• Euro is home to more than 500 million customers
• It is the largest trading block in the world
• Single market which allows the free movement of goods in the any country of EU
• The graying population forms the large part of EU populace. This gives rise to the opportunities in age-related demands such as health care, financial services, tourism and leisure and consumer products.
• With the squeeze on the global resources-land, water, energy and food; there is a tremendous stress on the use of clean technologies, wind turbines, carbon capture and storage, smart buildings and cities, carbon finance, agribusiness and water management technologies. This will also pave the way for technology transfer.
• European SMEs are technologically advanced which would allow Indian SMEs to incorporate their technology in their businesses and become globally competitive.
• A burgeoning group of middle-class consumers, rising income levels and increased access to credit are creating a critical mass of demand in the emerging consumer markets such as consumer electronics, automobiles, health care, insurance and banking which the Indian SMEs can definitely tap into.
• The high level of infrastructure growth with an excellent network of transport system has led to an excellent connectivity between various business cities of the region.
• Policy and framework of EU allow the businesses to grow and become competitive
• The basic condition for growth such as favorable tax and regulatory regime, low levels of bureaucracy, skilled staff to hire and access to finance are being suitably created to enable EU industry prosper. This will definitely work in favor of Indian SMEs looking to expand their operations to EU.
• Most of the EU businesses are ICT enabled which will in turn assist the Indian SMEs to harness the ICT potential and make themselves more competitive.
• EU industry is a key player in the global economy and very competitive in new green technologies. Europe’s core eco-industries have a turnover in excess of Euro 300 billion and have global market share of up to 50%. This would enable Indian SMEs to tap into green technologies, build their competitiveness and transfer the technologies back to India.

This clearly indicates the vast potential that EU has for the SMEs. Also the bilateral trade figures between India and EU indicate the vast potential that Indian SMEs can tap in the EU market. The support provided by EU government for fostering SMEs has been tremendous and will help Indian SMEs to capitalize on their competitive advantage and become globally competitive.