SME4SPACE Chairman, Hans Bracquené, presented at the EIB Space Finance Lab Workshop the preliminary results of the 2024 edition of the SME4SPACE study conducted together with KU Leuven on the economic importance and financial strength of SMEs in the European space industry.
Key features
- ~ 1700 SMEs analysed
- Data from 2015-2022
- Based in European Member States (EU&ESA) + Canada
- Figures 2022:
- ~ 4.2 billion euro as total turnover (67% of which space or space related)
- 33,653 employees full-time equivalent (77% of which space or space related)
- ~ 5.8 billion euro as total assets
In a nutshell
SMEs in the European space industry:
- play a significant role overall
- need a lot of investment
- are innovative
- offer a poor return
- pay their debts but are still not loved by banks
