“Europe can no longer afford to see its most promising innovative companies scale up in the USA or Asia”, said SMEunited President Petri Salminen in response to the launch of the EU Startup and Scale-up Strategy.
“We welcome this new strategy, which rightly highlights the existing shortcomings. But its success will ultimately depend on real progress in strengthening the Single Market, improving regulation, and advancing the Capital Markets Union”.
The strategy acknowledges a key issue: Europe excels at creating startups but struggles to help them scale. A major factor is the lack of access to growth funding, largely due to underdeveloped capital markets. Yet the most critical barrier remains the fragmentation of the Single Market, which significantly raises the cost and complexity of scaling across borders. These hurdles not only drive companies to expand elsewhere but also deter long-term investors.
“If Europe wants startups and SMEs to invest, create jobs, and thrive here, we must urgently remove barriers within the Single Market and build a true Savings and Investment Union”, Mr Salminen stressed.
In addition, “Europe must also invest in entrepreneurship education to ensure a strong pipeline of future companies and innovators. Equally important is fostering a culture that embraces second chances by reducing the stigma associated with business failure and removing legal and structural barriers that prevent entrepreneurs from starting again. Many of the most successful businesses emerge only after several attempts. Failure should be seen as a step toward innovation, not a final verdict”, says Mr Salminen.
SMEunited strongly supports the European Commission’s ambition to reinforce the Single Market, unlock investment, and improve the overall environment for SMEs to launch and grow. We stand ready to collaborate on concrete policy measures that will turn this strategy into a tangible success.
