This document summarizes the goals and activities of the European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs (YES) to improve entrepreneurship in Europe. YES aims to foster business cooperation and networking among young entrepreneurs aged 18-45 across 16 European countries. It also maintains dialogue with EU institutions. YES sees opportunities to boost entrepreneurship in Europe through improving access to capital, markets, and building a more entrepreneurial culture, especially by supporting startups and considering the EU as a single market. YES' action plan includes initiatives to boost startup funding, facilitate B2B connections across Europe, and foster a more supportive environment for entrepreneurship.

1. PEER LEARNING EVENT ON Guidance supporting entrepreneurship learning and entrepreneurship in Europe Policy, practice and future potential Thessaloniki, Greece, 25-26 November 2010

2. YES European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs “ Improving young entrepreneurship in Greece and Europe” Dimitris Tsigos President [email_address]

3. About YES Background The European Confederation of Young Entrepreneurs Founded in 1988 16 Countries 40.000 YE 18-45 years old Objectives To foster business cooperation and networking activities between young entrepreneurs Establish links with entrepreneurial organisations in Europe and elsewhere To maintain an ongoing dialogue with the Institutions of the European Union

4. Entrepreneurship in Europe [1/2] Young Entrepreneurs in Europe cannot be satisfied by the current entrepreneurial culture and activity In comparison to the US & Canada, or even the BRIC countries, one could argue that European entrepreneurship is conservative and slow-moving According to EBAN, angel investments in Europe are approx. 4 Bn € Vs 19 Bn € in the US While EU27 GDP is ~ 20% higher than US The academic & research community in many European countries is less entrepreneurship-oriented than in the US & Canada European leadership in R&D can result to leadership in entrepreneurship

5. Entrepreneurship in Europe [2/2] The common European market still remains an objective Very few companies consider “Europe” as their domestic market Cultural barriers proven harder to overcome than legal / regulatory Many European startups find Distributors and VARs in countries like US, Canada & Australia easier than they do in Europe

6. A Strategy for Improving Entrepreneurship in Europe Short-term: Access to capital Immediate results Focus to angel investments & soft-loans EU-funded schemes for leveraging angel investments Mid-term: Access to markets Efficient mediation services for supporting small, growing businesses to access customers all around Europe and in any other region Support European startups to access the global market Long-term: Build entrepreneurial culture Changes to the educational system towards creativity and self-confidence The European society should accept entrepreneurship, especially startups, as a progressive activity

7. The YES Action Plan [1/2] Boost start-up entrepreneurship We envision Europe as a start-up paradise Quality of life and cultural heritage in Europe are ideal for creative startups Combined efforts to overcome the access-to-capital barrier Cooperation with EBAN – The European Business Angels Network and the European Investment Fund Strategic cooperation with the “Entrepreneur Commons” movement World-wide peer support group for entrepreneurs

8. The YES Action Plan [2/2] Materialize the common market We support our members to consider “Europe” as their domestic market It’s better to have a domestic market of 500M people! Organize quarterly B2B match-making events Connect customers and suppliers from different EU member States Boost the creation of Distribution and VAR networks We are working closely with Enterprise Europe Network

9. Thank you 