View this email in your browser (https://mailchi.mp/b4f29a351995/insme_newsletter_issue185_2020-1287256?e=2d8...) ** ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Issue n. 185 ------------------------------------------------------------ News from INSME Discover six innovation management pillars with the newly launched INSMEAcademy programme! (http://www.insme.org/?p=7770&preview=true) A new e-learning programme is about to be kicked off! The INSMEAcademy is glad to present a journey that will guide you through the “why, what and how of innovation management”. INSME Secretary attended the Digital (http://www.insme.org/?p=7774&preview=true) OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship (http://www.insme.org/?p=7774&preview=true) On the 3rd of April INSME Secretary General Giovanni Zazzerini attended the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship which was held digitally because of the Covid-19 emergency. Updates and contributions from INSME Members META Group participates to the development of the online platform Group BOSS (http://www.insme.org/?p=7777&preview=true) META Group (holding INSME vice presidency) contributes to the development of BOSS – Business Opportunity System, a platform to respond to the growing need for connections between education, research and business. CEA-PME is partner of a campaign to showcase innovative Digital Solutions to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis (http://www.insme.org/?p=7782&preview=true) The European Confederation of SMEs Associations (INSME Member) is among the organizations which support “Digital solution in times of Covid-19”, an initiative that helps companies to identify digital solutions to meet the crisis' challenges. The Asian Development Bank triples COVID-19 response package to $20 Billion (http://www.insme.org/?p=7786&preview=true) The Asian Development Bank (ADB, INSME Member) adopted a $ 20 billion package to respond to the Covid-19 emergency which, according to a recent ADB's assessment, will bring to a decline of regional growth from 5.2% to 2.2% in 2020. Calls and opportunities InvestHorizon looks for deep tech entrepreneurs to help them scale their business InvestHorizon Accelerator is a programme financed by the European Commission which offers free services in order to raise investments readiness in small and medium enterprises from EU, H2020 and EUREKA countries. Selected applicants will become part of the accelerator for a period of 4 to 6 months. Find out more at this page (https://investhorizon.eu/about) and apply by the 20th of May 2020. The Islamic Development Bank launches a Call for Innovation via Transform Fund 2020 The Islamic Development Bank (https://www.isdb.org/) (IsDB) has set a wide-ranging response in order to minimize the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 and provides its Members the tools to be more resilient and recover more quickly. In this regard, the Islamic Development Bank promotes the Transform Fund Call for Innovation 2020 to focus on supporting its Members on a long-term preparedness and response to the Covid-19. Proposals should align with the UN sustainable development goals of zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy and industry, innovation and infrastructure. The deadline for application is the 1st of June 2020. Find out more at this page (https://www.isdb-engage.org/en/challenge/call-for-innovation-via-transform-f...) . The EU-funded project DigiFed opens a call for applications DigiFed (https://digifed.org/) opened the first of three calls for European start-ups, SMEs or Mid-caps that are willing to develop their innovation pathway. DigiFed, in particular, offers grants up to € 55k (representing 70% of the project’s declared budget) as well as technical and business support and the opportunity to attend a boot camp to boost the adoption of advanced smart applications in Europe. Applicants invited to apply are innovators interested in using premium resources and competencies, with a promising idea and willing to access to a unique and innovative European ecosystem. The deadline to apply is the 9th June 2020. Discover more by visiting this page (https://digifed.org/explore/open-calls/) . EUREKA Public Authorities are launching a Call for innovative projects in the domain of Artificial Intelligence The Eureka Clusters (https://www.eurekanetwork.org/eureka-clusters) (CELTIC-NEXT, EURIPIDES²-PENTA, EUROGIA, and ITEA3) enhance industrial development for large companies, SMEs working with Research and Technology and Universities in order to create initiatives to boost innovative ecosystems and develop technologies. The Eureka Clusters, together with a number of Eureka Public Authorities, are launching a Call for innovative projects in the Artificial Intelligence domain perceiving the increasing importance of AI to improve the productivity and competitiveness of European industries. The available budget for this AI Call will be an over 40M€. The application process will close on the 15th of June 2020. Find out more at this page (https://eureka-clusters-ai.eu/submission-portal/) . The Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative: applications for the 2020 edition are now open The Jack Ma Foundation (https://www.jackmafoundation.org.cn/) has launched the second edition of its “Africa’s Business Heroes” (ABH) prize competition, organized by the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI), the flagship philanthropic initiative spearheaded by the Jack Ma Foundation to support African entrepreneurs. Applications are open to African entrepreneurs from all African countries regardless of business sector, age group and gender. The Africa’s Business Heroes (ABH) prize competition will provide a pool of US$1.5 million in grant money to ten finalists that will gain also access to the ANPI community of business leaders to benefit of the community’s expertise, best practice, training and resources. The deadline for application is the 9th of June 2020. More information is available at this page (https://africabusinessheroes.org/en/) . The European Commission launches ESCALAR, a new investment programme The European Commission (https://ec.europa.eu/info/index_en) together with the European Investment Fund (https://www.eif.org/) (INSME Member) has recently launched ESCALAR, which is part of the actions announced in the new SME strategy (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/fs_20_426) to improve access to finance for SMEs. ESCALAR is a new investment approach that will support venture capital and growth financing by providing up to €300 million aiming to increase the investment capacity of venture capital and private equity funds. Interested intermediaries are invited to apply for this first pilot phase by the 30th of June 2020. More information is available here (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_628) . ============================================================ Content of the month ** The Covid-19 crisis accentuates the need to bridge the digital divide (http://www.insme.org/?p=7789&preview=true) A new report from UNCTAD (INSME Member) analyzes how the Covid-19 affected our approach against digitalization and also highlights the need to bridge the digital divides between different areas of the world. Upcoming events Given the current situation, events' dates may be subject to changes therefore, in case of interest, we invite you to check the dedicated websites. 18 – 29 of May | Online Event ** Coimbra Sustainability Summit - Sustainable Growth at the Interception of Technology and Innovation Ecosystems (https://diatomic.eu/index.php/coimbra-sustainability-summit) 15 - 17 of June | Online Event ** 18th International Triple Helix Conference (https://events.tuni.fi/thc2020/) July 8 – 10 of July | Paris, France ** 2020 International Council for Small Business World Congress L’Exposition Universelle de l’Entrepreneurship (https://icsb2020.com/) 14 – 16 of October | Kazan, Russia ** TCI Network Global Conference "Partnership for Cluster development: Creating the future" (https://www.tci-network.org/events/kazan-to-host-the-23rd-tci-global-confere...) 28 – 29 of October | Brussels, Belgium ** European Angel Investment Summit (http://europeanangelsummit.com/) 3 - 4 of November | Brussels, Belgium ** EBN innovation Network Congress 2020 "Regional Ecosystems Shaping European Innovation" (http://www.ebncongress.eu/) ** Website (http://www.insme.org) ** Twitter (https://twitter.com/INSME_) ** Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/INSME-The-International-Network-for-Small-and-Mediu...) ** LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/insme---the-international-network-for-small...) 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