Meeting of Innovation and Development agencies from South-East Europe at aws

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The public development bank Austria Wirtschaftsservice (aws), leads the „SEE-IFA Network“, which aims at developing and introducing new instruments as well as at exporting know-how for development institutions.

aws is Lead Partner of the EU-co-financed „SEE-IFA Network“ project. Representatives from innovation and development agencies from ten countries met on Friday, 16th March 2012 for the final closing event at aws. The project was initiated in 2009 with a view of strengthening the innovative potential of SMEs and entrepreneurs in South-East Europe, this in particular via better access to finance and an improved service of the national development agencies.  New support instruments and the creation of additional institutions with innovation focus aim at eliminating remaining market gaps. Representatives from Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia (FYROM), Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Slovenia, Italy and Greece were associated in this project.

As an example, the initiative helped developing credit default guarantees to finance innovative investments and working capital loans in the Region Varazdin/Croatia, together with other regional development agencies, which supported the project assessment.

In the Serbian Republik Vojvodina, work is in progress to launch a „seed fund“ for innovative investments and start-ups with innovative focus. Alongside, an innovation platform was created to centralize the know-how for the assessment and support of innovation, that was scattered across the region beforehand. This platform was initiated, conceived and supported with the participation of all relevant public and private institutions of the region.

In Macedonia (FYROM), the project advanced the creation and portfolio of an institution that already had the support of the ADA, and which provides know-how for the promotion and assessment of innovation with concrete services for companies and public authorities and with courses and consultancy for SMEs and entrepreneurs.

A number of training measures were organized in the framework of the project to ensure sustainability of the achievements.

Link: http://www.awsg.at/Content.Node/pressetexte/66022.php