Business advisers, industry experts and policy makers explore how to enhance business support for Europe’s ambitious small businesses, at this year’s Enterprise Europe Network conference. Sustainability, internationalisation and access to finance for innovative companies and scale-ups, are at the top of the agenda.

Napoleon once said, "China is a sleeping giant. Let her sleep, for when she wakes she will move the world." The giant is awake now and has already become one of the largest economies in the world. China is also large enough for us to have to do business on their terms. It’s probably one of the most foreign places we can talk about in terms of the society, behaviour and mindset of people and businesses. In order to do business with the Chinese, we need to forego our usual expectations and practices. Here are a few areas to consider.

This week: webinar on circular economy in Japan; apply to participate in a business mission to Korea on green energy technologies; funds available for Croatian micro-enterprises and start-ups; new EU rules for electronic payments and online banking; call for start-ups to apply for the Copernicus Accelerator programme.

This week: €190 million in financing for small businesses in Finland, guidelines on how to prepare your business for Brexit, mapping sustainable opportunities for businesses in the fashion industry. 

This week: microloans for Lithuanian businesses; apply for the Innovation associate Programme and hire a full-time researcher; webinars: intellectual property in Colombia ; exporting agri-food products to Japan.

LinkedIn live on resolving disputed between online platforms and SMEs; €306 million for Czech companies; European Commission fines Qualcomm for abusing market dominance.

This week: €25 million to boost cross-border digital infrastructure; first EU guarantee loans for Albanian businesses; the EU and the USA reach agreement for mutual recognition of pharmaceuticals.

This week: €11 billion for projects addressing societal challenges, EU signs trade deal with Vietnam, have your say on the revision of the EU directive on machinery. 

This week: new funds for small and medium companies in Italy; microloans to small businesses in Romania; public consultation on future objectives for EU-funded research and innovation; join the European Commission Expert Group on Clusters.

This week: key findings on the innovation performance of the EU; public consultation on communication channels for EU tax information; EU funding for national apiculture programmes.