur sustainable growth, enhance productivity and create new employment opportunities, they need tailored policies that can be designed according to the existing background of each country and taking advantage of the best practices already developed in this field in other countries.

The initiative built upon the fact that while it is widely recognized that micro-franchising is one of the most effective mechanisms to start up, data also show that Colombia registers a scarce awareness on the opportunities this typology of business can offer. This is a very serious issue if we consider that 34% of the population is living below the national poverty line, that the unemployment rate is 10%, the youth unemployment rate reaches the 25% and that self-employment could be one of the few possibilities to deal with this situation.

The initiative was part of SCALA, a project carried out by IDB-IFM to “Foster Low-Income’s Populations Economic Empowerment Via Inclusive Distribution Networks”.

During the project implementation a diversity of activities were carried out – trainings, capacity buildings, certifications, establishment of a marketplace, creation of a body of knowledge on micro-franchising – guiding Propais towards the achievement of a series of goals such as: the creation of at least 100 micro-franchisees and the establishment of 20 public-private partnerships.

COUNTRY

Colombia

ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

Propais – Corporation for Small and Medium Enterprises Development (INSME Member), Inter-American Development Bank, Colfranquicias, Postobón, Corporación Mundial de la Mujer, Fundación Coomerva, Microempresas de Colombia, Fedecaribe.

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

20 November 2014 – 19 May 2019

WHO FUNDS THE INITIATIVE

The initiative is funded by the Inter-American Development Bank – Multilateral Investment Fund.

TARGET GROUP

The project addressed:

Target group 1

• Entrepreneurs – in order to generate sustainable incomes through the acquisition of a micro-franchise
• Businesses – in particular SMEs willing to scale-up their business model through a micro-franchising format.

  Target group 2

• Countries interested in adopting the model as a generator of business and employment.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

The initiative aimed at:

• contributing to the generation of sustainable incomes for disadvantaged and low-income populations in Colombia;
• supporting micro and small businesses to acquire a better understanding of the concept of micro-franchise in order to take out the most from it.
• Transferring the micro franchising model to other countries as it could generate formal, sustainable and stable jobs.

METHODOLOGY

The project was implemented by carrying out a diversity of activities:

1. Promotion of the awareness around the concept of micro-franchising, in particular this activity foresaw the organization of events to disseminate information and good practices related to micro-franchising. The dissemination events’ aim was to provide participants with a better understanding of: i) the processes and procedures needed to franchise a business; ii) the fundamental skills to be a successful micro-franchising entrepreneur; iii) what franchising entails for both franchisors and micro-franchisees.

2. Capacity buildings for both franchisors and micro-franchisees by offering trainings (focused on management, market analysis, processes and procedures in setting up or buying a franchise, resource planning, innovation, etc.), certifications to assure quality and reduce information asymmetry, and business mentorship – delivered by mentors selected among successful franchisors – addressing micro-franchises that could need assistance once the business is under operation.

3. Development of a transparent marketplace bringing potential franchisors and micro-franchisees together through a virtual platform and a physical hub aiming at facilitating the identification of opportunities. In addition, the online portal has also been designed to i) act as a repository including information on market analysis, franchising processes and procedures, advises on legal, accounting financing, tax; ii) offer a diagnostic test whose results are compared to other micro-franchises and propose possible actions to improve sustainability. In addition, business roundtables organized as meet-ups have been offered and also acceleration activities to help franchisors in defining their roadmap including a checklist of needed skills. Moreover, activities to facilitate access to finance – such as campaigns to reach potential financial partners or development of new financial products – have been implemented.

4. Development of knowledge products that can fill the existing gap through: a) the identification of good practices and benchmarks of micro-franchising across the world as well as in Colombia. This will enable the analysis of current and future trends in business including benchmarking on efficiency, innovation and scaling, and local context of commercialization; b) development of methodologies to serve as an integrated home grown micro-franchising methodology (in particular for business format micro-franchising).

RESULTS ACHIEVED

As of December 2018 the project achieved impressive results:

55 SMEs have been accelerated (according to the project the goal to be achieved was 20); 16 over 4 Regions have been reached; 71 new franchisees have been established (the result to be achieved was the establishment of 100 new franchisees). In addition entrepreneurs have been provided with 1564 capacity buildings and 68 public private partnerships have been established.

The impact that this initiative is generating in the country is evidenced by the permanence in the market of micro-franchises already acquired, which have managed to remain in force in their entirety, achieving the break-even point during the first month of existence in most of the cases. This shows that micro-franchising is a successful business model as it enables micro enterprises to grow and also offers the opportunity to become an entrepreneurs by investing a small amount.

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

The following challenges have been met during the implementation of the project:

• Lack of a coherent legal framework. The project has been working with several partners to build a strong franchise ecosystem in order to set the stage for a micro-franchise law within the country, for example benchmarking documents, business cases, public policies recommendations, among others.
• The knowledge gap on the micro-franchising business format. This challenge has been mitigated through the organization of seminars and events to inform and diffuse both the model and good practices related to it.
• Lack of reference points in similar projects because it is an innovative initiative, based on previous not so successful ones that has led the entrepreneurs towards other types of enterprises growth such as the inclusion in chains of distributions, which in the beginning generated distrust in the entrepreneurs. This issue was effectively solved as the project has the institutional support of two well-known and recognized entities such as the IADB and PROPAIS, and also due to the strong information delivered on the benchmark documents, business cases, etc., and also the first successful cases of small enterprises having had their technical assistance and their commercialization as microfranchises.
• A further challenge is related to the end of the project. It is indeed proven by studies on franchising models that the franchises that do not receive support in the first year have a failure rate of 25% and this percentage grows up to the 40% during the fourth year. It is thus crucial to guarantee a continuity to the assistance provided and this would require an investment of US$ 415,000.00. Propais is now working to identify the best solution to ensure the support measures’ continuity. Two options are on the table: the first one would be to continue the project under the aegis of the IDB, but this would require a long negotiation process that would be extremely time-consuming; the second idea is to transfer Propais’ knowledge and competencies to project’s partners in order guarantee a constant support. Two are the concerns related to this second option: 1. The priorities and interests of each partner could prevail on the scope of the project 2. A change in the leadership could prevent a proper coordination that could jeopardize the initiative’s results.

LESSONS LEARNED

The project highlighted the importance of involving both private and public organizations to ensure the successful implementation of initiatives like this. Furthermore, it results evident how crucial is to have well trained franchisors and micro-franchisees in order to establish successful skills. The consultancy provided by Propaís is essential to ensure the acceleration of micro-franchising and enhance their competitiveness. Finally, the implementation of the project demonstrates that highly motivated and results-oriented teams are the key for successful businesses.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

Sustainability is crucial to protect micro-franchising against being considered a subsistence tool. Therefore the project seeks to support the systematization of information, methodologies, and best practices, as well as the creation of a community, in which not only micro-franchisors and micro franchisees, but also other business actors, government, NGOs, universities, financial institutions, investors, consultants, and other supporting institutions are encouraged to interact.

The project is conceived as sustainable because Propaís transfers capacities and methodologies to regional institutions in charge of business development, in addition to generating public policy documents that can be integrated into the development plans of the different countries in which it is implemented.

Its potential replicability is given considering that it is a program that generates business opportunities for microenterprises already consolidated in the market from the link of entrepreneurs with the illusion of creating a company and not just looking for a job. This is a need of developing countries, where microenterprises make up most of the entrepreneurial mass.

¹ – Microfranchising is a business model that applies elements and concepts of traditional franchising to small businesses in the developing world. It refers to the systemization and replication of micro-enterprises. Microfranchising is broadly defined as small businesses that can easily be replicated by following proven marketing and operational concepts. More at https://findwords.info/term/microfranchising

Companies that ask for the assessment are required by Sharakah to share a series of documents to check basic information related to their work. These documents are then analysed by Sharakah experts who draft a report including the main findings. Following this first phase Sharakah experts dedicate a full-day site visit to collect other relevant information that will be summarized in a final report. The two reports are then compared to give experts a clear framework of the situation and draft an action plan to guide companies in their effort to improve their performances. In addition a dedicated Sharakah consultant is available for 12 months to support and assist entrepreneurs.

COUNTRY

Sultanate of Oman.

ORGANIZATIONS IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

Sharakah – The Fund For Development of Youth Projects (S.A.O.C.)

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

2014 – ongoing

WHO FUNDS THE INITIATIVE

The initiative is funded by Sharakah with the support of diverse Omani Public and Private Organisations.

TARGET GROUP

The tool is accessible to existing SMEs who have completed at least 1.5 years. The service is free to Sharakah members, while the payment of a fee is required to other companies.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

The aim of the initiative is to make available a well-structured mechanism to assess companies performances and more importantly to provide them with the competencies and tools to improve their work and make them as more competitive as possible.

METHODOLOGY

The tool analyses SMEs performances to identify their strengths and weaknesses. The analysis is conducted in two phases:
Phase 1
The company provides Sharakah with a series of documents – like business plans, lists of clients and employees, tenancy agreement, bank statement, etc. – that enables the analysis of the performances according to diverse criteria that evaluate seven areas:

• compliance with regulations, general guidelines and administrative procedures;
• communication, evaluating the business’ communication capabilities and skills and the effectiveness of the used communications mechanisms;
• product/service quality;
• marketing and branding, evaluating the branding and the promotional capabilities of the business;
• human resources and capacity building, evaluating the measures, policies and procedures that the business implements to support the staff;
• financial and credit history, analysing the SME financial and credit position;
• policies and standardization, checking the business adherence to industry and international standards.

Once all documents have been analysed, a first report is drafted by Sharakah experts and shared with the company.

Phase 2
During the second phase Sharakah experts visit the company and carry out one day interview to employees, suppliers and, whether possible, clients. The findings of the site visit are then included in a final report that, compared with the first one, enables Sharakah experts to define the performance of the company. The assessment results are classified in a range from 0 to 100%:

• From 0% to 30%: this score indicates that the company performance is very scarce and need significant improvements.
• From 31% to 65%: performances are acceptable, meaning that all over all the company has good standards but there is room for improvements.
• From 65% to 100%: the company’s performances do not require any improvement as it established a good balance between sustainability and growth.

Once the performances are clear, companies are provided with an action plan focused on the area that needs to be improved. In addition to the action plan, a Sharakah consultant will offer assistance, support and advices for 12 months.

RESULTS ACHIEVED

More than 150 SMEs took benefit from this service over the last 5 years. Sharakah conducted an evaluation of the BPMT on 24 enterprises acting in diverse fields which participated in the Khazzan Project, an initiative supported by BP Oman and implemented by Sharakah to support Omani SMEs growth.
Involved entrepreneurs particularly appreciated the assistance provided by Sharakah which was perceived as a fundamental support to gain competencies on how to have a clear business idea and develop it in a proper way. According to the results of the analysis the majority of SMEs accessing the programme improved their performances as showed by the following examples:

• A company acting in the field of healthcare and medical services improved its rating from the 27.86% to the 47.76%, in particular the areas with the highest impact have been the compliance (from 42% to 64%) and the financial and credit history that registered low performance of 24% in the first monitoring and grew up to 63% after the participation to the programme.
• One of the business assisted – a company dealing with consultancy services in sustainable development such as assessment of existing projects or development of strategies and policies – registered a good performance in the first evaluation step (59.5 %) that thanks to the involvement in the programme reached the 73.3% with relevant growth rates in compliance (from 55% to 88%) and financial & credit history area (from 39% to 57%).
• Significant improvements have also been registered by another company whose performances at the beginning of the journey were quite low (19.41%) but thanks to the support received reached better results (39.39%) by enhancing considerably the rates in the marketing and branding area (from 5% to 29%) and in the financial and credit history (from 8% to 41%). These are positive data, but the analysis also shows that other areas need significant improvements to impact the overall performance of the enterprise (i.e. policies and standardization area registered a very negative performance – 0% – in the first evaluation phase and reached only 5% at the end of the programme).
• There are also companies that registered an improvement of their general performances, but were not able to reach good rates in all the areas analysed by the tool. This is for example the case of a company whose general performance grew up from 19.73% to 30.25% but that didn’t implement adequate measures to boost the areas in which it was lagging behind.

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

The most relevant challenge is related to the fact that entrepreneurs are often reluctant to share information and documents, in particular regarding their compliance with financial and administrative duties. This typology of documents is of course crucial for a proper assessment, but the most important thing is – and Sharakah uses this to mitigate this challenge – that entrepreneurs are aware of the risks they face when they are not compliant. Sharakah found out that presenting them the worst situation possible is an efficient key to mitigate this challenge.

LESSONS LEARNED

SMEs need to improve their performance in order to compete against larger corporates and to attract/maintain talents. Furthermore companies do not need someone who just says them what to do, they need to access a structured mechanism that enable them to identify problems and provide them with the competencies to understand which could be the most suitable solution to successfully manage its challenges.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

Being a fee-based service the initiative is highly sustainable. In addition to this, the initiative is likely to be replicated considering the number of companies that took benefit from the BPMT so far and that continues to ask for accessing the tool.

Click here to browse website of the China IPR SME Helpdesk.

COUNTRY

COSME countries.

ORGANIZATION IMPLEMENTING THE PROJECT

Development Solutions, European Chamber of Commerce in China and University of Alicante.

START & END DATE OF THE PROJECT

2008 – ongoing. 

WHO FUNDS THE INITIATIVE

European Commission EASME/COSME.

TARGET GROUP

Of the estimated 21 million SMEs in Europe, approximately 30% have international business activities, and 10% of these SMEs do business with or are affected by business with China, meaning that the entire SME target audience of the China HD is an estimated 630,000 companies. This is a significant number which is growing annually, reflecting SME internationalization and global value chain integration. It is also noteworthy that the Chinese government is now introducing policies which encourage its SMEs to invest overseas, with Europe being a key destination. Since its launch in 2008 the number of EU SMEs using the China HD has increased year-on-year, reaching an estimated 200,000 individual users to date. Despite the progress made, this number represents only a minority of the total target audience, with many SMEs not yet being familiar with the China HD services.

AIMS OF THE PROJECT

The initiative aims at:

• Supporting European companies in their internationalisation strategies towards China.
• Raising awareness of the importance of IP as a business asset and increasing the overall participation of European companies within the Chinese market.

METHODOLOGY

The Helpdesk provides strategic information and advice to European SMEs and intermediaries concerning the following key areas:

• Helpdesk Enquiry Service – confidential advice: individual SMEs and SME intermediaries can submit IPR related enquiries directly to the Helpdesk via phone, e-mail or in person, getting access to a panel of experts to receive free and confidential first – line advice within three business days.
• Materials – country factsheets, industry and business: focused guides and training materials addressing IPR issues in China. The Helpdesk can also provide intermediaries with articles about IPR in line with the geographical scope of the project: China IPR SME Helpdesk – Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. These articles are written by IP experts and can be used to supplement newsletter content or within other relevant publications.
• Online Services: the multi – lingual online portal provides easy access for all EU SMEs to find information regarding the services of the Helpdesk, including guides, E-learning modules, event information and webinar recordings. The live chat featured on the online portal enables visitors to pose their IP queries to experts in real time. Users can subscribe to the blog Your IP Insider, the project newsletter or follow the Helpdesk on our various social media channels.
• Training: the helpdesk arranges training events and webinars on IPR protection and enforcement in Europe and China, tailored to the needs of SMEs. To accomplish these goals, the Helpdesk cooperates with partner organizations, SME intermediaries, and legal professionals to inform EU SMEs regarding strategy and management of intellectual property rights in China.

Among the services which have been recently launched, the Helpdesk now features an innovative and interactive tool to increase familiarity of EU SMEs with IP issues in the Chinese market: the Serious Game, an online competition that guides participants through common business scenarios linked to IP challenges, which provides an immersive context for situational learning. This new business tool allows participants to increase their knowledge and awareness about managing intellectual property when entering the Chinese market.

The Game begins with the SME in its office in Europe, before the move into China. The SME is allocated an initial budget of 300k that will be used to create products, attract clients, create partnerships with other companies to manufacture and distribute products, protect the business by registering IP and much more.

Following a first stage of creation of the product that can belong to the technology, clothing, chemicals, toys, software and furniture fields, the player has to face diverse choices when entering the Chinese market.

IP registration: following the design of the product the player has to decide whether to register certain features of the products or not.

Trade fair: the player can choose to attend a trade fair, where there is the potential to meet partners and gain visibility for your product.

Office set-up: the player can set up an office in China, hire staff and decide whether to include confidentiality clauses with employees, introduce trade secret protection measures and non-compete clauses for staff.

Enforcement: this is an ongoing process throughout the game. Pop-ups alert the player to infringements found in the market. Each time the SME has a choice: investigate and collect evidence, send cease and desist letter, legal action or simply ignore. For legal action, there are three choices: administrative action, judicial and inform customs.
It is possible to hire a lawyer and detective to help register IP and discover and battle infringements.

Partnerships are also given importance during the game. A diversity of channels have been set to meet potential partners every now and then in order to make sure they are given due attention, improve the relationships with them and reduce the likelihood of infringements.

A pop-up menu is always available to ask for help or for more information during the game.

Each service has a price and depending on the decisions the player will take during the game, the initial allocated budget will decrease or increase by generating revenues.

The game lasts 30-40 minutes. Success is measured on final profits, which are directly impacted by how effectively the player protected his/her ideas and products in game. The game may also end with bankruptcy if infringements are allowed to run rampant.

Back in January 2019 the China IPR SME Helpdesk organized a live session for the Serious Game with TERA Tehnopolis (a joint-venture of the Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, the City of Osijek and the Osijek-Baranja County aimed at the development of a knowledge-based economy) in Croatia. With over 20 participants (start-ups, students and faculty staff), the session was geared towards gaining familiarity with IP matters in China in an interactive way. Before the game, Helpdesk Staff informed participants about the purpose and services of the Helpdesk, and after completion of the game the Helpdesk was available to answer any queries of those that played.

To play the Serious Game on your computer click here to download for a Windows OS based system.

Click here for a Mac OS based system.

The China IPR SME Helpdesk Team developed a dedicated training manual with practical tips and suggestions on how to conduct in-house training sessions utilising the Serious Game. Ideal for business associations, HR and training departments as well as start-ups and business students. The manual is available for download at this link:

China IPR SME Helpdesk Serious Game Training Manual.

RESULTS ACHIEVED

In 2017 the Helpdesk reached 1,886 SME participants in 49 events among which 29 training events in EU and 20 in China. Since the start of the current phase in September 2018 until present date the Helpdesk delivered 7 workshops around Europe with more than 150 SMEs. The China Helpdesk staff was present at 5 of the most relevant Trade Fairs and Matchmaking sessions such as EEN Annual Conference, ICT2018 and Trustech participating at over 100 pre-scheduled business-to-business meeting presenting the free services of the project.

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

Identifying and reaching SMEs can be challenging. The owners and managers of SMEs are generally absorbed with day-to-day business operations and might not even be aware of the IP risks they face, let alone know where to seek IPR advice.
The China IPR SME Helpdesk seeks partnerships and collaboration with local business intermediaries such as clusters, regional development agencies and chambers of commerce to proactively suggest joint training sessions aiming to raise awareness and provide support to as many SMEs as possible across Europe and enlargement countries such as, Turkey, Serbia, Ukraine, Montenegro, Moldavia, etc.

LESSONS LEARNED

The initiative builds on several years of data gathering. There has been a significant improve in the level of understanding regarding the importance of IP, especially among innovative companies across a multitude of areas. The 4th industrial revolution and the widespread use of technology has enhanced the necessity of a strong IP protection and enforcement.

SUSTAINABILITY OF THE INITIATIVE AND POTENTIAL REPLICABILITY

The Helpdesk met a real and urgent need amongst stakeholders for accessible, jargon-free and affordable IPR information with regard to Greater China. In addition, in the delivery of the project the implementing consortium’s innovative methods and problem-solving approach resulted in the project delivering targeted needs-driven services to EU SMEs. Considering the advancement of European SMEs into the global market, the project maintains its relevancy and seeks to improve its operability in future phases.