EC cultivates small, medium businesses

As it is in the United States, the European Commission has a plan to work with small to medium enterprises (SMEs). Couple the government’s involvement and add in some help from businesses, then you will have a plan. As it is here, that is a big hurdle to cross.
“If you are a small company, you don’t have the people to help, we are trying to help SMEs do better in Europe and globally,” said Francoise Le Bail, SME envoy of the European Commission and deputy general of DG Enterprise and Industry, who gave a keynote address during today’s Global Business Forum entitled, “Small Business Act for Europe – The new EU Commitment for SME during today’s opening day at Hannover Fair in Hannover, Germany.
“SMEs are creating the most jobs in Europe today. We are trying to help them compete in Europe and on an international front,” she said.
Le Bail said the top issue for SMEs is the bureaucracy they have to deal with. They said they have too much paperwork to fill out, too many rules. “It adds a burden for them to concentrate on their businesses,” she said.
She also said it is very difficult for business to operate in member EU states. “The EU wants to help small businesses to cut through the red tape so they can operate in member states,” Le Bail said. “As we all know, if you don’t innovate you are in great danger.”
One of the areas that will allow SMEs to jump into the global playing field is working in an e-marketplace.
That is where Brian Wong, senior director of global operations for Alibaba, an e-marketplace vendor, comes in.
“SMEs are truly the backbone and driver of economies. There is great potential for SMEs to trade in Europe and globally,” he said.
Wong said there are 42 million SMEs in China, 23 million in Europe and 22 million in the United States. The Internet, he said, will allow all these companies to come together and potentially work together.