Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/459448
19 maltatoday, SUNDAY, 8 FEBRUARY 2015 Opinion T he economy and economic performance have traditionally garnered a lot of our policy makers' attention. The focus is often on economic growth, budgetary measures, employment and other sectors of our economy. Whilst measures to create economic growth are all of great importance we tend to overlook an important building block of our economy, namely entrepreneurship. I am of the opinion that not enough importance is given to the topic of entrepreneurship, and more specifically youth entrepreneurship. Successive governments have invested a great deal of funds in our education system yet I doubt whether we are making even moderate use of the potential and capabilities of our youths to create, to innovate, to be entrepreneurs. As a society, we are still treating entrepreneurial flair as something that should be used in measured quantities. Parents still encourage their children to find a stable job, to shy away from risk, to avoid challenging the status quo, to avoid failure at all cost. This mindset however ignores the realities their same children will face once out of a sheltered environment. The very same businesses parents see as a source of employment stability, nowadays expect their employees to be able to take on and manage risk, to challenge established processes and as a result of such disruption to innovate. This is precisely why I believe that we need to work to change mindsets. Our education system needs to drive home the point that being an entrepreneur is as much a role to aspire to as any other profession. Perhaps more importantly we need to remove the stigma that surrounds failure. Our young ones should not be afraid to fail. Failure, if it occurs after hard work and initiative, is not to be ashamed of. Failure happens, it is a fact of life, and we have to look at failures as a lesson for the future. The secret is to stand up, learn from mistakes and start again. Changing mindsets and providing entrepreneurial education is but part of the equation. We also need to provide tangible support to young entrepreneurs. I note with satisfaction that in the last budget, the government took several important measures to help new businesses and entrepreneurs. One of these important measures is the introduction of fiscal measures to assist with the provision of finance so as to help new companies during their start- up phase. The planned introduction of tax credits capped at 250,000 euros per annum to investors investing in seed companies is one such measure, as is the reduction of the energy bills for businesses that will allow new companies to improve cash flows, thereby enabling them to further invest and hence, be able to grow. We need to keep developing similar measures and new initiatives in order to further help young entrepreneurs. In as much as investment in our country's physical infrastructure is important, investing in the entrepreneurial potential of our youth, knowing that in a few years' time they will be the next generation of leaders expected to create economic growth, is equally important. Not least since providing the skills and knowledge to up and coming entrepreneurs will help create thriving businesses and ultimately help our country ensure a better future. That is why I have decided to launch a project specifically focused on youth entrepreneurship. This project is being developed in partnership with AEGEE - Valletta, and with the collaboration of the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and a number of other stakeholders that are interested to bringing youth entrepreneurship to the fore of the agenda. Last Friday saw the launch of the first event from a series of other initiatives forming part of this project. Our first event focused on Youth Entrepreneurship in Malta and the European Union served as a good eye opener to all those who wish to embark on a new business. Students had the opportunity to debate and brainstorm about new ideas. Several interventions from the Chamber of Commerce, directors and lecturers from the University of Malta, MITA and Malta Enterprise complemented the event. I will also be hosting a second event in Brussels on 26 February, having 'Supporting SMEs, Microenterprises and young entrepreneurs in the EU' as its theme. This event, which will involve young entrepreneurs themselves, will focus on current EU policy on youth entrepreneurship including the Small Business Act for Europe. It will also include direct input from the European Commission and other European organizations working in the field of business. A third event will take place in Malta. It will be directed exclusively at fostering interaction between young entrepreneurs, business leaders and established entrepreneurs in order to act as a bridge for tangible opportunities. During this event we will come up with final proposed policies and recommendations aimed at fostering youth entrepreneurship. Finally the recommendations developed throughout these three events will be compiled in a report that will be officially presented to the Maltese authorities and to Commissioner Elżbieta Bieńkowska who has already shown interest in this initiative. These initiatives are being taken in the knowledge that SMEs have an immense importance to our current economy. In fact, according to a report published by the European Commission regarding the 'Annual report on European SMEs 2013/2014', small businesses in the non-financial sector add up to 21.6 million companies in the EU and 88.8 million jobs. Additionally, 99% of all businesses are SMEs and 67% of all employees are in SME companies. Hence, SMEs are of significant importance to the economic sector as they provide an added value to the European economy. We need to plan ahead; we need to plan for the future. The way forward is to invest in our youths. This investment will have a tremendous ripple effect. Youth entrepreneurship has the potential to create more innovative business proposals, hence more jobs and lower youth unemployment. More start-ups may attract more interest from foreign investment and in return, our country will be in a position to sustain economic growth. Improved growth will then allow us to support improved health services, an enhanced infrastructure and a better place to live in. Supporting youth entrepreneurship Miriam Dalli Saviour Balzan is not writing this week Saviour Balzan Investing in the potential of our youth is important... providing them with skills will help create thriving businesses