View this email in your browser (https://mailchi.mp/869193360dae/the-march-issue-of-the-insme-newsletter-is-n...) ** ------------------------------------------------------------ ** March 2019, Issue n. 174 ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Updates on the life of the INSME Network ------------------------------------------------------------ 15th INSME Annual Meeting: check the latest news and register now! Registrations are now open for the 15th INSME Annual Meeting on “Fintech and Logistics: New Technologies and Markets for SMEs” taking place on the 6th and 7th of June in Naples – Italy. This year, the historical framework of Palazzo Piacentini, once the headquarter of one among the oldest banks in the world, Banco di Napoli, will host innovation experts coming from all over the world to discuss how the disruptive technologies brought by Fintech revolutionize the market and bring new opportunities for SMEs and entrepreneurs. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/15th-insme-annual-meeting-check-the-latest-news-and-reg...) Clusters and SMEs: a way to face globalization? Find it out with the April INSMEAcademy session! There is evidence to believe that SMEs working in a cluster environment innovate faster than other SMEs: as a matter of fact cluster organizations are pioneers in the field of digitalization for SMEs, providing them with the tools to compete in an open economy. Best practices of SMEs development through clusters will be presented during the next INSMEAcademy session taking place on the 17th of April at 1 p.m. CEST. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/webinars/) A new Innovation Best Practice from the INSME Network: the INTRASOFT International Internal Innovation Competition Fostering entrepreneurship inside a company is fundamental to create innovative related products and services. This was the foundation on which INTRASOFT International (https://www.intrasoft-intl.com/) (holding INSME Vice Presidency) designed and implemented the Internal Innovation Competition with the aim to establish a contest to exploit the creativity potential inside the organization. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/a-new-innovation-best-practice-from-the-insme-network-t...) INSME Secretary General at the 55th session of the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship On the 10th and 11th of April, INSME Secretary General Giovanni Zazzerini will attend the 55th session of the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship in Paris. The Working Party will be an occasion to present the outcomes of diverse researches and studies the OECD is carrying out in the field of financing, SMEs and entrepreneurship, enabling SMEs to benefit from digitalization and productivity indicators. The Working Party is also an opportunity to get updated and discuss key recent policy initiatives in member and non-member countries. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/insme-secretary-general-at-the-55th-session-of-the-oecd...) INSME signed the European – African SME Alliance in Brussels INSME participated on the 20th and 21st of March to the 1st EU-African SME Summit organized by European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME (http://www.cea-pme.com/) (the European Confederation of the Associations of Small and Medium Enterprises) in Brussels at the European Committee of the Regions. During the conference, a Memorandum of Understanding on the establishment of a European-African SME Alliance among 156 European and African SMEs Associations, including INSME, has been signed to agree upon a mutual cooperation with a view to supporting sustainable economic development to benefit entrepreneurship in Africa and Europe. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/insme-signed-the-european-african-sme-alliance-in-bruss...) A new Strategic Member on board: INSME is pleased to welcome Der Mittelstand. BVMW and European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME INSME is very pleased to welcome a new strategic member BVMW the Mittelstand and the European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME, two prominent organizations working under the same umbrella. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/a-new-strategic-member-on-board-insme-is-pleased-to-wel...) ** News and contributions from the INSME Members ------------------------------------------------------------ ICSB Top 10 MSME Trends for 2019 MSMEs are the backbone of economies globally, for their contribution to innovation as well as for the impact they have on societies by being the number one job creators. Despite that they have to face a myriad of challenges in an ever-changing marketplace. The International Council for Small Business (https://icsb.org/) (INSME Member from the US) identified top 10 trends for SMEs for 2019. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/icsb-top-10-msme-trends-for-2019/) European Investment Fund and Fraunhofer join forces to establish joint technology transfer fund in Germany The European Investment Fund – EIF (https://www.eif.org/) (INSME Member) and the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft are launching a EUR 60 million Fraunhofer Tech Transfer Fund to commercialize the intellectual property generated at the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft from its 72 thematic Fraunhofer Institutes across Germany. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/european-investment-fund-and-fraunhofer-join-forces-to-...) INSME Vice President Di Anselmo’s video interview on Social Economy for the ReConfirm initiative Last February INSME Vice President Andrea Di Anselmo (Vice-President & Founding Member at META Group, Italy) was in Pamplona and released a video interview on Social Economy on the occasion of a stakeholders’ meeting for the ReConfirm (The Regional Co-operation Networks for Industrial Modernisation) initiative, a new service of DG Grow and the European Commission to assist European regions and industrial stakeholders in implementing their action plan under the Smart Specialisation Platform for Industrial Modernisation. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/insme-vice-president-di-anselmos-video-interview-on-soc...) ** INSME's Picks in the News ------------------------------------------------------------ Kauffman’s new indicators of entrepreneurship The Kauffman Foundation has recently introduced the new Indicators of Entrepreneurship which offer in-depth measures, reports and interactive data on entrepreneurship across the United States. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/kauffmans-new-indicators-of-entrepreneurship/) European Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence Last December the European Commission submitted a Coordinated Plan on Artificial Intelligence to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of Regions together with a Coordinated Plan on the Development and Use of Artificial Intelligence made in Europe – 2018 prepared by Member States, Norway, Switzerland and the Commission. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/european-coordinated-plan-on-artificial-intelligence/) ** Tenders & Calls ------------------------------------------------------------ The REGIOSTARS Award for the most innovative regional projects Since 2008 the European Commission recognizes EU-funded projects which demonstrate excellence and new approaches in regional development through the REGIOSTARS Award. This year the RegioStars award focuses on five main categories considered to be crucial for the future of the EU regional policy: promoting digital transformation; connecting the green, blue and grey; combatting inequalities and poverty; building climate-resilient cities; modernizing health services. Projects will be assessed by a jury of academics who will nominate the winners. In addition the public will also designate the most successful projects through an online consultation. Eligible projects have been co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund, the Cohesion Fund, the European Social Fund, or under Interreg IPA-CBC or Interreg ENI-CBC programmes after the 1st of January 2007. Winners will receive the REGIOSTARS awards during the Award Ceremony taking place in Brussels in October 2019 and the Commission will invite them to present their project during a dedicated press event. The application process will be open until the 9th of May. Continue reading... (https://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/regio-stars-awards/) Orange Social Venture Prize for the best innovative and socially responsible business projects in Africa and Middle East The Orange Social Venture Prize is a contest rewarding the best innovative and socially responsible business projects in Africa and Middle East. In particular projects have to be focused on the launch of new products or services which meet the triple objective of participation in societal development, the development of an innovative offering and the integration of digital technologies in the entrepreneurial dynamic. Each country will designate three winners who will automatically compete for the international Grand Prix. The Grand Prix winners will receive a cash prize (respectively EUR 25,000, 15,000 and 10,000 to the first, second and third contestant) and will be provided with customized digital mentoring and advices. Registrations to the contest will close on the 30th of May. Continue reading... (https://entrepreneurclub.orange.com/en/social-venture-prize-2019.html) INNOWWIDE: call for applications for viability assessment projects in international markets The INNOWWIDE project consortium has just launched the first call for applications for viability assessment projects in international markets addressing for-profit innovative SMEs from any sector and based in an EU Member State or in an Horizon 2020 associated country. The INNOWWIDE pilot call aims at bringing innovative European SMEs to the forefront of international markets by creating the conditions to increase the uptake of European innovative solutions in markets outside of Europe. The call will support Viability Assessment Projects (VAPs) that must involve combinations of the following activities: co-creation and technology uptake facilitation (innovation and technology transfer services); market prospection including market research, compliance verification, business prospection trips, specific promotional technical material preparation. The budget available for this call is EUR 3 Million and each approved VAP will receive a fixed grant amount of EUR 60,000, representing a maximum of 70% of total eligible project costs, which should be a minimum of EUR 86,000. The deadline to apply is the 31st of May 2019. Continue reading... (https://innowwide.eu/) ** Publications ------------------------------------------------------------ Fintech: Latin America 2018 - Growth and Consolidation The Inter-American Development Bank (https://www.iadb.org/en) https://www.iadb.org/enin collaboration with Finnovista (https://www.finnovista.com/?lang=en) has recently published the second edition of “Fintech: Innovations You May Not Know Were from Latin America and the Caribbean”, a report that measures the evolution of the Fintech sector in the LAC region. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/fintech-latin-america-2018-growth-and-consolidation/) 101 Ideas on the future of Research and Innovation in Europe By taking inspiration from President Juncker’s wish to have a wide and open debate on the Future of Europe (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/future-europe_en) , the RISE (Research Innovation and Science Experts) and the ERIS (Expert Group on societal impact of research and innovation) spent one year across Europe for a series of meetings to stimulate the discussion and collect different perspectives on the future of research and innovation policy across the continent. This ‘Tour d’Europe’ resulted in the publication of the book “101 Ideas in the future of Research and Innovation in Europe” which includes a full array of thoughts and ideas, reflecting national perspectives and individual histories of research and innovation in each country. Continue reading... (http://www.insme.org/101-ideas-on-the-future-of-research-and-innovation-in-e...) ** Highlighted events ------------------------------------------------------------ 2019 EBAN Annual Congress 3 – 4 of June | Helsinki, Finland The European Business Angels Network – EBAN (http://www.eban.org/) (INSME Member) is now organizing its 20th Annual Congress with the collaboration of the Finnish Business Angels Network. On the 3rd and 4th of June business angels, venture capitalists, corporates, policy makers will gather in Helsinki, Finland for a 2-day conference focused on matchmaking between investors. In addition to the conference, the programme also envisages workshops on trend topics such as smart cities, cybersecurity, blockchain, women investor networks and women entrepreneurship as well as meeting with investors to explore and access new opportunities. Continue reading... (http://www.ebanhelsinki2019.com/) (http://www.ebanhelsinki2019.com/) XXX ISPIM Innovation Conference “Celebrating Innovation: 500 Years Since da Vinci” 16 - 19 of June | Florence, Italy Researchers, managers, executives and consultants interested in innovation management are invited to the XXX (https://www.ispim-innovation.com/) ISPIM (https://www.ispim-innovation.com/) Innovation Conference (https://www.ispim-innovation.com/) taking place from the 16th to the 19th of June in Florence, Italy. Under the topic “Celebrating Innovation – 500 years Since da Vinci” the Conference will be a unique occasion to share innovation insights with peers from all over the world during more than 25 workshops and to explore the local innovation scene though a series of visits in the Florence area. A special rate discounted by 20% has been reserved to INSME Members. Please contact secretariat@insme.org to discover how to take benefit from it. Continue reading... (https://www.ispim-innovation-conference.com/) ** Future International meetings, workshops, seminars selected by INSME ------------------------------------------------------------ April ------------------------------------------------------------ OECD Conference on SMEs and the Urban Fabric (http://www.oecd.org/cfe/smes-cities-trento-conference.htm) to understand what economic policies, business regulation, land use and urban planning can help leverage the benefits that SMEs and entrepreneurs can provide to create liveable places. Organized by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities 15 – 16 of April | Trento, Italy BioInItaly Investment Forum (https://assobiotec.federchimica.it/en/activity/bioinitaly-investment-forum) - the key investment forum for biotechnology and life sciences innovation in Italy. Organized by Assobiotec - the Italian Association for Biotechnology Development 16 – 17 April | Milan, Italy May ------------------------------------------------------------ The European IP commercialisation training roadshow – (https://www.iprhelpdesk.eu/training/IPforBusiness_Roadshow) focusing on a case study that will provide the knowledge of how developing the right IP approaches and applying sound IP management can boost a business. Organised by the European Patent Academy and the European IP Helpdesk. 7 of May | Bucharest, Romania EUREKA Global Innovation Summit (https://www.egis2019registration.org/) , the international meeting place for businesses and innovation agencies to share knowledge, network, collaborate and secure future business growth opportunities. Organised by EUREKA 14-16 of May |Manchester, UK ASTP-PROTON Annual Conference 2019 on “Creating Value from Knowledge” (https://www.astp-proton.eu/) Organised by ASTP-PROTON in association with Knowledge Transfer Ireland – KTI 21-23 of May | Dublin, Ireland June ------------------------------------------------------------ 15th INSME Annual Meeting on “Fintech & Logistics: New Technologies and Markets for SMEs” (http://www.insme.org/annual-meeting-2019/) Organised by INSME in collaboration with SRM – the Economic Research Centre related to Intesa Sanpaolo Group (INSME Sustaining Member) & the Authority of the Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port System 6 - 7 of June | Naples, Italy The European Association of Guarantee Institutions - AECM Annual Event on “New Technologies” (https://aecm.eu/aecm-annual-event-antwerp-2019/#agenda-) Organized by AECM 12 – 15 of June | Antwerp, Belgium EU-funded mission in the ICT sector (https://www.eu-gateway.eu/business-missions/missions-calendar/information-co...) https://www.ispim-innovation-conference.com/– An opportunity for selected companies to explore the Singaporean and Thai markets and extend their businesses with the support of the EU Organised by EU Gateway | Business Avenues 17 - 22 of June | Singapore & Bangkok, Thailand Torino FashionMatch (https://torino-fashionmatch-2019.b2match.io/) – the brokerage event providing participants with international contacts from all over the world and facilitating the creation of business agreements in the fashion industry Organized by Unioncamere Piemonte (INSME Member) in collaboration with the Enterprise Europe Network 29 of June - 1 of July | Turin, Italy September ------------------------------------------------------------ The XVII International Triple Helix Conference (https://triple-helix.co.za/) Organized by The Triple Helix Association 9 - 11 of September | Cape Town, South Africa NETVAL Summer Conference "Creating value from research" (https://www.netvalsc2019.it/) Organized by NETVAL 16 - 19 of September | Rome, Italy 36th IASP World Conference on Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (https://www.iasp.ws/activities/events/events-overview---old/36th-iasp-world-...) The 4th Industrial Revolution: areas of innovation and science parks as key boosters for a successful transition Organized by the International Association of Science Parks and Areas of Innovation - IASP 24 - 27 of September | Nantes, France October ------------------------------------------------------------ Global SME Finance Forum 2019: The Convergence of the Real and Financial Sectors in SME (http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?f=001xVWbcTKCuTlEM149cYhQ_Og9ng-02xywdpl0NKjZ5D7slQPeKgXUPLBpJU7AP60WNQiJtrFNND3TPBrRx1tVj8gR_CMXV4lxC6HSUiXx8XuAk_CwgLGYq3uu_3X0U_5nU5s_n6bLBMZCVKw6loH0D-QZI9AYmoKkOICrIBvvy9ZWmVi09rZcRTOs5_4bX_FU&c=h9ex4mHUR8CqYQkc4kEB7pTjpQKsQV3BO_Fauz9uhRLGbzGvE8kUfA==&ch=hsYCbkwHGhODhwxDnZN-hUZ2dSqMxnCz1QoXQL55SCjcZIGaLEDl0w==) Organized by the SME Finance Forum 7 – 9 of October | The Netherlands ============================================================ ** (https://www.facebook.com/INSME-The-International-Network-for-Small-and-Mediu...) ** (https://twitter.com/INSME_) ** (https://www.linkedin.com/authwall?trk=gf&trkInfo=AQGWXMu6CIhUZAAAAWnKJLhwr3ifeaO-IEJq7UF7xSReXOJ9VoX0Dits4fjwf9dBz1-KigYncZyu5YjShoW08lNUdzKuKFqD6UUq2b3LTzFQKGeNAcqGPG-CxpyeZRX2lBaOCK0=&originalReferer=http://www.insme.org/&sessionRedirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.linkedin.com%2Fcompany%2Finsme---the-international-network-for-small-and-medium-enterprises%3Ftrk%3Dbiz-companies-cym) ** (http://www.insme.org) Copyright © 2019 INSME - The International Network for SMEs, All rights reserved. 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