Entrepreneurial spirit through education and training, women’s entrepreneurship and helping business go global is the focus of the latest series of Small Business Act assessments, which the European Training Foundation (ETF) has just wrapped up in the EU’s Southern Neighbourhood.

The Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) is the EU’s overarching framework for small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) policy to promote entrepreneurship in education and training, reduce red tape, increase access to finance and boost the overall business environment.

Assessments in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia began in April 2017. Since then, ETF staff have been busy working with government officials, the private sector and the education and training community to determine progress since the last assessment in 2014. Results will be published later in 2018.

The focus of this round of the SBA assessments is threefold: how entrepreneurship is being promoted in secondary education (general and vocational); training for women’s entrepreneurship; and skills to support SME internationalisation.

The ETF is actively promoting the new European Entrepreneurship Competence Framework (EntreComp), which features in the assessment framework. EntreComp is a tool for policymakers, curriculum specialists and teachers to develop the entrepreneurial potential of children, students and adults through teaching and learning.

Speaking at a workshop in Cairo, which closed the regional assessment drive on February 15, the ETF’s Anthony Gribben said the biggest challenge this round had been to determine progress on entrepreneurship as a key competence. “We are pleased to see strategic piloting of the key competence in Luxor region,” said Gribben. “Road-test well before mainstreaming,” he advised.

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