The international event of bilateral meetings organized by the network was very successful Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas
With the great participation of Greek and foreign companies, the international event of bilateral business meetings was completed Mission for Growth 2014 organized in Athens on 11 March 2014, the Enterprise Europe Network - Hellas, the country's largest network for entrepreneurship and innovation. The National Documentation Center (ECB), co-ordinator of the Enterprise Europe Network - Hellas, had an active role in the event, helping to strengthen the participation of Greek businesses and research organizations in conducting international business and research collaborations.
The event Mission for Growth 2014 addressed small and medium-sized enterprises and research organizations active in sectors identified as critical to growth in Greece and interested in developing or expanding their activities in the European area. In particular, the event focused on the following areas: Agri-Food - Food Processing - Fish Farming, Biotechnology and Blue Biotechnology, Energy, Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), Tourism.
The participation of Greek and foreign companies in Mission for Growth 2014 exceeded all expectations, as 557 companies (375 Greek and 182 foreign companies from 31 countries) held 851 bilateral meetings in an attempt to establish commercial, technological or research collaborations. The participants had the opportunity to make contacts with potential partners from abroad and Greece, approach new customers/suppliers, identify innovative technologies and products, with the aim of exploiting them, and to create new research collaborations within the framework of the open calls of the European program Horizon 2020.
The "most popular" sectors were Food/Agriculture and Tourism, followed by Energy, Information and Communications Technology and Biotechnology. The countries most represented were: Portugal, Turkey, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany and Tunisia. The interest of the participants was undiminished, as the targeted and planned meetings, of short duration, lasted from early morning to late afternoon, in a packed room in a central Athens hotel.
Several co-operation agreements between Greek and foreign companies and research entities are expected to be finalized and signed in the next few years, as is evident from the very positive evaluation of the event by the participants.
It is worth noting that Greece is the only country that has organized this event for two consecutive years with such great response and success.
At the event Mission for Growth 2014 Costas Andropoulos (Head of Unit “SME Policy Development and Small Business Act”, General Directorate of Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission), Christos Kyriatzis (Acting Head of Unit “International Affairs and Missions for Growth”, General Directorate of Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission) and Zacharias Mavroukas (Director of the Directorate-General for Industrial Policy & Supervision of Bodies of the General Secretariat for Industry), who referred to the need to promote entrepreneurship and strengthen the extroversion of small and medium-sized enterprises and their national programs.
As Dr. Evi Sachini, Director of the National Documentation Center, points out in an interview with the Parliamentary Television Station, the purpose of the bilateral meetings was to find and strengthen research and business collaborations between the participants. It also emphasizes the mediating, advisory and supportive role of the Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas and the ESF, the network coordinator, in the creation and development of business partnerships.
In her interview, Dr. Ehis Sachinis stresses the importance of cooperation between the Greek research and business community and the need for extroversion. Finally, she expresses her optimism about the future of innovation and entrepreneurship in Greece, which, through European networks, can be strengthened.
In statements, many of the participating business representatives stressed the importance of such events as they serve the need of Greek small and medium-sized enterprises to cooperate with other companies in Greece as well as abroad. Also, members of the research and business community expressed their gratitude for the opportunity they were given to each other and to discuss prospects for cooperation in key areas for the Greek economy.
Note that the event Mission for Growth 2014 bilateral business meetings was part of the wider event "Mission for Growth - Reaching the Greek market and its players" (10-11 / 03/2014) which was organized by the Vice President of the European Commission Mr. Antonio Tajani, in collaboration with the Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Ms. Maria Damanaki and the Greek Ministry of Tourism, in the framework of the Greek Presidency of the EU. In this context, one day before, on March 10, the International Conference "Coastal and Maritime Tourism & Blue Growth Strategies" was organized ), under the auspices of the Greek Presidency of the Council of the European Union and the European Commission.
Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas at the service of Greek businesses
Enterprise Europe Network is the largest integrated business support network in the world. 2008 has started operating and now includes 600 local organizations in 54 countries in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Supports more than 2 million businesses per year in the areas of international trade, technology partnerships and access to finance.
In Greece, Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas (www.enterprise-hellas.gr) consists of industrial associations, research and technological institutions, chambers of commerce and industry and established bodies in the field of innovation and Small and Medium Enterprises. It provides services for international business cooperation, information on European policies, innovation and transport technology, strengthening the participation of small and medium enterprises in the European programs for Research and Technology. The coordinator of the Greek network is the National Documentation Center (EKT).
Addresses on Internet
Mission for Growth - Reaching the Greek market and its key players
http://www.b2match.eu/m4g-greece2014
Enterprise Europe Network-Hellas
http://www.enterprise-hellas.gr
Europe 2020 Strategy for Growth and Jobs – Coastal and Maritime Tourism and Blue Growth Strategies for the EU (Greece)
Tribute to the TV Station at the Business Event Mission for Growth 2014
(Interviews with E. Sachinis, K. Andropoulos and business representatives)
(by 106ο minute to 168ο minute, thin).
