EU Commission Launches Initiative to Boost FinTech and Blockchain Startups

By Rebecca Campbell for CryptocoinsNews

The European Commission (EC) has announced the unveiling of a new initiative it has set up aiming to give many of Europe’s FinTech and blockchain innovative entrepreneurs every opportunity to become world leaders, according to an EC press release.

The Start-up and Scale-up Initiative aims to combine all the possibilities that already exist in the EU, but plans on including a new focus on venture capital investment, insolvency law, and taxation. However, while the EC notes that there isn’t a lack of new ideas in Europe, it highlights the fact that many firms fail to make it beyond the first few years.

Not only that, but instead of taking advantage of the 500 million customer base in Europe many FinTech or blockchain startup companies try to launch their companies in a third country.

According to Jyrki Katainen, vice president of the EC and responsible for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness, today’s startups could, potentially, become the global success stories of tomorrow.

He said:

We want to help start-ups stay and grow in Europe. By helping them navigate the – often perceived – regulatory barriers to fully benefiting from the Single Market. By making it easier for them to have a second chance, without being stigmatized if their idea doesn’t succeed the first time around. And by improving access to funding by boosting private venture capital investment.

 

What is the Initiative Proposing?

With the unveiling of the Initiative, it is hoping to bring together several factors to enable blockchain and FinTech startups to develop and grow their business across Europe.

Aside from the proposed factors mentioned above other features that the Initiative is proposing include improved access to finance and simpler tax filings.

Through the Initiative startups will also gain access to improved innovation support through reforms to Horizon 2020, which funds high-potential innovation through a dedicated SME instrument, providing seamless business innovation support. Changes to Horizon 2020 will help to shape a European Innovation Council, which includes the use of €1.6 billion over 2018-2020 to offer bottom-up support for new projects by startups, giving them the possibility to grow.

The initiative will also connect startups with potential investors, business partners, universities, and research centres.

It is hoped that these steps will provide startups with the boost they need to succeed in what is a competitive environment to make a business stand out from the rest.

Helping Startups to Succeed

Earlier this year the EC proposed stricter rules on the use of digital currencies such as bitcoin while proposing a central database record of bitcoin users.

However, despite its somewhat reluctance toward the digital currency it does want blockchain startups to succeed.

In 2017, the EC will propose a Single Digital Gateway that will enable simpler online access to Single Market information, assistance, procedures and advice for citizens and businesses.

Elżbieta Bieńkowska, EC Commissioner and responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, said:

Starting and scaling up a company across Europe has to become simpler. Europe needs to become the first choice place for great business ideas to grow into successful companies. This is about new jobs, innovation and competitiveness for Europe.

First appeared at CCN