“A major challenge for Europe is creating conditions that enable more entrepreneurs to create new businesses and jobs, develop new skills and enter new markets”,

Bulgarian Minister of Economy Emil Karanikolov stated at the launch of the youth entrepreneurship conference "Follow Your Ideas - Become an Entrepreneur".

The conference was dedicated to youth entrepreneurship, education and studies in entrepreneurship, and the opportunities and prospects for generating new ideas and supporting the self-realisation of young people in Europe. The conference presented the most successful European programmes, tools and best practices for promotion and support, as well as the challenges for young entrepreneurs in the European Union.

During the three working sessions, the participants discussed the administrative and informational support for new companies, the need to facilitate the transfer and consolidation of businesses at risk of bankruptcy, as well as the supportive role of entrepreneur organisations, of the "business angels" and of venture capital funds as an integral part of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Minister Karanikolov also emphasised that one of the priorities of the Bulgarian Presidency is the development of entrepreneurship among young people, as it will have a decisive role in maintaining innovative and competitive economies. He also considered a number of key directions, in which it will be necessary to continue working on the future policies to support youth entrepreneurship. One of them is failure as a way of gaining experience.

"More than 40 % of the young population in the European Union prefer to be self-employed rather than hired as employees. However, only 4.1 % of them succeeded to be self-employed in 2016, and this was one third of the proportion of all self-employed aged 15-64,"

said Minister Karanikolov.

/Photo: Ministry of Economy/