‘Entrepreneurship is currently stable and growing across the European Union. Whether we are able to harness it to drive innovation, create jobs or stimulate the economy, however, depends on the regulatory environment we create for it, on how open we are to new ideas and how successful in fostering digital skills’ said Bulgarian EPP/GERB MEP Eva Maydell in her speech at the ‘Net Futures 2017’ event organised by the World Economic Forum on the 28th June in Brussels.
The two day event, which also included an appearance by Belgium’s deputy PM Alexander De Croo, saw Ms Maydell set up a working group on the subject of strengthening the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Europe and providing the tools and resources it requires to thrive.
‘It is of utmost importance that we connect start-up cultures, from Sofia to Lisbon and from Valetta to Helsinki, to encourage the exchange of ideas and experience. Finalising and implementing the Digital Single Market (DSM) is the best chance we can give European entrepreneurs to take their successes global.’
‘Net Futures 2017’ brought together professionals from across the digital field, industry leaders such as Google and Ericsson, as well as senior politicians. Bulgarian start-ups were represented by Sasha Bezuhanova from EDIT.bg (a network of over 300 digital entrepreneurs) and the Bulgarian Business Forum. The conference was aimed at getting stakeholders to think strategically about the digital economy and allow businesses to build upon the opportunities of a newly interconnected world. In the long term, it is to serve as a precursor to a EU-wide start-up knowledge exchange.