Danish Entrepreneurship Policy
High-Growth-Firms: Local Policies and Local Determinants
OECD workshop 28. marts 2012
Anders Hoffmann, Deputy Director General, Danish Business Authority
What are new entrepreneurs worth?
2011 Entrepreneurship Index
– Entrepreneurship conditions in Denmark

Systematic mapping and evaluation of entrepreneurship in
Denmark

Based on international data from the OECD countries

Identifies Denmark's strengths and weaknesses as an
entrepreneurial country
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Continuous updating of Danish framework conditions for
start-up and growth companies

Focus on specific areas of importance to the
entrepreneurial activity
International comparison of
entrepreneurial activity

Start-up rate

New employers

Growth Companies

Emerging growth companies
How to define a HGF start-up?
Start-up rate – 2011
Regional start-up rates
New enterprises – OECD countries
High-growth start-ups and job creation - Regionally
Insufficient growth of Denmark’s enterprises
Denmark’s framework conditions
National ranking
The public arena for business support
The Danish public business support
INFRASTRUCTURE
Provide a integrated business support system to assist Enterprises to start and grow
91 local business support centres
Private service
providers
5 regional business development centres
Company or entrepreneur
Advanced Technology Group
Innovation
incubators
9 specialized
technology institutes
Early Stage
finance
Vækstfonden
The Trade Council
National venture
capital
60 export councils and 3 innovation centres
Vaeksthusene : 5 Regional Business Development Centres
A short cut to:
• Network
• Knowledge
• Growth
Project promoter
superstructure
E.g. on projects tendered by the region
E.g. on national initiatives such as ‘Early Warning’
A key piece of business support infrastructure
- Meeting place
- Initiatives to influence culture and new services
- Partnerships
Business counselling
base
-Impartial and free mapping (potential/challenges).
-Referral to private service providers and
public schemes.
The Vaeksthus
challenge start-ups
and businesses and
help them identify
their options and
realise their growth
potential.
Tools and systems

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Common website: www.startvaekst.dk
A customer relationship management (CRM) system
User evaluation system
StartUpWheel
Other web based tools
 www.vækstguiden.dk: a complete guide of public
schemes for enterprises + call centre
 www.rådgiverbørsen.dk: private service providers
meet clients, tenders meet bids
StartupWheel®
360° Perspective
on Startup and
Growth
Job creation
Customers of Regional Business Development Centres
compared to non-customers
Business
Centre of
Job creation
2010-2011
(percent)
Job creation
2010-2011
(percent)
Growth
(Percentage)
Greater Copenhagen
6,84
2,19
4,56
Central Denmark
5,76
1,38
4,38
Northern Denmark
0,71
1,63
-0,92
Zealand
5,45
0,51
4,94
South Denmark
4,22
1,04
3,18
Total
4,53
1,22
3,31
CULTURE
Several initatives aiming at enhancing the motivation for both starting and growing
Global Entrepreneurship
Week – Week 46
- Once per year - one week with
wide range of activities focusing on
entrepreneurship in the broad
sense.
-35 private and public partners
-In 2011 more than 260 events,
15.500 participants in DK… and
more than 10 million world wide
Educationsystem
Other
- Promoting rolemodels and great
cases, co-funding tv-programs,
events, conferences, networking
activities, organisations, etc..
The Foundation for Entrepreneurship
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From ABC to PhD: A national knowledge centre for
education and training in entrepreneurship at all levels
A private foundation with board members mainly from
the business sector
2010-2012: Government grant of DKK 24 million per
annum
Support educational institutions at every level to
improve their commitment to education and training in
entrepreneurship
125.000 pupils and students in academic year 2010/2011
participated in entrepreneurship training or events
2.628 teachers upgraded their skills in teaching
entrepreneurship
Financing forms
Danish projects funded by the Structural Funds
Driver of growth: Establishment and development of new enterprises
Total project budgets (million DKK and %)
Period: 1 January 2007 - 31 December 2011
million DKK
%
Sta rtup
273
27%
Sta rtup a nd growth
199
20%
Sta rtup, growth a nd s urvi va l
81
8%
Survi va l
21
2%
Growth
433
42%
13
1%
1.019
100%
Main Focus:
No ca tegory
Total
450 million DKK of the total budgets is financed by the Structural Funds