Inclusive Entrepreneurship: Europe’s Untapped Advantage—If We Choose to Act

Brussels, June 2025

How close are we in Europe to achieving equality in entrepreneurship? For those of us committed to building a more inclusive business landscape, we have a kind of “equality thermometer” a comprehensive data report that shows where we stand, what progress we’ve made, and the challenges that still lie ahead: the OECD’s publication of 27 Inclusive Entrepreneurship Country Assessment Notes, which provides a comprehensive analysis of how national ecosystems support under-represented entrepreneurs, such as women, youth, seniors, migrants, the unemployed, and people with disabilities, by evaluating policy frameworks, delivery mechanisms, and the effectiveness of tailored support measures across the EU.

As the Inclusive Entrepreneurship Alliance, we commend this body of work. But we must go further. These reports must not sit on shelves. They must serve as a launchpad for transformation because inclusive entrepreneurship is not a peripheral issue. It is Europe’s untapped advantage.

A Mirror and a Map: What the OECD Reports Reveal

The OECD’s findings confirm what many in our Alliance already experience across Europe: pockets of excellence exist, but the overall policy landscape is fragmented, underfunded, and too often blind to the real-world barriers faced by underrepresented entrepreneurs.

  • France offers regional support for women, yet lacks comprehensive migrant entrepreneurship strategies.
  • Germany has strong frameworks for migrant entrepreneurs, but lags in youth entrepreneurship programming.
  • Ireland excels in mentoring migrant founders, yet lacks rural youth engagement.
  • Croatia, Cyprus, and Romania, among others, show vibrant grassroots energy but suffer from weak strategic coordination and scalability.

Only a handful of countries have developed robust monitoring and evaluation systems to track progress in inclusive entrepreneurship.

The result? A Europe where entrepreneurial potential is unequally distributed not for lack of talent, but for lack of policy coherence, access to finance, tailored support, and strategic vision.

Source: OECD

Inclusive Entrepreneurship Is the Glue That Binds Europe’s Goals

The reports arrive at a pivotal time. Europe is rethinking its competitiveness, cohesion, and innovation model. And inclusive entrepreneurship is central to this shift. The findings of the OECD complement and reinforce key European strategic priorities:

The Draghi Report on European Competitiveness urges the full mobilisation of Europe’s human capital. Inclusive entrepreneurship does exactly that, bringing women, migrants, and marginalised groups into Europe’s innovation economy.

The Letta Report on the Future of the Single Market calls for inclusive growth and social cohesion. A diverse entrepreneurial ecosystem is not just desirable, it is essential for economic resilience and democratic renewal.

The Union of Skills Communication (COM/2025/90) puts lifelong learning and entrepreneurial skills at the centre of just transitions. But without targeted support, many aspiring entrepreneurs are left behind.

In other words: inclusive entrepreneurship is no longer optional. It is strategic.

Our Message to Europe’s Leaders: Implementation Is Everything

From the European Commission to the European Parliament, from national ministries to local authorities and enterprise agencies we ask you to make these OECD assessments actionable:

  • Develop National Strategies for Inclusive Entrepreneurship
  • Every Member State must articulate a national vision for inclusive entrepreneurship, grounded in data, inclusive of civil society and businesses, and aligned with EU funding instruments (AMIF, ESF+, ERDF).
  • Fund Inclusive Ecosystems
  • Scale promising local practices across Europe. Use EU cohesion and recovery funds to co-finance inclusive incubators, entrepreneurship networks, and training programmes—particularly in underserved regions and for underrepresented groups.
  • Make Monitoring and Evaluation Mandatory

We cannot improve what we do not measure. The Alliance calls for a European-wide Scorecard to track Member State progress on inclusive entrepreneurship benchmarks, based on the OECD’s diagnostic framework.

Europe is in a race not just for technology and innovation, but for cohesion, inclusion, and legitimacy. Inclusive entrepreneurship is the lever that ties them all together. The OECD reports are clear: we have the tools, the knowledge, and the data.
All that remains is the political will to act.

More inclusive entrepreneurial Europe is not only possible—it is essential. Let’s make inclusive entrepreneurship Europe’s next competitive advantage.

Source: OECD

Source: OECD