Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs A new European exchange programme Official launch 19 February 2009

Maive RUTE Director for Promotion of SMEs competitiveness, European Commission

Ben BUTTERS Director of European Affairs, EUROCHAMBRES

18/08/ Main actors Beneficiaries New Entrepreneurs (NE) Host Entrepreneurs (HE) Facilitators Intermediary Organisations (IOs) Support Office European Commission

Concept New entrepreneurs travel to an experienced entrepreneur in another EU country and work with him/her for 1 to 6 months. The matching of the new entrepreneurs with the host entrepreneurs is carried out with the help of the intermediary organisations. The objective is to help new entrepreneurs to acquire relevant skills for running and developing an SME; taking full advantages of opportunities provided by the internal market. 18/08/2015 5

How does it work? STEP 1: Application STEP 2: Matching STEP 3: Contracting and preparation STEP 4: Stay abroad 18/08/2015 6

IO STEP 1: Online application Application from NE; Application checked by IO; HE states interest to participate; File is checked by IO. NE HE IO

NE IO STEP 2: Matching Matching of NE and HE with the help of the 2 IOs STEP 3: Contracting and preparation HE, NE and IOs establish agreements; NE does pre-departure induction; NE receives a grant. IO HE

NE IO HE STEP 4: stay abroad Duration: 1-6 months; On-site support provided by the host IO to the NE; Reporting about the exchange. IO

Wolfgang TREINEN EIC Trier (IHK/Hwk-Europa- und Innovationscentre GmbH) The example of the European Partnership “go for xChange” (Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany; Moselle, France)

18/08/ Presentation of the European partnership “go for xChange” Two intermediary organisations (IOs): a) EIC Trier (IHK/Hwk- Europa- und Innovationscentre GmbH), Germany b) Synergie S.A., France

18/08/ IO services within the programme Professional support before, during and after the exchange Active research for suitable new entrepreneurs (NE) and host entrepreneurs (HE); Assessing the quality of the applications; Proactive matching of the relationships; Organisation of a mutually beneficial exchange for the NEs and HEs; On-site support of the NEs.

IO services within the programme Organising networking opportunities: –Meetings with local / regional business incubators to assist him in getting to know the foreign market; –Contact with local networks of entrepreneurs to extend his personal contacts to other entrepreneurs in the foreign country; –Contact with local / regional partners of the Enterprise Europe Network to inform him on opportunities of European markets; –Possibility to attend specific seminars and courses of local Chambers and training centres to improve personal business skills; –…. Ensuring high standards and evaluation feedback; Reporting

18/08/ Benefits for the new entrepreneur (Maria) Maria has: Gained valuable experience in running a business in a relevant field, of potential pitfalls and how to avoid them; Gained knowledge on access to finance, business management, marketing, etc…allowing her to refine her business plan; Acquired international perspectives, opening her eyes to possible opportunities beyond the Costa Del Sol or Spanish market and a potential business partner.

Benefits for the host entrepreneur (Günther) Günther has: developed a new potential business partnership; benefited from the input of a motivated & creative collaborator; developed new perspectives and information on the Spanish market; the possibility to network with other experienced host entrepreneurs in other EU-member states; the satisfaction of mentoring a potential new entrepreneur.

18/08/ Registration Interested new and experienced entrepreneurs shall apply for the programme via the website: (from 19/02/2009 onwards) 870 stays abroad shall be organised in and registrations should be done by December 2009.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!