Five reasons why Europe still makes good business sense!

Five reasons to develop your business in Europe

Europe is still the most potentially lucrative and accessible location for Scottish companies. In this blog, Anis Mourad suggests five reasons why Europe might be for you:

1) It’s a free trade zone!

The EU is the biggest free trade zone in the world. Factoring in some of the associated countries, such as Switzerland, Norway and so on, the unhindered movement of goods and services between Scotland and the rest of Europe means a wealth of choice when buying raw materials or distributing goods.

2) It’s right on our doorstep!

Businesses can reach places such as the Netherlands, Germany and Scandinavia in only a few hours via budget airlines (other flavours of airline are available too of course!) and the Enterprise Europe Network can put you in touch with like-minded businesses from the continent using our local valued colleagues on the ground in all these countries.

3) English – the beautiful language of business!

I once read that around 40% of EU citizens learn English as their first foreign language. Stunning stat! Generally speaking, English also dominates as the language of business offering Scottish organisations more of an opportunity for comfortable business conditions than they may have thought! And…if there are any problems….our Enterprise Europe Network colleagues in regional offices all over the continent can assist in making the contact easy.

4) Etiquette – eti-what?

Similarities in business practices and etiquette put Scottish companies in a good position when dealing with continental European colleagues. We all know being smart and punctual will go a long way towards making a good first impression to potential clients and partners, but the Enterprise Europe Network also has the inside knowledge on regional preferences. A Swede once told me to “lose the tie and be informal”!

5) They’re all very nice too…

Not only are all my valued EEN colleagues across our 50 partner countries extremely nice, but they all have a great love of Scotland and interest in the country, business conditions and potential collaboration with like-minded organisations in this nation of ours. Don’t be surprised if they are a bit shocked to find out that not all Scots have red beards and wear kilts, though.!

These are just some of the reasons why I feel doing business in Europe is something that Scottish organisations should seriously consider, if they aren’t doing it already! The bonus of it all is that we, at the EEN, are willing and able to help your company as best we can.

Whether it’s market information, scouting for business partners or funding advice you’re looking for, the team is ready to support you.

To get in touch with a view to doing business in Europe, please just drop me a line on Anis.Mourad@scotent.co.uk

How to become a Eurostar with the help of EEN!

The Enterprise Europe Network, offer a range of services to companies in Scotland, one of which is providing support to access European funding programmes. In this, our first blog entry, Anis Mourad, discusses the Eurostars Research and Development funding programme.

 

Since 2008 we have undertaken numerous activities to promote the European Commission’s R&D funding programmes including successfully running a number of events to promote the Framework Programme Seven (FP7) funding scheme - all of which have been well attended by organisations across Scotland. However, we recognise that FP7 isn’t for every company and so feel it is crucial to highlight the opportunities for Scottish SMEs that may exist in other programmes and areas.

At the end of March this year, calls opened under a programme which is dedicated for research performing SMEs - and is reasonably close to the market. The Eurostars programme is open to all sectors, with one of the main benefits that it takes a ‘bottom-up’ approach to project generation. By that, we mean that projects can address any technological area. Projects should aim at the development of a new product, process or service.

Another bonus, in my opinion, is that the application process is a lot simpler than that of FP7 - you only need two participants from two different Eurostars member countries to be in a consortium, unlike the three participants from three countries minimum of FP7. The single-stage, online application also led to one individual saying that "an FP7 application is like doing a degree where as a Eurostars application is like doing a Standard Grade" - or GSCE depending on where you come from in the UK!

The funding rates are also quite attractive with UK participants able to receive up to 50% of of their eligible costs up to a maximum grant of 300,000 EUR. Each applicant receives funding from their own national funding body, with the total amount of funding available from each country different - in the UK the money comes from the Technology Strategy Board, in France from their equivalent organisation and so on.

Having already worked with a plethora of Scottish companies to develop proposals, find partners and review applications, we are extremely keen to see more local SMEs getting engaged in European Funding. With that said, I encourage you to investigate Eurostars further, getting in touch if you wish to develop a proposal or have any questions about the mechanics or dynamics of the programme itself.

PS: For an informal but informative insight into the programme, check out our podcast on Eurostars. It even includes a dream sequence! http://bit.ly/qPvIri

For more information on Eurostars click here.

To contact me directly email: Anis.Mourad@scotent.co.uk