European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME is organising various events that foster cooperation, knowledge sharing, growth, innovation and networking opportunities for SMEs and entrepreneurs across Europe and beyond.
The most recent example is the SME2B Business Forum Europe, whose first edition was in June 2023. As annual event, it brings together small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from across Europe focussing on current topcs of interest, linked to sectors, markets and legislation. The forum provides a platform for entrepreneurs to exchange ideas, showcase their products and services, and explore potential partnerships.
Another important series of events is dedicated to the collaboration between European African SMEs and business ecosystems. Three editions of the EU-African SME Summit have occurred already, one in Brussels in 2019, one online in 2020, and one in Rome, Dakar, and online contemporarily in 2021.
These Summits allowed entrepreneurs from both continents to connect, collaborate, and explore business opportunities. They featured project presentations, networking sessions, and discussions on topics relevant to the Africa-Europe business landscape. The first edition’s success led to the establishment of the African European Entrepreneurs platform, supported by multiple organisations, facilitating project showcases, partnership building, and access to new entrepreneurial opportunities.
But large events for hundreds of participants are not the only type of gatherings the confederation hosts. The latest example is the “Innovate… and go to market” series, which aims to support companies with tech products and services to expand internationally. The initiative comprises online and live events on entering new international value chains, innovation ecosystems, and growing in foreign markets. Participation in the series is free but open only to members of European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME member associations. The initiative aims to provide valuable resources and opportunities for SMEs to adapt and thrive in the evolving European business landscape.
During the recent international and energy crises, European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME hosted a series of webinars under the heading Crisis Response Webinars to support SMEs in navigating challenging situations and emerging trends from the recent disruptive events. These webinars cover various topics, including energy costs, cybersecurity, commodities, raw materials, and intellectual property laws. Participants received valuable insights, best practices, and strategies to help their SMEs defend against cyberattacks, manage the protection of their IPs, explore new opportunities in markets abroad, and understand the dynamics of commodities and raw materials supply and demand. These webinars are part of the organisation’s commitment to supporting European SMEs. It aims to empower them and contribute to their growth and resilience by leveraging expertise and partnerships.
Furthermore, the confederation has been actively hosting events for EU-funded projects such as MobiliseSME, DigitaliseSME, and DataSkills4SMEs. These projects empower SMEs by providing them with resources, knowledge, contacts and skills to enhance their growth and competitiveness in the digital age.
DataSkills4SMEs was an EU-funded project to enhance SMEs’ data literacy and skills. It recognised the growing importance of data in business decision-making and competitiveness. European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME was the project’s leading partner, therefore crucial in organising events, webinars, and training sessions to educate SMEs about data analytics, data management, and data-driven strategies. These events, including the closing conference in 2021, provide SMEs with the necessary knowledge and tools to harness the power of data effectively.
DigitaliseSME focused on supporting SMEs in their digital transformation journey. It provided them access to digital experts who can offer guidance, training, and assistance in adopting digital technologies and solutions. European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME organised events and seminars where SMEs can learn about the latest digital trends, share best practices, and connect with experts and service providers to leverage digitalisation for their businesses. It concluded the project by hosting its closing conference in 2020.
MobiliseSME was a project that facilitates cross-border staff exchanges among SMEs across Europe. It enabled employees to gain valuable international experience and knowledge by working in another SME for a short period. European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME organised events and workshops to promote MobiliseSME, including the project’s first iteration closing conference in 2017, to raise awareness about the benefits of staff exchanges and encourage SMEs to participate in the program.
In summary, European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME organises international summits, business-to-business online events, and webinars to foster collaboration, knowledge sharing, upskilling and more among European SMEs. These efforts contribute to the growth of a vibrant and interconnected entrepreneurial community.
For an SME- and Mid-caps-friendly European Green Transition Policy, Geostrategic, Innovation and Business dialogues for viable ways forward – Register Today!
We are pleased to invite you to our upcoming webinar on the EntreVet project, taking place on June 1st at 15.00 CEST. During the webinar, we will discuss how the EntreVet project can be considered a model to help promote entrepreneurship in vocational training institutes.
We are pleased to present the Final Conference of the European Commission-financed project DataSkills4SMEs! The event will occur on November 24th in Brussels at the Regional representation office of Emilia Romagna Region, in Rue Montoyer 21.
This webinar represents a preview of what is going to be the Uganda-EU Business Forum on October 26th-27th in Kampala (Uganda), whose main topic will be ‘Mobilizing quality investments and boosting trade between Uganda and the European Union’. There you will get to know a renewed commitment by both public and private sector stakeholders to building stronger Uganda – European Union business, investment, and trade ties.
We are happy to invite you to our 30th anniversary as the European Confederation of SME Associations called European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME on Tuesday, July 12th, in the framework of our traditional SME Summer Party.
Join our webinar with experts from EUIPO and protect your assets, something even more important during crises like COVID-19 and the rise of energy prices.
Join our webinar to learn how the free trade agreements the European Union has with different third countries can provide the opportunity to make up for business SMEs lost to the recent international crisis.
Join our third SME crisis webinar to learn from fellow companies how your SMEs can deal with and absorb the economic shocks coming from a combination of high energy prices, high inflation and market instability.
In our second SME Crisis Response webinar, on the next 7th April 2022, 09h00 – 10h00, we will talk about Defending your business from cyber-attacks and learning how to manage your IT security.
The invited experts will explain in detail what kind of risk in terms of hardware and software, the European SMEs have in an eventual cyberattack.
Also, the importance of having a protocol on how to react after a cyberattack, and the human factor, how to aware your team of phishing and other attempts by email or on the web.
What The military aggression of Russia on Ukraine has rightly called for an international response with an unprecedented economic sanction to stop this war. However, these sanctions will have a significant impact on European SMEs. So it is essential companies are aware of what they entail and where to find more information whenever necessary. It […]
On Friday, March 18th at 2:00 pm (3 pm in Eastern Europe, 4 pm in Turkey, 5 pm in the Caucasus area) we will be able to meet with the Deputy Director General of the European Business Association Ukraine, Ms Svitlana Mikhaylovska to hear her call for support and about the evolving situation in Ukraine.
Join our webinar to discover all the ways SMEs can benefit from Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) that can save you money and time!
Rome – Dakar – Berlin – Brussels Live & Online 21-22 October Economy–Sustainability–Humanity – Roadmap to Shared Success! Register Here Discover the Program Our Speakers At the beginning of the twenties of the second millennium, Africa is organising to significantly increase intra-African trade, see also the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and wants to […]
09.00-12.30 CEST | 28th of May 2021
After an exhausting negotiation between the EU and the UK in 2020, a so-called “EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement” has been signed on December 24th 2020. The European Parliament has ratified this Agreement on April 28th 2021 with large majority. But is everything ok now? Not at all. European and British SMEs are still struggling to understand the new import-export rules and custom procedures; the custom services themselves sometimes seem to be not sure about how to best advise companies, trade relations and transports suffer. Can this be improved? How can things go smoother? What are the corrections we need?
An event providing exclusive information on a possible market entry in France and Germany and to network you with French and German partner companies on a B2B basis. During the break-out sessions, our experts will provide you with valuable information to facilitate your entry into the target markets.
Our Members the German SME Association Der Mittelstand/BVMW and the Slovenian Business Club are hosting the first in a series of business-to-business online events in 2021, that starts on March 4th with the First German-Slovenian SME2B Online Forum for a direct exchange among member companies of BVMW and SBC.
This online networking event, organised by European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, within the space of the project European Shared Value Factory in collaboration with Ondernemers Voor Ondernemers (OVO), aims to encourage and support the promotion of local businesses fostering job creation and market growth in Africa.
The impact of the Green Deal on municipalities, but also on companies and society at large, was the topic of this event of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, in collaboration with BVMW and DStGB. It took place on December 10 at 09.30 am.
European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, PACCI, BVMW, FIPME and CONFAPI have decided to organise the First Online EU-African Business Lab for SMEs 2020, which intends to highlight the chances for entrepreneurs and to share the best roads towards a successful economic cooperation of smart and open-minded companies in Africa and Europe for a common future.
The DigitaliseSME Final Conference “Digitalisation and Innovation for European SMEs – The project DigitaliseSME” will take place on February 18 2020, from 08.30 to 14.30, at the Residence Palace, Rue de la Loi 175, 1048 Bruxelles.
Welcoming 5 new member organisations in 2019 from Lithuania (Sunrise Valley), Poland (CCI Katowice), Portugal (COTEC Portugal), Turkey (Teknokent) and Georgia (EBA Georgia) was for sure the most important news that the management of European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME could remark during the Annual General Assembly 2019.
European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME and Der Mittelstand/BVMW, together with the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PACCI), successfully hosted the European-African Shared Value Business Project Launch, a three-day event from the 28th to the 30th of October in Addis Ababa.
The SME Summer Party 2019 that took place on the 9th July on the rooftop terrace of the Residence Palace in Brussels was a great success!
On March 20th and 21st, European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME hosted the first EU-African SME Summit in Brussels. The two-days international summit aimed to build the foundations for cooperation between SMEs on the two continent in the spirit of Shared Value, a new notion redefining the approach to development via sustainable and smart business ideas, thus creating a “shared value” for the companies putting a business idea in practice while bringing benefit to communities from the services or products that are useful to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
On November 18th and 19th 2018, representatives of 15 member associations met in Vienna to join European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME 27th Annual General Assembly.
On the 21st March 2018, European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME hosted, together with DStGB, the association of German municipalities and cities, and with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, an event on the European Pillar of Social Rights. The event, taking place at the Permanent Representation to the European Union of the North-Rhine Westphalia region, aimed to explore the theme of a modern social system of rights for the whole European Union against the current possibilities to finance such a system.
European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME and ESBA hosted a lunch debate on the possibilities and difficulties related to the EU-Commission’s proposal for legislative initiative introducing a `services passport’ aiming to enhance cooperation between home and host Member States and help service-providers operating across borders. The event took place on the 20th March 2018 at the European Parliament and was attended by more than 40 people.
On the 29th September 2017, CEA-PME European Entrepreneurs held its Annual General Assembly.
CEA-PME organised the MobiliseSME Final Conference that took place in Brussels on the 28th September 2017. The event, titled “The Future of a Mobility Scheme for SMEs and their Employees in Europe”, was attended by more than a hundred people which wanted to know more about the findings of MobiliseSME and what way forward would be most conducive to develop a cross-border mobility scheme for the employees of SMEs, like an Erasmus for small and medium-sized businesses.
European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, as the lead partner of the EU project MobiliseSME, has organised on the 26th September 2017, together with SME Connect and SME Europe, an event at the European Parliament to discuss the opportunities that European-funded projects provide to small and medium-sized companies in the EU to go cross-border.
On the 14th and 15th July 2017, European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, together with its Member SESCA, organised in Astorga the First European Cybersecurity Seminar aimed at small and medium-sized companies.
On the 9th November 2016, CEA-PME organised the MobiliseSME’s event for the launch of the project’s pilot scheme in Brussels. The event was very successful with around 100 people from different parts of Europe attending to hear about the features of the new mobility scheme for SMEs employees.
European Entreprenerus CEA-PME has organised its third #MittelstandTalk aptly titled “Industry 4.0, Research & Innovation: how can SME benefit more?” that took place on the 15th September 2016 at the Residence Palace in Brussels.
“We welcome to reboot the current EU VAT system to make it simpler and more business-friendly”, stated the President of European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME and of Bundesverband Mittelständische Wirtschaft (BVMW), Mario Ohoven, at the 2nd #MittelstandTalks in Brussels on 25th May at Residence Palace International Press Centre.
European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME and the German association of small and medium enterprises BVMW organised in the form of a lunch debate the first of its #MittelstandTalks on the 4th April 2016 at the International Press Centre in Brussels. The event took the format of a round table with a keynote speaker followed by further interventions and an interactive Q&A session.
The Youth Summit 2015 last March 26th 2015 in Brussels, organised by European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, Friedrich-Ebert Foundation and the CEMR-German Section, was a great success, particularly looking at the numbers of mostly young attendees, but also for the very high level of speakers and discussants, that gave to the summit the quality inputs that it needed.
European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME have celebrated its annual General Assembly from November 7th to 9th 2014 in Rome. Organised by CONFAPI, the meeting took place in Rome’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry near the Hadrian’s Temple in the centre of Rome.
