For the first time in France, the European Investment Bank (EIB) brought together small businesses and their financial partners on 24 September, from 14.00 to 18.00, to compare their impressions of the financial crisis one year on and to explain in practical terms their SME strategies.
Do SMEs and their bankers, the Government and the EIB view the crisis differently? How is the EIB helping SMEs to ride out the crisis? How is it financing SMEs' banks? What initiatives has the EIB adopted for SMEs?
Businessmen shared their experiences with Hervé Novelli, Secretary of State with responsibility for Trade, Craft Industries, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, Tourism, Services and Consumer Affairs, Pierre Lellouche, Secretary of State for European Affairs, and Jean-François Roubaud, Chairman of the General Confederation of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CGPME). This debate was hosted by the BFM Radio presenter Philippe Bloch.
