The Missing Entrepreneurs 2019

Preface by the OECD
Preface by the European Commission
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Reader’s Guide
	Contents and structure
	Key data sources
		OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme
		Eurostat Labour Force Survey
		The Global Entrepreneurship Monitor
		Future of Business Survey
		Flash Eurobarometer No. 438: The use of collaborative platforms
		OECD country-level inclusive entrepreneurship policy assessment notes
	References
Executive summary
	Policy needs to start early to reduce the gender gap in entrepreneurship
	Senior entrepreneurship holds promise for longer working lives
	Immigrant entrepreneurs more likely to create businesses that employ others
	Youth have high ambitions for entrepreneurship
	Entrepreneurship is a path out of unemployment
	Can digital entrepreneurship increase inclusiveness?
	Improving the growth potential of entrepreneurs from under-represented groups
	How can policy better support under-represented entrepreneurs?
1.  Key findings and recommendations
	Who are the “missing entrepreneurs” in the EU?
		How active are different population groups in self-employment?
		Recent trends in entrepreneurship activity rates by social group
	What problems do the missing entrepreneurs face?
	What policy support is typically available in the EU?
		Dedicated entrepreneurship support programmes are typically available for youth, women and the unemployed
	What recent developments are there in inclusive entrepreneurship policy in the EU?
		Inclusive entrepreneurship objectives are increasingly visible in strategic policy documents across the EU
		Support to student entrepreneurship is growing, often in relation to innovation objectives
		Efforts to strengthen parental leave for the self-employed are ongoing
	Can digital technology help level the entrepreneurship playing field?
		Key policy recommendations:
	Should policy support disadvantaged entrepreneurs in scaling-up their business?
		Key policy recommendations:
	References
		Part I. Inclusive entrepreneurship indicators: Activity rates and barriers
Part I. Inclusive entrepreneurship indicators: Activity rates and barriers
	2.  Women’s self-employment and entrepreneurship activities
		Key messages
		The policy context for female self-employment and entrepreneurship
		Self-employment
			Women are less likely to be self-employed than men
			Women are more likely to report that their motivation for self-employment was flexible working hours
			Self-employed women are less likely to be employers
		Entrepreneurship cycle
			Women are less likely than men to be involved in starting a business
			Women are two-thirds as likely as men to be new business owners
			Few women are established business owners
			Most women entrepreneurs exit their business because it is not profitable
		Barriers to business creation and sustainable self-employment
			Women are less likely to report that they have the skills for business creation
			Women are more likely to report a fear of failure
			Financial insecurity prevents many women employees from moving into self-employment
			There are little gender differences in the main challenges to sustaining self-employment
		Characteristics of the self-employed
			Women have lower self-employment rates across all sectors except Other services
			The majority of self-employed women are working as Professionals or Service and sales workers
			The share of self-employed women with a tertiary education is growing much faster than for men
			Self-employed women have as much control over their work as self-employed men
			Women are less likely to start businesses in teams
		Performance of self-employed women and female entrepreneurs
			Self-employed women tend to work fewer hours than self-employed men
			The median earnings of self-employed women are about the same of those of self-employed men
			Self-employed women are less likely than self-employed men to have a long job tenure
			Women entrepreneurs appear as likely to be innovative
			Female entrepreneurs are less likely than male entrepreneurs to export
			Less than 10% of early-stage women entrepreneurs pursue growth
		Start-up financing
			Most self-employed women use self-funding
			Less than 20% of women entrepreneurs use bank financing
			Women are a major target group of the microfinance sector
			On average, female-owned businesses are as likely as male-owned businesses to receive venture capital but receive less
		Conclusions
		References
	3.  Youth self-employment and entrepreneurship activities
		Key messages
		The policy context for youth self-employment and entrepreneurship
			Youth unemployment has been a major crisis over the past decade…
			…and other challenges are emerging
		Self-employment activities by youth
			Youth are interested but not active in self-employment
			The gender gap is also significant among self-employed youth
			Self-employed youth are less likely to have employees
		Entrepreneurship cycle
			Many youth are involved in pre start-up activities
			Youth are more likely to be new business owners
			Youth are not likely to be established business owners
			Youth are more likely to discontinue their business because it was not profitable
		Barriers to business creation for youth
			Entrepreneurship skills and experience are greater barriers to business creation for youth than for adults
			Youth are as likely as adults to cite “fear of failure” as a barrier to start-up
		Characteristics of self-employed youth
			Youth are less likely to be self-employed in all sectors except “households as employers”
			Most self-employed youth are professionals
			A growing share of self-employed youth have a tertiary education
			Youth are more likely to start businesses in teams
		Business performance
			Self-employed youth work longer hours than those working as employees
			Youth entrepreneurs are slightly more likely to be innovative
			Youth entrepreneurs are more likely to export
			Youth are more likely to pursue business growth
		Conclusions
		References
	4.  Senior’s self-employment and entrepreneurship activities
		Key messages
		The policy context for senior self-employment and entrepreneurship
		Self-employment
			A high proportion of working seniors are self-employed
			Self-employed seniors are more likely to have employees
		Entrepreneurship cycle
			Seniors are not likely involved in pre start-up activities
			Very few seniors are new business owners
			Seniors are more likely than all adults to be established business owners
			Business exits were mostly due to a lack of profits
		Barriers to business creation for seniors
			Seniors are as likely as adults to have entrepreneurship skills
			Seniors are less likely than adults to report a fear of failure
		Characteristics of self-employed seniors
			Self-employment rates by sector vary among different age cohorts of seniors
			Most self-employed seniors are working as Professionals
			More self-employed seniors in the EU had a tertiary education than those working as employees
			Seniors are less likely to start businesses in teams
		Business performance
			Self-employed seniors typically work longer hours than those who are employees
			Senior entrepreneurs are as likely as the population of entrepreneurs to offer new products and services
			Senior entrepreneurs are less likely to have customers in other countries
			Senior entrepreneurs are slightly less likely to expect to create a high number of jobs
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
	5.  Self-employment and entrepreneurship from unemployment
		The policy context for business creation from unemployment
		Seeking self-employment from unemployment
			Less than 3% of the unemployed want to be self-employed
			Interest in self-employment is greatest at the early stages of unemployment
		Entering self-employment from unemployment
			More unemployed people become self-employed than the number seeking it
			Country-level research finds high survival rates but little job creation and some displacement
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
	6.  Self-employment and entrepreneurship indicators for immigrants
		Key messages
		The policy context for entrepreneurship and self-employment by immigrants
		Self-employment among immigrants
			The share of immigrants is increasing faster among the self-employed than among employees
			Immigrants were slightly less likely to be self-employed in 2018 than non-immigrants
		Proportion of self-employed immigrants with employees
			Self-employed immigrants in the EU are slightly less likely to have employees
			Self-employed immigrants are slightly more likely to not have enough work to hire employees
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
			Part II. Policies for inclusive entrepreneurship
Part II. Policies for inclusive entrepreneurship
	7.  What potential does digital entrepreneurship have for being inclusive?
		Key messages
			Policy recommendations
		The digital transformation
		What is digital entrepreneurship?
		What are the potential benefits of digital entrepreneurship?
			Digitalisation can drive innovation, creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs
			The self-employed can boost their productivity and access more opportunities
			Productivity growth can be boosted through innovation and firm-level efficiencies
			New technologies and platforms may hold potential for strengthening social and economic inclusion
		How many digital start-ups are there?
			Estimates suggest the number of digital start-ups is increasing
			Women, youth and seniors are under-represented among digital entrepreneurs
		Obstacles to digital entrepreneurship for people from under-represented and disadvantaged groups
			Women, seniors and the unemployed lack of digital skills
			Social attitudes can lead to self-selection away from digital sectors, particularly for women
				There are few digital entrepreneurship role models for people from disadvantaged groups
				Discrimination can discourage digital entrepreneurship
				Formal education can reinforce stereotypes in digital and technology fields
			External finance is a greater challenge for digital female entrepreneurs and those with low skills levels
		How can public policy support digital entrepreneurship for people from under-represented and disadvantaged groups?
			Build a more inclusive culture towards digital start-ups
				Increase awareness among policy makers about the digital entrepreneurship
				Use role models to inspire future digital entrepreneurs from under-represented and disadvantaged groups
			Support the development of digital and entrepreneurship skills
				Build digital entrepreneurship skills in formal education
				Develop tailored digital entrepreneurship training and mentoring programmes for the self-employed from under-represented and disadvantaged groups
			Improve access to resources for the creation of digital businesses and the digitalisation for the self-employed
				Enhance access to and improve the affordability of digital technologies
				Improve access to digital entrepreneurship networks for under-represented and disadvantaged groups
			Improve access to finance for digital entrepreneurship
				Use targeted small grants and financial awards in combination with training
				Leverage crowdfunding platforms to improve access to debt and equity
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
	8.  Increasing the scale-up potential for disadvantaged entrepreneurs
		Key messages
			Policy recommendations
		Scaling-up in the context of under-represented and disadvantaged groups
			What is a scale-up?
			Why are policy makers interested in scale-up?
			How many start-ups grow?
			What is the scale-up potential among women, immigrant, youth and senior entrepreneurs?
		Challenges to scale-up for entrepreneurs from disadvantaged groups
			Women and seniors entrepreneurs are less likely to have scale-up motivations
			Regulations about access to benefits and tax measures can contain disincentives to scale-up for many population groups
			Women, youth and senior entrepreneurs often have lower levels of entrepreneurship and management skills
			Scale-ups have higher risk, which increases the already high barriers to finance for women, immigrant, youth and senior entrepreneurs
			Women, immigrant, youth and senior entrepreneurs tend to have smaller and less effective networks
		What can policy do to stimulate the creation of businesses with scale-up potential by disadvantaged entrepreneurs?
			Build motivations and intentions for growth when appropriate
				Use role models to inspire growth
			Facilitate the acquisition of entrepreneurship skills for growth
				Develop business management skills for growth
				Support the acquisition of innovation and digital skills
			Enhance access to finance for business growth
				Address failures in equity markets
				Improve access to debt financing for business growth
			Build networks and eco-systems that support growth for all entrepreneurs
			Remove hindrances to growth in the regulatory environment
				Ensure bankruptcy laws are entrepreneur-friendly, particularly for youth entrepreneurs
				Use regulatory impact analysis to assess impacts of new policies and regulations on under-represented and disadvantaged groups
		Delivering scale-up support to disadvantaged entrepreneurs
			Identify entrepreneurs with scale-up potential
			Build bridges to mainstream supports
		Conclusions
		Notes
		References
			Part III. Country profiles: Key inclusive entrepreneurship trends, issues and recent policy actions
Part III. Country profiles: Key inclusive entrepreneurship trends, issues and recent policy actions
	9.  Reader’s guide for the country profiles
	10.  Austria
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	11.  Belgium
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	12.  Bulgaria
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	13.  Croatia
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	14.  Cyprus
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	15.  Czech Republic
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	16.  Denmark
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	17.  Estonia
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	18.  Finland
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	19.  France
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	20.  Germany
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	21.  Greece
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	22.  Hungary
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	23.  Ireland
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	24.  Italy
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	25.  Latvia
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	26.  Lithuania
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	27.  Luxembourg
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	28.  Malta
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	29.  Netherlands
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	30.  Poland
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	31.  Portugal
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	32.  Romania
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	33.  Slovak Republic
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	34.  Slovenia
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	35.  Spain
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	36.  Sweden
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
	37.  United Kingdom
		Key trends
		Hot issue
		Recent policy developments
		Key inclusive entrepreneurship data
Glossary