Which European countries have the best conditions for the emergence and growth of firms?

The Entrepreneurship and Scale-up Indices by JRC gives input to the discussion on what countries can do to improve the condition for start-ups to grow in Europe. The indices group countries according to the quality of their framework conditions, and also provide insights into how each country could improve.

For example, although Denmark and the Netherlands have excellent conditions for the creation of firms, they are lagging behind in terms of access to finance. Countries such as Germany and Austria rank highly in market conditions and knowledge creation, but face challenges in regulation and financial infrastructures for firm creation. Differences can also be observed between countries as regards the conditions they offer for the growth of firms. Belgium has the best score for access to human capital, but ranks lower in terms of regulations that favour firm growth, while the opposite is true for Estonia.

In less business friendly territories, however, entrepreneurial culture, R&D investments and intellectual property initiatives are areas which could be improved. Finally, access to finance and suitable human resources are the main challenges for countries with worse framework conditions.

ESIS results were presented at the conference "European Innovation Policies for the Digital Shift" which took place in Brussels on 22 November 2016. The conference took stock of the outcomes of EURIPIDIS, a joint research project of the JRC and Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology which aimed to improve understanding of digital innovation and entrepreneurship.