Restart SMEs in the Baltic Sea Region

Bankruptcies lead to economic and social insecurity and tax revenue decrease. The Restart BSR project brings together innovation actors in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland to offer 'soft' innovation support to small and medium sized enterprises that are experiencing stagnation and are heading towards bankruptcy. Apart from restarting businesses onto a new path of growth, the project kicks off policy dialogue to frame measures to support innovation and growth of companies facing stagnation or financial distress in the Baltic Sea region.

Summary

Preventing bankruptcies is the priority

Every year more than 200,000 businesses go bankrupt and 1.7 million jobs are lost in the EU due to insolvency. Bankruptcies often have a negative impact on other companies in the value chain, public finances as well as the company owners, their families and employees. Preventing bankruptcies in the Baltic Sea region has become a priority. Although all countries offer business support services to entrepreneurs, the existing crisis management and second chance approaches lack innovation to fully exploit the growth potential of the affected companies.

Innovation as the key to restart businesses

The project Restart BSR builds up the institutional capacity of innovation actors in Poland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia by combining design thinking, crisis management and second chance approaches. The project supports innovation actors in promoting non-technological innovation and restarting the small and medium sized enterprises that experience stagnation and/or are heading towards a bankruptcy. In more detail, innovation actors help restarters regain their self-esteem and confidence, support the development a competitive business model, and help restarters use their experiences from a business failure to create growth and new jobs in the Baltic Sea region.

Policy framework boosting growth

In addition to strengthening the knowledge and competences of innovation actors, the project involves innovation actors, enterprises, stakeholders and public authorities at all government levels in a transnational policy dialogue and policy development. This helps to improve the framework conditions for innovation and growth in the Baltic Sea region.