Empowering SMEs Beyond Europe

On 7 February 2025, the Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs in collaboration with Technopolis Group, hosted a hybrid workshop on SME internationalisation. The event, held in Brussels with online participation, brought together around 30 in-person attendees and 90 online participants, including representatives from EU institutions, EU national ministries, export promotion agencies, export credit agencies, and industry.

Technopolis Group, responsible for conducting the ‘Study of the European Union SMEs internationalisation strategy’, presented its findings, which mapped EU and Member State policy instruments for SME internationalisation. The study assesses the coherence, effectiveness, and visibility of these instruments, identifies challenges, and provides recommendations for more efficient use of existing resources at both the EU and national levels.

Key Takeaways

• Mapping of support measures: a comprehensive analysis of EU and national initiatives supporting SME internationalisation.
• Assessment of effectiveness: evaluation of coherence, efficiency, and visibility of these support instruments.
• Policy recommendations: strategies to enhance coordination, streamline resources, and improve the overall impact of SME support measures.

Following the presentation, a panel of 4 speakers shared their reflections on the study and provided insights on improving cohesion between internationalisation support instruments. The panellists represented Business France; Flanders Investment & Trade and Trade Promotion Europe (TPE); The European Innovation Council; and SME United.

The event also featured an exchange of best practices, with presentations from InnoHub Lithuania and the EU’s Intellectual Property (IP) Helpdesks, highlighting successful initiatives that assist SMEs in navigating international markets.

The European Commission is now working towards implementing the study’s recommendations to enhance support for SMEs in their global expansion efforts.

More information

• Study of the European Union SMEs internationalisation strategy
• Webpage on SME internationalisation beyond the EU