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SME Reports & Results

Digital Toolbox: Innovation for Nordic Tourism SMEs

2/17/2020

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This project consisted of 6 Nordic partners (collaborations between academic institutions and business clusters from the Nordic countries), and focused on identifying and developing ICT tools for innovation in Nordic tourism small businesses and destinations.
Nordic Innovation logo with link to web-site
Meeting the practical needs of tourism businesses in the Nordic countries when adopting and employing ICT in their operations has been the focus of the study. Taking into account the structure and challenges of the tourism industry in the Nordic region, the different case studies in this report represents different approaches to efficient use of ICT, offering a toolbox consisting of suggestions on how to take advantage of ICT for market communication, customer knowledge, service design and innovation.

The SMEs are important for European Economy - see table

Table with employment figures - link to full report
Source: Digital Toolbox: Innovation for Nordic Tourism SMEs - click table to go to report

The seven tools in the digital toolbox developed, are a mobile app, a service design toolkit, a customer knowledge tool, a website analysis toolkit, a user generated content sentiment analysis tool, a methodology for open innovation and a digital marketing tool.

Link to Nordic Co-operation Portal
Link to the full report PDF

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Talent Management in SMEs - Research report

12/14/2019

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Investigation Research: Needs and requirements of SMEs in the field of Talent Management and analytics as bridge between business and VET system realities
​"The goal of this investigation research report is to compile and investigate the needs and requirements of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the partner countries Austria, Germany, Italy, Spain, Ireland, Sweden and Cyprus, in the field of talent management.
By analysis of the results from the individual national reports, desk research and key findings it is aimed to answer how talent management can function as a bridge between business and VET system realities."

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Executive summary
Full report
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DESI 2018 - The Digital Economy and Society Index

5/19/2018

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How Digital is Europe and who is speeding up the process of getting into top positions when it comes to Digitization?
The digital competitiveness of a country reflects both the Small Businesses possibilities to enter the digital economy as well as the access to digitally skilled staff and customers. If you don´t have the infrastructure and skills - being a part of the digital economy is more difficult. Small Businesses - and not at least startups - are dependent on the surrounding "digital environment" to be able to innovate, develop and to compete with new Business Models and Ideas on an international digital market.

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Find the Country Specific Information
In theDESI 2018 - The Digital Economy and Society Index annual report we can monitor and compare the progress in Europe and Europe vs the rest of the World.The Nordic countriesSweden, Denmark andFinland are together with Netherlands and Luxembourg in top positions but countries like Spain, Cyprus and Ireland  have found that extra gear and are catching up quickly.


Business Digitization and e-Commerce

All sections of the DESI 2018 are obviously interesting for SMEs and SME-supporters - but nevertheless the adaptation and integration of Digital Technology in enterprises is the most interesting. It is still very clear that in these kinds of reports the SME-label covering  micro, small and medium sized enterprises is not providing a fair view on the situation. As the difference between "Large" and "SME" enterprises is quite clear - there is also a huge difference between a micro company and a medium sized one. For example when we compare percentage of businesses employing ICT-specialists we can assume that  the 18% of SMEs hiring specialists are more medium sized than micro. In this comparison we also lack the information regarding outsourcing that explains that "only" 76% of the large organizations have ICT specialists in their staff. How much is outsourcing a tool for small businesses?

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Please comment on this post and share your experience when it comes to the digitization in micro, small and medium sized businesses in your region.

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Skills required and obstacles to expect as a new Entrepreneur

4/29/2018

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Get a copy of the Report
“ETC.4SE – eTraining Centre for Social Entrepreneurs” is a two-year (2017 - 2019) European project which aims to develop an online training centre in which adults can find support in setting up their own social enterprise.
In order to define the e-Training Centre’s contents and understand the relevant training needs, the project consortium investigated the skills and competences of adults in the partner countries.
The document intends to be a compilation of the information collected by all partners in the national reports in order to have an overview of the state of art of social entrepreneurship in the participating countries. Based on this information the consortium will now define the training curriculum, the contents and the digital tools to be developed for the online training course.

Conclusions

Based on the management model implemented in the social economy sector, the project focuses on the work for the improvement of certain generic skills, such as active entrepreneurship, critical thinking and digital competences, using the theoretical bases of social economy to work the collaborative spirit, and inclusive entrepreneurial thinking.
In this sense and aiming to provide an effective and practical business tool for both trainers and learners the consortium will start now working in the development of the online training course that will consisting of didactic units and a simulation tool of business practices using the adapted Bridge Model technique.
The business simulator is intended to provide learners with practical knowledge in order to have a first approach to the business realities. The ETC.4SE business simulator has the added value provided by the adaptation of the Bridge Model technique, by which it is possible to guide learners through the process of creating a social enterprise through an interactive tool composed of different phases: the users will be entering data on the business he/she wants to develop and will receive feedback with ideas and information on successful practices implemented by other social entrepreneurs.
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etc4se_io1_finaldeliverablevs1.pdf
File Size: 871 kb
File Type: pdf
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Learn more about ETC4SE project
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Migrapreneurs - a Research on Migrant Entrepreneurship

4/29/2018

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The National Need Analysis Report of Turkey has been developed in order to outline; the current situation about migrants’ employability and entrepreneurship, needs of highly skilled migrants (HSM) in order to become entrepreneurs in Turkey, from the perspective of HSMs and organizations working with migrants as well as other bibliographic resources.
It also aims to enlighten the gaps in training offered to migrants found through the research activities, as well as propose solutions for the improvement of training available for HSMs in these areas. The report contents relies on the results gathered through a comprehensive desk research and field research activities. The primary dimensions of the report comprise of the results from focus groups meetings and in-depth interviews with highly skilled migrants and stakeholders.
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Get the full report
Article on the report
To the project behind the report

Constraints and problems found

  • Constraints originating from travel related regulations: The limited permission to migrants for both domestic and international travel,causes several problems for Syrian employers and entrepreneurs, such as not being able to travel out of the Turkish borders and even within the borders and not being able to bring customers from other countries because of visa problems. They found the solution as extending visa period and similarly to extend the working permit period in parallel to duration of stay, instead of applying and getting a visa every year.

  • Problems with the implementation of legislation: Another challenge for Syrian employers and entrepreneurs is the differences in the implementation of legal regulations in Turkey. The limited knowledge of the legislative arrangements and the limited services of the institutions that guide migrant entrepreneurs are causing difficulties.
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How to Solve Rubriks cube in 0,38 sec? Robots can...!

3/11/2018

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Hardware hackers Ben Katz and Jared Di Carlo have smashed the previous record for solving the Rubik's cube robotically. Their machine solved the puzzle in 0.38 seconds—a 40-percent improvement over the previous record of 0.637. - Read the article here...

Whatch it happen


How will Robotics and 3D printing have an impact on SMEs and jobs in the - not so far - future?

In the SME Academy Network Workshop "Robotics and 3D Printing in SMEs - we introduced a report and an attempt to provide required training - as well as discussed some possible opportunities for SMEs. - Check the workshop....

Check the recorded Workshop on Robotics and 3D printing
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Annual report on European SMEs - 2016-2017

12/3/2017

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"All but 0.2 % of enterprises which operated in the EU-28 non-financial business sector in 2016 were SMEs. These SMEs employed 93 million people, accounting for 67 % of total employment in the EU-28 non-financial business sector, and generating 57 % of value added in the EU-28 non-financial business sector. Almost all (93 %) of the SMEs were micro SMEs employing less than 10 persons.

In 2016, 30.6 million individuals were self-employed in the EU-28, accounting for 14 % of total EU-28 employment."
SMEs are the backbone of the EU´s economy …
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Click to go to EU Commission

The Annual Report 2017
Executive Summary


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Robotics and 3D printing in European SMEs - Report

11/21/2017

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To ROTENA Project web
European Robotics/3D Printing Training Survey 
The aim of this Project Output was to study and determine the conditions under which robotics and 3D printing training flourishes within Europe and make recommendations as to what strategies training organizations need to adopt to encourage such training.
In respect of both robotics and 3D printing, all respondents would clearly welcome educational institutions providing more knowledge and training opportunities on the topics. A majority of respondents are also willing to take such courses if available for free.
Download the full report
83% of SMEs confirmed the benefits to their company in the use of robots and 79% identified tasks in their companies that could be automated in the future. 90% of individual respondents think that acquiring knowledge on robotics could give them an advantage on the labour market. However, only half of them have already taken courses about the subject but 61% see that in the future their work will involve robotics and robots. This also corresponds with the answers from individual respondents in as much as only 6% have a professional level of knowledge on the topic, 63% some level and 31% no knowledge at all.

In respect of 3D printing the results show a lower involvement with the topic in general. 45% of participating SMEs are already using 3D Printing and 82% are convinced that their employees will benefit from more knowledge in the area. 94% of individuals stated they have not taken any courses in 3D Printing although 74% think that such knowledge would give them an advantage in future job seeking or at work
Download the full report
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What can we do for you as a SME Academy Network member? Results from the survey

6/28/2017

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First of all - a great thanks to all of you responding to the survey!

We are happy that more than 10% of the members of the SME Academy took their time and responded to the survey "What can we do for you as a SME Academy Network member?". The results will be a part of our planning for our future activities and our improvements of the SME Academy Network for you as a member.


Some quick results:
  • Activities should preferable be online, short (<60 min) and with a fixed agenda.
  • "European SME-programs" and "Small Business Challenges" are ranked with the highest interest
  • Most valuable section of SME Academy web is "Reports & Results" and "Articles"
  • Network members want to contribute with "Reports and Results", "Presentations" and "Events". 
This is a summary of the top rankings - but in general it was a very even result between alternatives and we an see a need for a wide range of information, activities etc..
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EU Innovation report - Press release from European Comission

6/21/2017

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In a Press release from 20th June 2017 the European Commission presents the annual ranking of Innovation in Europe - again Sweden is the over all leader of innovation in Europe and Ireland shows the highest rate of involvement of SMEs and Employees.
As the comments indicates Europe needs to increase the innovation pace and also make it more even around the union as the average in EU 28 shows there is room for improvement. 
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Outside the EU 28 you can note first of all Switzerland showing a very strong Innovation rank compared to the neighboring EU28 states. South Korea, Japan and China are other competitors to keep an eye on and to learn from.
In the European Innovation Scoreboard you can find all details and there is also a Regional Innovation Scoreboard there you can view specific regions within the European Union. If you are interested to compare different countries there is an Interactive tool that makes it easy to compare results 2010-2016. 

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Teacher 2020: Entrepreneurial Education, Initiatives and Guidelines

3/15/2017

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Click to go to Teacher2020 website

"This handbook represents the culmination of the work of the Erasmus+ project Teacher 2020.
It offers a series of examples of projects of entrepreneurial education and an explanation of what made them successful. Also, includes reflections derived from the practical initiatives. Using the tool to assess entrepreneurial initiatives and the global framework will help you understand the projects and support you in creating your own."
To educate and train our future entrepreneurs is a topic many organizations and institutions around the world are struggling with.
Not only need we train and motivate students - but also provide teachers and trainers with tools and skills required for the task
Not to mention the motivation they need to keep up the good work and develop it.
In this report a team of partners in an Erasmus+ project have
produced a guide that is worth to spend some minutes to read.

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Download the Guide

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Doing Business - Measuring Business Regulations - Report from the World Bank

2/28/2017

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The Easy of Doing Business Rank shows that the easiest countries to do business in is:
  • New Zealand
  • Singapore
  • Denmark
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business, from 1–190. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm. The rankings are determined by sorting the aggregate distance to frontier scores on 10 topics, each consisting of several indicators, giving equal weight to each topic.
When it comes to starting a business the rank changes a bit:
  • New Zealand
  • Canada
  • Hong Kong SAR, China
See the full list by following this link

New 2017 Doing Business Report Shows a Record Number of Reforms Worldwide - check the interview with Rita Ramalho, Manager Doing Business World Bank Group.
​Notice also the difference in gender perspective mentioned in the video by Rita Ramalho.

Go to the Ranking List

Download an Infograph
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Thailand Tech StartUp Report 2017 - Techsauce

2/28/2017

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Find a quick overview of the Thailand startup scene - a report created by Techsauce, Thailand.

Techsauce is Thailand's leading technology business media and publication.
We are the source for reliable, insightful news, analysis and opinion pieces on startups in Thailand and SEA. In addition, Techsauce is the creator of Techsauce Summit – the one of leading international tech conference in SEA

Since 2012, we have been researching and collecting all facts that happened in Thailand's startup scene. Every data represented in this report was officially announced in the news. No rumour is included
Link to SlideShare
Thai tech startup ecosystem report 2017 from Techsauce Media
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e-Learning Market trends and forecast 2017-2021

1/4/2017

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"According to Ambient Insight, the self-paced eLearning market size in Western Europe eLearning market is around USD 8billion in 2016, while Eastern Europe market is around $1billion. The spur in the region can be subjected to increasing adoption of these solutions in medium and small sized businesses"

Executive Summary

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY by Authors at DOCEBO
The state of the e-Learning market globally continues to shift, grow, and evolve. This is illustrated by increasing budget allocations for e-Learning programs, the growing prevalence of e-Learning in various geographic markets around the world, new trends in emerging technologies and tools that support e-Learning, and the swelling role of social learning as a top learning and development(L&D) priority.
The global L&D industry is complicated, with many moving parts, disruptive technologies, and shifting priorities. That’s why we have developed e-Learning market trends and forecast 2017-2021, a complete report outlining the global state of L&D and e-Learning in particular. For this comprehensive report, we have pored over metrics and insights pulled together by some of the leading analyst voices in the space. We have also collected a wide array of data and statistics that show how e-Learning is changing and evolving.
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Download report from Docebo
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Entrepreneurship in Schools in Europe

12/19/2016

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Click to get the Report in PDF
Developing and promoting entrepreneurship education has been one of the key policy objectives for the EU and Member States for many years.
There is a growing awareness of the potential of young people to launch and develop their own commercial or social ventures thereby becoming innovators in the areas in which they live and work.
Entrepreneurship education is essential not only to shape the mind-sets of young people but also to provide the skills, knowledge and attitudes that are central to developing an entrepreneurial culture.
This report captures all the latest developments in this regard in European countries, following earlier Eurydice reports (2006, 2012). It covers school education (primary, general secondary and school based IVET) in all Eurydice network countries/regions, except Germany, Ireland and Liechtenstein.
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Download the Report
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Empowering Entrepreneurs for Economic Growth

12/5/2016

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Empowering entrepreneurs to reduce unemployment through economic growth and strengthening of leadership through mentoring in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region has been at the core of Mowgli’s essence since we began in 2008. Eight years on and we have proudly achieved, and in some cases exceeded, all of our initial operational and impact goals.

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Mowgli mentored entrepreneurs tend to be more effective business growers, economic generators and job creators than those who go it alone.
This report showcases the impact of Mowgli’s entrepreneurial mentoring programs on developing sustainable entrepreneurship, evolving leadership and building human capacity in the countries that we operate in.
Read the report and learn about the impact the Mentoring programs have had since 2008. 
Download the Mowgli Report

Mentors who participate in the mentoring programs benefit equally as much as the entrepreneurs they serve, especially in the personal growth and strengthening of leadership aspects.
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SME Academy 2017