SMEs are the most vital component of the European economy, they count almost 99% of all businesses. Those operating in the ICT sector make up roughly 4% (1.2 million total).
Vice-President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC)
Laurenţiu Plosceanu
Senior Fellow (Stiftung Mercator)
Francesca Bria
Head of Policy and Innovation (Open X-Change)
Vittorio Bertola
CEO & Founder (Shiftphones)
Carsten Waldeck
Acting Director – Tourism, Textiles, Digital Transformation of Industry and Social Economy (DG GROW - European Commission)
Amaryllis Verhoeven
present conditions
The world is undergoing a digital transformation of both the society and economy. When evaluating the speed and scale of this movement, including implications for Europe, one needs to consider some trends:
- Today’s most valuable digital companies are based in the US or Asia. Europe finds itself lagging as regards the pace of digital innovation.
- Research and innovation by companies do originate in Europe, but companies often struggle to scale.
- The digital revolution will not stop short at digital services offered in a B2C context, but it will substantially transform Europe’s most value-generating economic sectors: automotive, manufacturing, agriculture, chemical, etc.
innovation stemming from Europe
Panellists uncovered how EU institutions can contribute to creating a secure and self-reliant digital environment that enables SMEs to thrive.
By empowering SMEs to exploit digital sovereignty, institutions can nurture an ecosystem that encourages innovation and sustains Europe’s technological leadership, all while ensuring that smaller enterprises lead this vision.