Early Warning Europe
About this good practice
The overall objective of Early Warning Europe is to promote entrepreneurship and growth of SMEs across Europe. A key element is to create strong framework conditions for entrepreneurs and businesses across sectors that can help them face key challenges, including managing a crisis, dealing with bankruptcy and getting a second chance.
The Early Warning Europe network is providing advice and support to companies in distress. Such interventions can help prevent bankruptcies and their negative consequences such as job losses, increased economic risk for suppliers in the company value chain, and a potential economic, social and personal deroute for the company owners and their families.
An early intervention will increase the likelihood of a turnaround of the company resulting in a stable economic situation for the company and even sustainable growth. Moreover, if a company in distress is closed down at an early stage of the crisis, the intervention can help avoid an unsurmountable debt for the company owner thus giving him or her the chance to start a new venture (2nd Chance).
Resources needed
Initially Early Warning Europe was co-funded by the COSME Program of the European Union in 2016 - 2019. Nowadays, the project sustainability is supported by its members by the annual membership fee.
Evidence of success
Nowadays, Early Warning Europe Network counts with more than 30 members across Europe and beyond. Furthermore, the European Commission awarded the project ResC-EWE, created by some of the members of the Early Warning Network, with the first award in Business Promotion, in 2023, in the “Investing Entrepreneurial Skills” category. The ResC-EWE project purpose is to create a scheme to help companies with difficulties to avoid their closure, what is called "early warning".
Potential for learning or transfer
Each Early Warning Europe member is now working adapting the EWE methodology to its country needs. Some institutions are implementing the methodology through a mentor network, and other countries have adopted the early warning tools, adapting it to the local companies’ specification, to implement a service with experts in bankruptcy and seconds chances. EWE methodology can be adapted to each partner need to make sure that the tools and the service is adapted to the local SME needs.
This easy way to implement the methodology and exchange good practice makes a good potential for learning or transfer to new regions.