They competed to be selected as examples of the best initiatives to promote enterprise and entrepreneurship and showcase best entrepreneurship policies, in order to create a greater awareness of the role entrepreneurs play in society and encourage and inspire potential entrepreneurs. The Enterprise Promotion Awards underline that public authorities can do a lot to improve the business conditions for SMEs.
These concrete success stories need to be multiplied to make Europe more business-oriented and business-friendly. The 57 national competition winners will now go forward to the pan-European Awards, whose jury will begin reviewing the entries before releasing in September a shortlist of the top 12 entrants to go forward to the final competition. The ultimate winners will be announced at the European Enterprise Promotion Awards ceremony in November, which this year will take place during the first ever SME Assembly in Cyprus.
The number of entries was slightly higher than in 2011, despite the challenging economic environment. It was also only the second time in the history of the awards that all 27 EU Member States have participated.
