Entrepreneur

Check our criteria

PUM works with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as entities that support them. For both SMEs and business support organisations, it's important to ensure that you meet our criteria. Review further below in which countries and sectors we are active.

Criteria for SMEs

PUM works with small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to support the improvement of their organisation, productivity, profitability, job creation, and social and ecological impact. Cooperatives and health care organisations are assessed as SMEs. Our clients are true changemakers who play a leadership role and influence others on socially and environmentally conscious business practices.

Before applying for advice as an SME, it’s important to ensure that you meet our criteria:

Your SME must have been operational for at least two years.
Your SME should be more than 50 percent privately owned.
Your SME should employ between 10 and 250 full-time (more than 20 hours) employees.
Your SME’s total revenue in the year prior to collaborating with PUM should be more than EUR 10.000, and less than EUR 5 million.
The owner(s) of your SME should reside in the country of the SME’s registration and operations. Please note that the objective of PUM is to support local entrepreneurs.
If your SME is part of a franchise, the franchise should be registered in the same country as the SME.
If your SME is part of a holding, the total revenue of the holding should be less than 5 million euros, and be registered in the same country as the SME.
Your SME must be unable to find the required local expertise and/or unable to pay for it.
Your SME must cover accommodation and local transport for the PUM expert and expenses for a translator (from English to your language) if needed.
The owner of your SME must be fully committed to being involved throughout the entire collaboration with PUM.
Your SME must comply with the basic OECD guidelines. This means that your SME does not support child labour or forced labour, neither does it operate in any of the following sectors: weapons and ammunition; radioactive materials; gambling and casinos; pornography and prostitution; racist and anti-democratic media.
Your SME must share the requested data in the application form, in the evaluation form after project completion, and in the annual follow-up surveys until two years after project completion. Data privacy and security are ensured. (see: Privacy Statement – PUM)

Criteria for organisations supporting SMEs

PUM also cooperates with organisations that work for the benefit of SMEs, focusing on the improvement of their management and the support they provide to SMEs. These organisations can be ‘support’ organisations (educational institutes, incubators, business support organisations, etc.) or membership organisations, (employers‘ organisations, sector associations, etc.)

Before applying for advice as an organisation, it’s important to ensure that you meet our criteria:

Your organisation must have been operational for at least two years.
Your total annual budget should not exceed EUR 5 million.
The owner (s) or top manager(s) of your organisation should reside in the country of the organisation’s registration and operations. Please note that the objective of PUM is to support local SMEs and organisations.
Your organisation should employ between 10 and 250 full-time (more than 20 hours) employees.
Your organisation should be able to demonstrate how it supports SMEs or the private sector through your services.
Your organisation must be unable to find the required local expertise and/or unable to pay for it.
Your organisation must cover accommodation and local transport for the PUM expert and expenses for a translator (from English to your language) if needed.
The owner of your organisation must be fully committed to being involved throughout the entire collaboration with PUM.
Your organisation must comply with the basic OECD guidelines. This means that your company does not support child labour or forced labour, neither does it operate in any of the following sectors: Weapons and ammunition; Radioactive materials; Gambling and casinos; Pornography and prostitution; Racist and anti-democratic media.
Your organisation must share the requested data in the application form, in the evaluation form after project completion, and in the annual follow-up surveys until two years after project completion. Data privacy and security are ensured. (see: Privacy Statement – PUM).

Additional criteria

For Incubators:

Your incubator should have supported at least 5 start-ups in the last year.
Your incubator should have had a minimum annual budget of EUR 5000 in the year prior to collaborating with PUM.
Your incubator should be able to support a minimum of 10 SMEs per year.
Your incubator should have at least 3 staff members.

We operate in 22 sectors

Our 1,200 experts share practical advice across 22 areas of expertise. They have acquired their knowledge through extensive work experience and are professionals in their field. Many of our experts have owned or currently own companies in the sector in which they provide advice.

Discover the fields in which we are active

We are active in 30 countries across the globe

We establish collaborations in 30 countries worldwide and have representatives in each of them. PUM representatives play a crucial role in our organisation, using their valuable local network to identify potential clients and business ecosystems. They serve as the primary point of contact for clients and partners, liaising with the global PUM team.

Discover the countries in which we are active.

How it works in practice

Once your request for advice has been approved, the collaboration with PUM starts. Together we will define a Plan of Approach describing your request and how we will collaborate in further detail. How does it work from there?

Plan of Approach and agreement

We sign an agreement, which includes the Plan of Approach. Based on the Plan of Approach we find the most suitable expert for you.

Preparing for the project

Once you have agreed to the expert PUM has matched you with, you start the preparations for the project. The expert will contact you to collect more information and clearly define the project. The outcome will be described in a Work Plan.

Travel arrangements

In case of a project on location, PUM takes care of the expert’s travel expenses, including airplane tickets, insurance and visa costs. However, we request clients to cover accommodation, meals, interpreter fees (if needed), and local transportation.

Execution of the project

The expert will spend the first day(s) of the project getting to know your organisation, market, bottlenecks and dilemmas. Together, you will focus on addressing your initial question, but you may also explore further. You might identify opportunities to not only make your business more profitable but also more sustainable, cleaner, safer, and efficient. Furthermore, you will also explore possibilities beyond your business to create a lasting positive impact on your community.

The Client Report

At the end of the project, you will receive a report from the expert with advice and possible recommendations for implementation. The expert will be available for remote consultation and feedback.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Some data collected with the application form will be used as baseline data. You will receive an annual follow-up survey until two years after the project completion to monitor and evaluate changes against the baseline. The evaluation survey after the project completion will be used for learning and improvement.

Together we grow.