<p>Deputy Head of Unit, SME Access to Finance, Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROW), European Commission <br />Astrid Bartels is the Deputy Head of Unit for the COSME financial instruments at the European Commission, in the Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs. Prior to joining the Commission in 2002, she worked for more than 10 years in the private sector where she was a consultant for Bain &amp; Company and also a corporate client relationship manager with Deutsche Bank. In the Commission she worked on the setting up of the European Chemicals Agency in Helsinki before moving into the area of SME policy, more specifically into the development of financial instruments for SMEs. She has strong competencies in business strategy, holds a Vordiplom in economics from the University of Hagen and obtained an MBA from the University of North Carolina, Kenan Flager Business School, USA.</p>