Issue n. 194
News from INSME
INSME is proud to present its new Research and Learning Forum: A unique SME related R&D capacity platform for Universities and Research Centres, gathering entrepreneurial institutions worldwide. The R&L Forum will contribute to the development of relevant and effective SMEs policies, the exchange of key findings, and the implementation of state-of-the-art methodologies.
Italian INSME members, together with representatives from other prominent organisations, discussed “How to save ‘good’ SMEs from the crisis?” in a discussion based on the report published by the Group of Thirty “Reviving and Restructuring the Corporate Sector Post-Covid”. Read more!
INSME is pleased to welcome a new member to enlarge the Network outreach: Enterprise Greece. The agency's mission is to promote and support Greece’s investment opportunities and to engage the global business community with high end export products—goods and services made in Greece. 

During the Next Society’s Annual Meeting, INSME presented to the audience its Policy Labs: dialogues to analyse best practices and present replicable regional policies which improve the innovation ecosystems. Read more!
INSME Secretary General Giovanni Zazzerini has been invited by H&D Partners to take part in the first online training course for managers of Innovation Support Organisations. Zazzerini offered a detailed analysis of the innovation process and a breakdown of the different types of networks and their characteristics.
Updates and contributions from INSME Members
The funds from the interest-free loan programme have supported 26,221 individuals and provided funding for more than 1,200 companies, accounting for nearly two-thirds of the total funding available.
The European Investment Fund (EIF) has launched a new  €500 million initiative across Greece, in a plan to improve access to finance and accelerate investment, to be managed by five leading local banks.
EU Project Spotlight
Under Horizon Europe a pivotal role on the road to the market has been dedicated to SMEs as innovation players so as to make research results used and to generate impact. The flagship programme for SMEs will be the EIC (European Innovation Council) Accelerator.
 
Contents of the month
A new Intellectual Property contribution Report has been issued in the early months of 2021 and results from a joint effort by the EPO and the EUIPO. Read more!

Enterprises of the least developed countriesare the “left behind” in the outbreak crises due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign aid and financial support could soon be cut due to national and global lockdowns coupled with the cutting aid budgets.
 
Digitalisation is one of the big trends of the last decades, and not all firms are adopting innovations at the same pace. The new report published by the OECD highlights the differences in the digitalization phase according to firm’s dimension, geographical area and industry. Read more!
Calls and opportunities 
PDMA’s Outstanding Corporate Innovator Awards call is now open!

The U.S. Product Development Management Association (PDMA) has now opened its 34th OCI Award, a premier honour for industry innovators.
Every year, winners are recognized globally and participants can benefit from evaluation, feedback, and consultation from the OCI Team, so that the innovation can reach the next level of maturity.
It is a global award, meaning that companies from all around the world are eligible.
You can nominate the Company you run or a Company you admire: the absolute must is that the Organisation has been able to create and capture long-term value through product or service innovation.
Qualification, award criteria, and selection process information is available here.
If you would like to deepen your knowledge on new product development best practices and on findings of PDMA’s research, you can find here an interesting article Mr. Hamsa Thota, INSME Board Member and President of Innovation Business Development INC, U.S.A. has shared on the INSMEblog.

Interested members can contact PDMA at this email address: pdma@pdma.org
The deadline to submit is March 8, 2021

Innovation Fund for Small Scale Projects

Open until 10 March 2021 at 17:00 CET, Brussels.
The first call will fund innovative clean energy and clean industry projects to contribute to the green recovery of Europe’s economy and maintain the momentum in its transition to climate neutrality. Key elements of the first call for proposals for small-scale projects:
 
Size: EUR 100 million + project development assistance (PDA)
Publication: 1 December 2020
Open to small-scale projects from all eligible sectors: energy-intensive industries, including CCUS, renewable energy, energy storage, substitute products and cross-cutting projects
Beneficiaries: single applicants (companies) or consortia
Form of support: grant, maximum size per project of up to 60% of the capital costs.
Capital costs: between EUR 2.5 and 7.5 million
Click here to know more.
 
EUIPO SME Fund:  50% off trademarks and designs, 75% off the cost of IP Scan in 2021 for SMEs, apply from March 1st to 31th
 
The Ideas Powered for Business SME fund offers financial support in the form of reimbursements for new trademark and design applications’ fees and for IP pre-diagnostic services (IP Scan), up to a maximum amount of EUR 1 500 per business. The second call is open from 1 to 31 March 2021. The scheme is run through the Ideas Powered for Business programme at the EUIPO and is part of the European Commission’s IP Action Plan. The requirements, timing, and other information relevant to the scheme can be consulted here.
 
The Next Society Soft landing service

Soft Landing is a customized service to boost MENA region start-ups supervised by The Next Society and their partner EBN.
The next society annual programme for entrepreneurs aims to support start-ups and favour their access into to the International and European market. This programme offers a wide spectrum of services. In a three-day full-immersion with European experts – incubators, accelerators, entrepreneurship centres – the participants will be able to gather expertise and knowledge on marketing strategies and investments as well as engage with potential partners.
The eligibility criteria comprehend being an innovative early-stage start-up with impact-driven solution established in one of the following countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia.
The deadline for this programme is 31 August 2021. Click here to know more, here for the registration page.
 
Applications open to join the Qatar Fintech Hub programs for start-ups

Qatar Fintech Hub (QFTH) is a global FinTech hub, created with the purpose to support FinTechs succeed in Qatar and globally. Qatar FinTech Hub is chaired by Qatar Development Bank under the aegis of Qatar Central Bank and supported by local and global financial institutions, technology partners and FinTech hubs. Accessing to the hub is possible also if you are not a Qatar-based organisation, the Hub can take an equity share from 1% to 10% and funds are up to $ 100K per founder. Discover more here.
Upcoming events
Given the current situation, events' dates may vary. We invite you to check the dedicated websites.

Upcoming events

4 March 2021 – Online Event
Forum Europe - 2nd Digital Services Act Conference

4 March 2021 – Online Event
Eurochambers - Women Eentrepreneurship and the Pandemic: Challanges and Solutions 1 Year On 
 
9 March 2021 – Online Event
WIPO - Why and How to use the new Lisbon System (Geneva Act) to Protect your GI abroad? 
 
11 March – Online Event
Centre for International Governance Innovation - 4th Annual IP Data & Research Conference 
 
12 March 2021 – Online Event
European Association of Research and Technology Organisations - EARTO Annual Conference 2021 

18 March 2021 – Online Event
ANIMA Webinar - Relocation of value chains: what opportunities for Mediterranean countries?

25 March 2021 – Online Event
EURADA - Brokerage Event for Innovation Agencies

21 April 2021 - Global Awareness Day
UN - World Creativity and Innovation Day

26th April - 5th May 2021 – Online Event
World Intellectual Property Forum - Intellectual Property 2021: New Risks, New Challenges & Emerging Solutions 
 
16-18 June 2021 – São Paulo, Brazil
Triple Helix - The XIX International Triple Helix Conference 2021
 
15-17 September, 2021 – Kazan, Republic of Tararstan, Russia
TCI Network - 24th TCI Global Conference
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