2015 – INSME

Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs: trends, issues and policies since the 2008 global financial crisis

INSME Secretariat — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 09:45:46 +0000

Access to financing continues to be one of the most significant challenges for the creation, survival and growth of SMEs, especially innovative ones. The financial crisis of 2008 hit them particularly hard. Governments responded at the time with some tried and true remedies (e.g. increased loan guarantees) as well as some innovative programmes such as credit mediation. Traditional bank finance is still the most common source of external finance for many SMEs and entrepreneurs, but it poses challenges to these firms and maybe ill-suited for newer, innovative and fast growing companies. Broadening the range of financing instruments available to SMEs and entrepreneurs has now become a primary concern and challenge for policy makers, in order to enable SMEs and entrepreneurs to play their role in growth, innovation and employment. In our webinar we will cover the past and more recent trends, issues and policies in SME finance.

Solving the ‘business plan puzzle’ – Successful approaches to raise money from investors

INSME Secretariat — Fri, 02 Nov 2018 10:01:37 +0000

All entrepreneurs and ”intrapreneurs” (those that launch projects inside companies) need to sell their ideas to investors in order to get resources for their projects. Those projects usually have a great potential but the majority of entrepreneurs often fail to develop it to the maximum extent. Most of them fail to convince investors. Why? Lack of money from investors or companies? Lack of skills of investors? No. Too much risk!
The common denominator of converting innovation into business is a good business case. A good business case is characterized by the existence of a market for products or services derived from the innovation. The innovative solution also needs to be better than any alternative With the collaboration of solutions and it should be possible and easy for the firm to produce and distribute the solution to the customers. What entrepreneurs and “intrapreneurs” tend to forget, is that the best idea in the world with zero execution, is worth zero. It is the dilemma between potential and reality. Potentially all those projects are great but in reality there are several RISKS that will turn into a bad execution. Furthermore negotiating the terms of investment and mitigating the risks of investors represent major concerns for entrepreneurs. After briefly introducing the main opportunities offered by the EUROMED Invest project, the webinar will cover most important methodologies and approaches for entrepreneurs to raise funds, gain investors’ trust by exploring four ways of funding innovative projects: the “Hard”, the “Expensive”, the “Difficult” and the “Smart” ways. The audience will benefit from a 30 minutes Q&A session to further discuss project initiatives by taking advantage of the expert knowledge and of the networking opportunity offered by the interactive platform. This session is part of a series of webinar organized as in-depth follow up on the Training on innovation and entrepreneurship for start-ups, young entrepreneurs/women and diaspora organized within the frame of the EUROMED Invest project, coordinated by ANIMA Investment Network.

Discussing the success factors on how innovation systems can better address the Participation to the European Research Area

INSME Secretariat — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 17:32:16 +0000

By benchmarking against the international competitors, Europe as a whole needs to significantly advance in research and innovation performance in order to make the European Union the most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy, as the Europe 2020 Strategy strives for. There are countries lagging behind concerning the effectiveness of exploiting EU funded programmes in the field of R&D&I. The obstacles can be sought among local conditions, resources and assets faceting a specific system.
Thanks to the extensive policy learning exercise to identify barriers and potential gaps, the MIRRIS initiative today is able to provide a portfolio of suitable intervention schemes for EU Member countries (with a special focus on the 13 MIRRIS target countries including Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia). This webinar will summarize main findings on personal/motivational, structural and organizational barriers encountered in the countries to take part in EU Research Programmes, present common challenges for the implementation of a roadmap to overcome the same and share the MIRRIS methodology to give advice to partner countries by offering a forum discussion on the success factors to find solutions and monitor their impact. Thanks to the participation of MIRRIS Coordinator, META Group concrete examples of suggested activities will be shown in detail to disseminate the methodology that the MIRRIS project adopted to identify priorities for the countries allowing to strengthen strategic partnerships with European Universities and other stakeholders, participate in the lessons-learned discussions and be briefed about the MIRRIS Coaching activities that will be made available to the 13 MIRRIS target countries in the next months. Your participation to this webinar will allow you to get access to a wide range of precious insights from the policy dialogues organized in the 13 MIRRIS target countries and benefit from the SWOT analysis results as well as from the mutual learning experience among key stakeholders, namely research, innovation and institutional actors from all over Europe. The Q&A session might also be a perfect occasion to discuss your ideas about an action plan for your country (if not part of the 13 MIRRIS target countries) and take advantage from already validated lessons learnt for a successful up take to make the difference in Europe and abroad.

How to Manage Innovation Processes Successfully – Insights for Young Entrepreneurs, Start-ups and Diaspora

INSME Secretariat — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 17:22:05 +0000

How to manage Innovation Processes successfully as a young entrepreneur, a start-upper or in diaspora? This webinar treats most important methodologies and gives advice on how to successfully run a business, be more creative, strengthen contacts with the R&D environment, manage the innovation process internally and take advantage of strategic networking to exploit all opportunities concerning access to finance and innovation through internationalization. The Business Model Canvas Exercise will be presented as a hands-on tool to foster understanding, discussion, creativity and analysis. A specific focus will be given also to topics as crowd funding and crowd sourcing as well as on internationalization of enterprises by touching all implications for young entrepreneurs to reach out successfully to new clients, knowledge owners and business partners outside the country. The Lean Start-up will be briefly presented to advise participants on how to create a more successful entrepreneurial business. Tips and tricks on successful pitching will be shared with the audience being able to take benefit of the extended Q&A session at the end of the webinar (30 minutes). A dedicated time slot will also focus on women entrepreneurship in particular. This webinar is an in-depth follow up on the Training on innovation and entrepreneurship for start-ups, young entrepreneurs/women and diaspora organized within the frame of the EUROMEDInvest project.

Protection of Non-Agricultural Geographical Indications

INSME Secretariat — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 16:55:35 +0000

High quality products coming from a particular territorial area are not only relevant in the agricultural sector but also in the handicraft, clothing, furniture and design sectors. These products are characterized by unique details and traditional production methods, often passed down from generation to generation, which deserve respect and protection like the agricultural Geographical Indications (GIs). The European Commission undertook a public consultation about the opportunity to take appropriate measures in this area at Community level. Two alternative solutions have been highlighted: harmonizing the legislation of individual member States or creating a unified and independent system of protection for non-agricultural GIs. Which are the future scenarios? GIs for non-agricultural products could represent a guarantee for consumers and a great economic resource for craftsmen.

Innovation, Israeli Style

INSME Secretariat — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 16:45:24 +0000

Imagine the world without drip irrigation, flash memory, voicemail, cherry tomatoes, computer firewalls and more. All these inventions come from Israel, an 8 million person, 20,000 sq.km. country which is 453 times smaller than the US and comparable in size to Fiji, Slovenia and El Salvador. With the highest density of start-ups in the world, Israel has become known as the “Start-Up Nation” and Tel Aviv is now ranked second to Silicon Valley among the world’s start-up ecosystems (The Economist/GE Lookahead, Dec 2014). With US$ 15 Billion in exits, 2014 was a record year for Israel’s innovation ecosystem. $3.4 Billion in venture capital were invested in 688 companies, putting the per capita investment at almost three times the US figure, with absolute venture investment second only to the US. With 6,000 active technology companies across diverse sectors, it is no wonder that multinationals flock to Israel to acquire companies and establish R&D centres, more than 300 currently. How did a small, young, geographically isolated country with no natural resources achieve this feat? What lessons may be relevant to other countries, companies and individuals? Nava Swersky Sofer, the innovation guru quoted in the NY Times bestseller ‘Start-Up Nation’ and an INSME board member, will share the secrets of success.

Enterprise Assessment Tool for Entrepreneurs (E8) – Supporting the entrepreneurial journey

INSME Secretariat — Wed, 31 Oct 2018 15:55:23 +0000

Micro and small businesses are considered as vital engines for growth and job creation and play a crucial role in reaching the objectives of the economic development strategies of numerous countries. As part of the ongoing development of our eco-system for entrepreneurs TFEP has developed an Enterprise Assessment Tool for Entrepreneurs (E8) that enables budding and existing entrepreneurs around the world to test their competencies and determine their “entrepreneurial skill level deficit”, and evaluate any further training they may require. Entrepreneurs also have access to a continually evolving database of training course providers that offer a range of courses (including classroom and e-learning) that will help meet any “competency deficits” identified.
“ .. This is a unique initiative that will support entrepreneurs on their “entrepreneurial journey” to ensure they have the right skills for success and growth ..“ says Dr Paul Quantock, Chairman of The Foundation for Entrepreneurial Participation This self-assessment tool is an important element in the development of entrepreneurial education as it will determine the existing skill level of budding and existing entrepreneurs – which will assist policy makers and training institutions to further develop appropriate courses to meet the “skill deficits” identified by individuals.

Islamic Finance A Case Of Alternative Financial Solutions: A Trillion Dollar Industry

INSME Secretariat — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 17:09:29 +0000

In the last 40 years Islamic Financial has evolved from a niche to main industry. The industry has grown at 15-20% per annum with assets expected to exceed USD 1.8 Trillion Dollars by 2016.
Islamic finance is global phenomena found not only in the most populous Muslim countries or regions such as Far East Asia and the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) but we see a presence in Europe, Africa and Asia. In the webinar we will present on what are the principles of Islamic finance, what are the differences between Islamic Finance and Conventional Finance, the development of Islamic finance globally and what are the challenges and the factors that help in its growth and development.

The Nordic Creative Sectors success-what´s in their drinking water?

INSME Secretariat — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 16:45:04 +0000

Minecraft was just sold to Microsoft for 2.5 bn USD, compared Volvo, 80 years of Swedish industry history was sold to Geely for just 1.3 bn USD a couple of years ago. Supercell, the company behind Candy Crush, is the fourth biggest tax payer in Finland, just as Nokia lies dying. What makes the nordics stand out – how will the new industry leverage on the old and
how does this become the most vibrant startup ecosystem on earth?

Engaging the 21st-century workforce – Global Human Capital Trends

INSME Secretariat — Tue, 30 Oct 2018 15:11:34 +0000

Global organizations have left the recession in the rear-view mirror and are positioning themselves aggressively for growth. The need for caution has been superseded by the need to take action. Yet as the economic recovery takes hold, businesses realize that the workforce today has changed. Skills are scarce, workers have high expectations, and Millennials are now in charge. Enter the 21^st -century workforce. The 21^st -century workforce is global, highly connected, technology-savvy, and demanding. Its employees are youthful, ambitious and filled with passion and purpose. Critical new skills are scarce and their uneven distribution around the world is forcing companies to develop innovative new ways to find people, develop capabilities, and share expertise.