Huawei Commits to Greater Support for the Digitalization of European SMEs

Representatives from European Parliament, SME associations, and SMEs themselves joined experts from Huawei today for the second round of Huawei European Innovation Day 2020, held online in Germany. The focus of the event was European Mittelstand – the German word for small and medium-sized enterprises – and how to strengthen their innovation.

"SMEs are the backbone of the European economy," said David Li, President of Huawei West Europe, during his keynote speech. "They are central to the EU's industrial strategy. But there are still huge gaps between SMEs and large enterprises. Gaps in digital strategy, talent, technology, and capability. During the pandemic, the need to go digital has become even more pressing than ever. We want to use ICT to help European SMEs stay competitive. We want to help them go global."

Support from the broader Information and Communications Technology industry is key. In particular, experts discussed the need for a platform that brings SMEs together and enables them to share knowledge, experience, and provide mutual support.

Georgios Kyrtsos, Member of European Parliament and Board Member of SME Europe, a business association that represents the interests of small and medium-sized enterprises, shared his thoughts on challenges that SMEs face throughout their digitalization process:

"Digital and ecological transformation go hand in hand and will shape our economic future. Medium-sized companies are facing a major challenge. They must adapt to a new, highly competitive, globalized, and digitized environment. The digital economy and its major international players can provide the necessary technologies for the digital transformation."

Andreas Keck, the President of German Mittelstand e.V., an organization for connecting and empowering entrepreneurs, spoke about how innovation drives the growth of Mittelstand: "In my opinion, anyone who does not examine the many new options for digitization, at least for himself and his company, is acting negligently, probably even grossly negligent."

Dr. Paul Rübig, Honorary President of SME Europe shared his thoughts: "SMEs are the backbone of the European economic development. 50% of GDP, 2/3 of employees and 80% of Tax paid. They are strong buyers and consumers, as well as innovative players and suppliers in the global value chain."

"Germany's Industry 4.0 has begun to contribute to the digitalization of SMEs," Dr. Michael Opitz, Partner and Head of Arthur D. Little's TIME practice in Central Europe, shared his firm's research on digitalization in Germany. Germany will better utilize its digital manufacturing capabilities by establishing expertise