These are the five European countries you should start a business in

Starting a small or medium sized company in Europe doesn’t have to be as daunting as most people think. Although some countries across the continent can have stricter regulations that can be difficult for non-EU citizens, others are very open and welcoming of both domestic and foreign investors and business people.

Following COVID-19 and the impact of the energy crisis, Europe has been doing more to support and welcome SMEs. It currently has a number of financing and support schemes for small and medium enterprises such as the Single Market Programme, Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) and Horizon Europe. It also has a number of knowledge tools such as Your Europe Business Portal, Enterprise Europe Network and Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs.

According to Statista, in 2023, the European Union had about 24.4 million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), employing nearly 85 million people. These made up about 99.8% of all up and running businesses in the continent and were the backbone of smaller regions and towns.

How easy it is to conduct business in any country means taking a few key factors into consideration. The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index has classified these into 10 parameters. These include:

Although not every country may be the best at every category listed above, here are some of the easiest countries in Europe to start a business:

The Republic of Ireland is one of the most popular choices for starting a business in Europe, due to it being a high-income, very digitally developed economy. According to 1Office, smartphone usage has hit 90%, with household internet access also touching 92%, setting a good foundation for businesses with tech and digital products. With Enterprise Ireland investing in