As part of European SME Week 2020, the European Commission highlighted the benefits of European Green Deal for businesses and presented inspiring entrepreneurs with environmentally friendly business ventures during a webinar on Thursday, 19 November 2020 from 15:00-16:30 via Zoom, which was also shared live on the EU Infopoint Facebook page.

During the webinar Patricia Devine from the EU-funded Innovative Entrepreneurship project,  presented the opportunities European Green Deal has to offer for entrepreneurs. The Innovative Entrepreneurship project implemented by Northern Ireland Co-operation Overseas (NI-CO) aims to contribute to the development of a more conducive entrepreneurship ecosystem and improve the innovation culture in the Turkish Cypriot community. Eleanor McEvoy, the CEO of Next-Gen Power in the Republic of Ireland presented her green energy business, which brings renewable electricity to the masses through affordable solar panel and battery technology.  Yolanda Cooper, founder of vegan and cruelty-free haircare brand, took us through her plastic-free green entrepreneurship journey. 

Since 2008, through its Aid Programme for the Turkish Cypriot community, the EU has made available more than €28 million through technical assistance and grants targeting sustainable economic development, building capacity of local stakeholders and enhancing competitiveness in the sector. The European Commission so far launched four call for proposals through which more than 150 SMEs, start-ups and business support organisations benefited from grants to increase their competitiveness through modernising their products and services, with particular emphasis on the preservation of natural resources and the creation of jobs. Furthermore, an EU funded financial support scheme “Lifeline support for businesses” has been recently made available for food and beverage service and hair and beauty service sectors with a total value of €3 million for self-employed, micro and small businesses to help address cash flow problems due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Background:

The European SME Week is a pan-European campaign that aims to promote entrepreneurship in Europe. It helps existing entrepreneurs find information on available support and tries to encourage more people to set up their own businesses. Coordinated by the European Commission, this campaign consists of events throughout the whole year. The main objectives of the SME Week is to inform entrepreneurs about support available at EU, national, regional, and local level and to encourage more people to become entrepreneurs