Launched in 2008 by the European Commission, the Enterprise Europe Network offers support and information to 2.5 million European SMEs, helping them to make the most of business opportunities in the EU. With nearly 600 partner organisations in 44 countries and a staff of nearly 3,000 experts, this extensive network provides direct and tailor-made aid to SMEs. Its staff provide information on EU law, help companies enter new markets and find business partners in other countries, and advise on how to develop an innovative idea. The Network also helps small businesses to apply for European funding, and research funding in particular.
The report takes us from the United Kingdom to Spain, Poland and Germany, where we meet entrepreneurs who have taken advantage of the Enterprise Europe Network's services. These operators from different countries and economic sectors tell us their story.
Cambridge, United Kingdom and Barcelona, Spain
Pascal Cintract is a French entrepreneur who has been based in Cambridge, UK, for nearly eight years. Recently, he set up a company called Airgoo that offers a new type of terminal for household use. He was in search of applications for the touch-activated screen he had designed, with the aim of placing it on the European market.
Thanks to the help of Hendrik Pavel and Marc Gracia, experts with the Enterprise Europe Network in Cambridge and Barcelona respectively, Pascal Cintract was able to find a business partner in Spain, a company that develops software for the medical sector. They are preparing to place a remote medical service for home use on the market, which is currently being tested in hospitals.
Kiel, Germany
Dr. Peter Krost, who is fascinated by aquaculture, heads a small business with 12 employees on the shores of the Baltic Sea. The company uses extracts of organically grown seaweed to make cosmetics. But despite producing totally organic products, the firm could not obtain an eco-label as organic aquaculture production, unlike crops grown on land, is not yet recognised as such. It was Dr. Krost's ambition to develop a certification method for organic aquaculture products.
Known as Ecosma, the project – which combines commercial and research activities – required funding well beyond the capacities of the small German firm. So he turned to the local office of Enterprise Europe Network, which helped him to identify the European funding programme that could support his ambitious plan. Thanks to the advice and support he received every step of the way in developing his project, Dr. Krost was awarded €500,000 from the European Commission's Life+ environmental programme.
Szczecin, Poland
At the Enterprise Europe Network office in Szczecin, near the German border, Katarzyna Mecinska guides entrepreneurs through the maze of European aid schemes.
Thanks to her knowledge of the local economy and European Commission funding programmes, she helped secure €20,000 from the Structural Funds for Virtual People, a micro-enterprise in the e-business sector. Its young owner, Grzegorz Kozak, was then able to hire two new staff members to develop his innovative online ideas.
The film includes interviews with:
- Pascal Cintract, CEO of Airgoo (French and English)
- Hendrik Pavel, member of the Cambridge office of Enterprise Europe Network (English)
- Marc Gracia, member of the Barcelona office of Enterprise Europe Network (Spanish)
- Federico de Gispert, Head of marketing for Flowlab (Spanish)
- Peter Krost, Managing Director of Coastal Research Management (German)
- Dr Inez Linke, Managing Director of Ocean Basis/Coastal Research Management
- Cornelia Pankratz, member of the Kiel office of Enterprise Europe Network (English)
- Annegret Meyer-Kock, member of the Kiel office of Enterprise Europe Network (English)
- Katarzyna Mecinska, member of the Szczecin office of Enterprise Europe Network (English)
- Dawid Polski, member of the Szczecin office of Enterprise Europe Network (English)
- Grzegorz Kozak, Director of Virtual People (Polish)
