International forum on the key role of SMEs in the socio-economic development of the Mediterranean region

29 June 2018 | Press release

The Barcelona Euro-Med Forum, with participants from France, Tunisia, Belgium, Morocco, Lebanon, Spain and Egypt, will be held on July 4 and 5 at the Palau Macaya of Obra Social “la Caixa” in Barcelona.

Representatives of international organizations, public and private institutions, business associations and civil society networks, associations and foundations from seven countries will debate on July 4 and 5 in Barcelona on how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) deal common challenges today in the Mediterranean and on how they can boost job creation in the region.

The meeting will open on Wednesday, July 4, at 5:45 p.m., in a ceremony with the participation of Isidre Sala, General Director for Multilateral and European Affairs of the Government of Catalonia; Miguel García Herraiz, Undersecretary General of the Union for the Mediterranean; Jaloul Ayed, former Minister of Finance of Tunisia; Jaume Lanaspa, member of the Board of Trustees of the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation; Jean-Louis Guigou, President of IPEMED (France), and Senén Florensa, President of the Delegate Commission of the IEMed.

Specifically, the various sessions of the forum will analyze the current context of social entrepreneurship in the Mediterranean region, the capacity of existing infrastructures and legal frameworks to facilitate the emergence and development of businesses as well as access to financing, and cooperation between various international and economic actors on both shores of the Mediterranean to promote SMEs.

Among others, Mustapha Nabli, economist and former governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia; Khater Abi Habib, president of the Kalafat company for financial support to SMEs in Lebanon; Amr Taha, Executive Director of the Egypt Industrial Modernization Center; Mondher Khanfir, Consultant for Innovation and Business Development in Tunisia, and Christos Kyriatzis, Directorate General for the Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European Commission, will take part.

The Barcelona Euro-Med Forum is organized by the “la Caixa” Banking Foundation and the European Institute of the Mediterranean (IEMed) within the framework of the activities carried out by MedConfederation, an alliance of nine entities from Spain, France, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey , Tunisia and Belgium (foundations, banks, savings banks and think-tanks).

The MedConfederation was established in Barcelona in 2013 and since then it has promoted socio-economic cooperation in the Mediterranean through meetings such as the Barcelona Euromed Forum and projects that seek to encourage the mobility of young professionals in international companies, promote employment and social entrepreneurship, promote corporate social responsibility in the economic and business world, and create a network of business incubation centers that allows start-ups to develop.