Page 142 - guidance-supporting-europe-s-aspiring-entrepreneurs-policy-and-practice-to-harness-future-potential

Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

Austria, Uusyrittäjyyskeskus in Finland, Center for Entrepreneurship and
Executive Development (CEED) in Slovenia and the Enterprise Europe Network
Hellas in Greece.
In Sweden, around 15 000 people are involved with the new business
support network NyföretagarCentrum each year, with two out of three starting up
their own business within two years of receiving the advice. More than 80% of
those who start their business with the support of NyföretagarCentrum are still
operating after three years and less than 1% of those go bankrupt after three
28
years ( ).

5.2.4. Online services
Online business support tools provide information and guidance to aspiring and
novice entrepreneurs through various different methods, via the internet. They
have the potential to be a cost-effective way of reaching out to a wide and
diverse target audience. Examples of these tools were found in Austria,
Germany, Iceland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK. The tools are often
hosted on websites or platforms which provide a variety of services and can be
national or regional in focus. Some also are tailored to entrepreneurs in specific
sectors.
Many interactive enterprise platforms provide one-to-one guidance over the
internet for individuals are running a business, developing a business idea or on
the verge of starting up their company. The guidance is provided by experts and
experienced entrepreneurs. They can have specific questions answered in a
clear and quick manner, rather than having to search different sites for the
information required. The answers given by the experts can give them confidence
to make the decisions they were hesitant to make without hearing a second
opinion. They do not have to make or attend an appointment and, in the
examples we have identified, they are not charged for the guidance provided by
the experts.
Examples of this type of tool can be found in Iceland, Spain and the UK. In
Germany, the users of the Business start-up portal are able to choose which
expert should answer his/ her query, depending on the topic.

28
( ) Available from Internet: http://www.nyforetagarcentrum.com/ [cited 14.05.2010].

136