data

Most governments across the world run programmes that aim to provide microenterprises and SMEs with better opportunities to compete with big business. For the European Commission, for instance, SMEs are the ‘backbone’ of the European economy as they employ more than 100 million people.

Data has changed our lives in more than one way, from how we socialise online and run businesses to how we access public services and do science. It has been called the “raw material” of the digital age, fuelling creativity and innovation. And yet, its use has also raised challenges, including privacy, online polarisation, and digital inequality.