View this email in your browser (https://mailchi.mp/f00aaa5981b8/insme_newsletter_issue191_2020-1287811?e=2d8...) ** ------------------------------------------------------------ ** Issue n. 191 ------------------------------------------------------------ News from INSME SME and Entrepreneurship in the perspective of OECD and INSME (http://www.insme.org/sme-and-entrepreneurship-in-the-perspective-of-oecd-and...) On 18 November, under the chairmanship of Martin Godel, Chair of the OECD Working Party on SME and Entrepreneurship (WPSMEE), OECD and INSME held an important webinar to celebrate the 20^th Anniversary of the OECD Bologna Charter on SMEs. INSME welcomes a new member on board: The Bulgarian Development Bank (http://www.insme.org/insme-welcomes-a-new-member-on-board-the-bulgarian-deve...) INSME is pleased to welcome a new member to enlarge the Network outreach: the Bulgarian Development Bank (BDB). DBD's mission is aimed at implementing the state policy in the Bulgarian economy with the main focus on supporting small and medium-sized enterprises. INSME explores the access to finance for Moroccan start-ups during the third “THE NEXT SOCIETY Policy Lab” (http://www.insme.org/insme-explores-the-access-to-finance-for-moroccan-start...) The 3^rd Policy Lab, held on 25^th November, was a unique occasion to explore the Innov Invest Fund implemented by the Central Guarantee Fund (CCG) to overcome the difficulties related to SME’s financial needs. Updates and contributions from INSME Members European Entrepreneurs CEA-PME Executive Board meets the European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis (http://www.insme.org/european-entrepreneurs-cea-pme-executive-board-meets-wi...) The Executive Board of European Entrepreneurs CEA–PME met Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis. The meeting was an occasion to point out the needs of SMEs in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Qatar Development Bank’s “multi-faced” strategy in favour of SMEs (http://www.insme.org/qatar-development-banks-multi-faced-strategy-in-favour-...) The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted the world economy, and it has redefined CEOs' leadership around the world in order to manage a remarkable level of uncertainty. Abdulaziz Al Khalifa, interviewed by KPMG, unveiled the strategy adopted by his organisation. Boosting women entrepreneurship in South Africa: the SheTradesZA platform (http://www.insme.org/boosting-women-entrepreneurship-in-south-africa-the-she...) The ITC SheTrades, together with the Small Enterprise Development Agency – SEDA and the Republic of South Africa’s Department for Small Business Development (DSBD), have developed the SheTradesZA Hub to enhance women economic empowerment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbOsHeuAhWE WIPO Third Conversation on Intellectual Property and Artificial Intelligence (http://www.insme.org/wipo-third-conversation-on-intellectual-property-and-ar...) The Third session of the WIPO Conversation on IP and Artificial Intelligence (AI) was held with the participation of stakeholders coming from more than 130 countries. Calls and opportunities Strategic Alliances for the uptake of advanced technologies by SMEs – A call to foster the use of new technologies by the European SMEs The European Commission launched a 5 million call for proposals to maximise SMEs use of technologies. In a post-Covid-19 environment, in order to contribute to the EU’s recovery package final goal, a strategic alliance between tech-savvy SMEs and traditional SMEs is necessary to enhance the spread of advanced technologies and to boost economic recovery and competitiveness. The EC aims at developing two different pilot projects to promote alliances within industrial cluster organisations, SME collaboration and technology adoption. Proposals should contribute: * to arouse the collaboration between EU businesses in order to increase industrial competences and resilience; * to enhance the use of advance technologies to expand the market potential; * to exploit the collaboration between the cluster organisations and their technology centres; * to develop collaboration among different clusters from the same industrial ecosystem. The deadline for this call is the 2^nd of February 2021. More information is available here (https://www.clustercollaboration.eu/open-calls/strategic-alliances-uptake-ad...) . Co-financing of public procurement of innovation consortia – Increasing the access of European SMEs to the public procurement of innovation (PPI) market The EC call for proposals to improve SMEs' access to the Union Market in the Public Procurement Innovation's area aims to compensate the absence of demand in the demand-supply chain of SMEs for innovative products or services, by letting the public sector use its purchasing power to act as an early adopter. In order to be eligible, a proposal must be submitted by a consortium composed of at least two public buyers from two different eligible countries. The evaluation process foresees two stages. The first deadline is 19^th January 2021. Discover more at this page (https://ec.europa.eu/easme/en/section/cosme/cos-ppi-2020-2-04-co-financing-p...) . ============================================================ Contents of the month ** The European Commission presents its 2021 work programme (http://www.insme.org/the-european-commission-presents-its-2021-work-programm...) The European Commission has adopted its 2021 work programme with an emphasis on new legislative initiatives to be undertaken during the upcoming year. Although the 2020 work programme has been only partially followed and achieved, the crisis also presented opportunities to be exploited in the innovation and technology sectors. ** (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWT4DSotxV8&t=124s) ** The International Monetary Fund publishes the last Word Economic Outlook (http://www.insme.org/the-international-monetary-fund-publishes-the-last-word...) In its annual report, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) experts illustrate the World Economic Outlook in the light of the Covid-19 pandemic. 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. Upcoming events 1 December 2020, Online event Center for Data Innovation - ** European AI Policy Conference (https://www.aipolicyconference.org/) 1 – 3 December 2020, Online event IASP - ** 37th World Conference on Science Parks and Areas of Innovation (https://www.iasp.ws/activities/events/events-overview---old/37th-iasp-world-...) 15 December 2020, Online event EURADA - ** AGORADA+: Challenges and opportunities in post-Covid financing (https://site.evenium.net/agorada-2020/registration) 22 -25 February 2021, Online Event European Commission - ** EU Industry Week 2021 (https://europa.eu/newsroom/events/eu-industry-week-2021_en) Upcoming webinars and workshops 1, 10, 22 December 2020 GenerationS and Sequence Ventures - ** #GENSTechTalks (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/genstechtalks-russian-tech-landscape-tickets-12...) 2 December 2020 SME Finance Forum - ** Credit Analytics: Innovations in Evaluating SME Credit Risk (https://www.smefinanceforum.org/post/open-webinar-credit-analytics-innovatio...) 3 December 2020 European Commission's Joint Research Centre and RSA Europe - ** SMARTER 2020 Conference Webinar Series: Connecting grand societal challenges with local goals in place-based innovation policy (https://ec.europa.eu/jrc/en/event/webinar/2020-smarter-conference) 3 December 2020 UNCTAD - ** Training session on innovation and entrepreneurship (https://unctad.org/meeting/training-session-innovation-and-entrepreneurship) 3 - 4 December 2020 WIPO -** Mediation and Arbitration Workshop (https://www.wipo.int/amc/en/events/workshops/2020/arbmedus/index.html) ** 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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