Inclusive entrepreneurship policies aim to offer all people an equal opportunity to create a sustainable business, whatever their social group or background. This is an important requirement for achieving the goal of smart, sustainable and inclusive growth set out in the Europe 2020 strategy. It is also a means to respond to new economic challenges, to create jobs and to fight social and financial exclusion. Among the key targets of inclusive entrepreneurship policies and programmes are women, youth, seniors, the unemployed, immigrants and people with disabilities, who all continue to face challenges in the labour market and are under-represented or disadvantaged in entrepreneurship. The Missing Entrepreneurs series of publications of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the European Union discuss how public policies and programmes can support inclusive entrepreneurship. This includes refining regulatory and welfare institutions, facilitating access to finance, building entrepreneurship skills through training, coaching and mentoring, strengthening entrepreneurial culture and networks for target groups, and putting strategies and actions together for inclusive entrepreneurship in a co-ordinated and targeted way. Governments are increasingly recognising the challenge of inclusive entrepreneurship, but there is still much to do to spread good practice.

Inclusive entrepreneurship policies seek to ensure that all people have an opportunity to be successful as an entrepreneur. This includes policies and programmes that help people from groups that are under-represented and disadvantaged in the labour market (i.e. women, youth, seniors, the unemployed, immigrants and people with disabilities) in starting and growing businesses. The objective is to move more people into work via self-employment to allow people an opportunity to participate economically and socially, and to generate income for themselves. Policy makers should seek to support those with innovative ideas to increase their chances of survival and to minimise negative outcomes in the market such as displacement. However another important outcome is that people can acquire skills and experience by participating in entrepreneurship programmes and by starting businesses, increasing their employability.

This reader’s guide provides information and methodological notes on the data sources used in this book: 1) OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme, 2) Eurostat Labour Force Survey, 3) Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, 4) Eurostat Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, and 5) Eurofound European Working Conditions Survey.

This chapter describes the objectives of inclusive entrepreneurship policies and discusses their role in addressing social exclusion and stimulating economic growth. It also highlights recent trends in self-employment such as the growth of solo self-employment and the emergence of self-employment work in the digital economy. The chapter sets out the key policy issues that are examined in this report, including the quality of self-employment work and the potential for entrepreneurship policy to be used as a tool for addressing job loss due to major firm restructuring. Key findings and messages from the report are included.