COSME

• Economy, Finance and Tax
• Enterprise and Industry
• Research, Innovation and Technology

• Facilitating access to finance for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs);
• Creating an environment favourable to business creation and growth;
• Encouraging an entrepreneurial culture in Europe;
• Increasing the sustainable competitiveness of EU companies;
• Helping small businesses operate outside their home countries and improving their access to markets.

• Existing entrepreneurs (small businesses in particular) – easier access to funding for development, consolidation and growth of their business;
• Future entrepreneurs (including young people) – assistance in setting up their own business; 
• National, regional and local authorities – tools for effectively reforming policy: reliable, EU wide data and statistics, best practice and financial support to test and scale up sustainable solutions for improving global competitiveness.

Member States EFTA countries Accession countries, candidate countries and potential candidates; Countries under the scope of the European neighbourhood policies, when admitted Other third countries with no financial contribution.

1. Access to finance for SMEs through dedicated financial instruments in the different phases of their lifecycle: creation, expansion and business transfer. An Equity Facility for Growth provides venture capital to enterprises, in particular in their growth phase. A Loan Guarantee Facility covers loans up to EUR 150 000 and is available for all types of SMEs.
2. Enterprise Europe Network: a network of business service centres The Enterprise Europe Network is a “one-stop shop” for the business needs of SMEs in the EU and beyond. It brings together more than 600 business support organisations from across 60 countries, including chambers of commerce and industry, technology centres or development agencies. It provides enterprises with information and a range of quality and free-of-charge business support services to make them more competitive, such as:

• Free of charge information, guidance and customised assistance on EU funding opportunities, including in the Research and Innovation area;
• Support for SME partnering, especially for cross-border activities.

1. Promotion of entrepreneurship trans-national networks, to exchange good practices and identify scope for expanding business activities. A broad range of specific actions is organised every year in the EU to support SMEs or specific target groups, such as young or women entrepreneurs. Established initiatives such as the SME week and the Network of Woman Entrepreneurs are continued. Mobility exchanges for entrepreneurs are maintained and expanded.
2. Improvement of framework conditions for the competitiveness of enterprises and policy development Analytical work is undertaken to facilitate evidence-based policy-making by national and regional policymakers. Such work includes the compilation and analysis of data on performances and policies of the Member States and regions, as well as other economies, and also studies on the latest trends and development in certain sectors in European and global markets. Examples include the annual EU Competitiveness Report and the analysis on reducing the administrative burden in EU legislation affecting SMEs. A number of conferences and other public events are organised to assemble and disseminate sectoral knowledge, inform policy-makers, and make policy suggestions to increase the coherence and cooperation between EU Member States’ policies to foster entrepreneurship.
3. Internationalisation of SMEs The COSME programme provides SMEs with support to facilitate business expansion in the EU Single Market and in markets outside the EU. International business cooperation is fostered, in particular, to reduce the differences in regulatory and business environments, between the EU and its main trading partners. Free of charge services are continued, such as those offered by the IPR Helpdesk for China, which helps managing the intellectual property rights and related issues in that country.

The Loan Guarantee Facility (LGF) shall, except for loans in the securitized portfolio, cover loans up to € 150.000 and with a minimum maturity of 12 months (> €150 000 financing possible if the SME does not fulfil criteria to be eligible under the Risk Sharing Instrument of Horizon 2020).
The investment from Equity Facility for Growth (EFG) in conjunction with the equity facility for RDI under Horizon 2020 shall not exceed 20% of the total EU investment except in cases of multi-stage funds.