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Constantine Karamanis, Chairman of EEN; Dr. Reingis Hauck, Leibniz University Hanover; Klaus Beetz, Business Director of EIT ICT Labs

Dr. Reingis Hauck, Klaus Beetz

On March 17, 2015 EIT ICT Labs and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) ICT Sector Group signed a Memorandum of Collaboration. Both organisations foster EU objectives, notably in the field of entrepreneurship, growth innovation, research and development and employment. In detail the agreement has the goal to establish a close cooperation between the Business Developers of EIT ICT Labs and the members of EEN. In this context the Business Developers can scout innovative SMEs and technologies as well as find the right partners to market these technologies by using the EEN contact network and the EIT ICT Labs partner network. With this agreement both organisations will ease the matchmaking between Small and Medium Enterprises and international business partners on a European level.

This collaboration creates a real win-win situation for both networks. The synergies that we generate for the benefit of all related SMEs and business partners will greatly support our goal of bringing European innovations to the market and enriching industries with new technologies”, explains Willem Jonker, CEO of EIT ICT Labs. 

Successful matchmakings have already been set up at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain and at CeBIT in Hanover, Germany. At the Future Match 2015 at CeBIT almost 100 meetings were organised, 11 startups from EIT ICT Labs are going to meet EEN contacts. 

Constantine Karamanis, Chairman of the EEN ICT Sector Group says: “The agreement will bring in more international business partners to our network, so we can successfully provide them with matchmaking services. In this way we will support them in accessing new markets, funding opportunities, finding international partners for collaboration and participation in EU funded projects.

Also the European Commission supports the collaboration between the two EU organisations. “Through this collaboration, European SMEs in the ICT sector will be better and more efficiently supported to reach their innovation and internationalisation potential”, states Peter Wragg, Head of the Unit SMEs and Entrepreneurship, Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs.

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