As per new EU study, the small firms which trade internationally are creating more jobs and are more innovative. Only one in four SMEs participated in exporting for the past 3 years which prompted the European Commission to promote internationalisation in the upcoming innovation strategy.
The small firms which are internationally active businesses reported growth in employment rate by 7 percent. The businesses which focused only on local markets saw an increase of only 1 percent.
There is some concern over the SMEs low interest in international trade. Only 4 percent of them who are not doing business outside their home country are planning to trade beyond their borders.
The European Commission has planned to open new offices across the world to help small firms to expand into new markets. Funding was provided for the business centers in China and India.
The companies based on export are 58 percent in mining, 56 percent manufacturing, 54 percent research, 54 percent wholesale trade, 39 percent renting, 53 percent motor vehicle sales, and 39 percent transport and communication sectors.