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Maximising your matchmaking experience at trade fairs around the world!

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Foreword What is Business Beyond Borders?

For a start, an estimated 90% of global growth will originate outside the EU in the coming years; and developing and emerging markets are expected to account for 60% of world GDP by 2030. Moreover, given increased market integration, SMEs can play an important role in global value chains. And international SMEs create more jobs and are more innovative than national SMEs.

That is why the Commission is committed to helping SMEs expand their business outside the EU and to helping them overcome the barriers to exporting. Business Beyond Borders, which was launched by DG Growth in early 2017, and is run by a consortium led by Eurochambres and supported by EMECA, UFI and LOWeurope, has been specifically designed to help European SMEs find new business partners in third markets and to promote clusters and networks for internationalisation.

Business Beyond Borders (BBB), as its name suggests, breaks down barriers by matching European SMEs and their clusters with potential partners from key target markets such as Australia, South Africa, Chile, India, Iran etc. Each BBB event takes place within a major global trade fair and every SME or cluster representative attending the event receives a bespoke package of support before, during and after the event.

Business Beyond Borders is already bearing fruit: in the form of new business and technology transfer deals; and in closer cooperation between the business and cluster communities in the EU and third countries. As I would urge every SME looking for new markets to sign up to this important initiative.

Arnaldo Abruzzini Chief Executive Office wEurochambres

Few small businesses in Europe export beyond the EU. If 29% of European SMEs trade with their EU partners, only 13% of them trade in third markets. And yet the potential benefits of internationalisation for SME growth and for Europe’s competitiveness are clear.

The Potential for SME Internationalisation. SMEs are the backbone of the EU industry. Currently, SMEs make up 99% of all businesses in the EU, and were responsible for 85% of new jobs in 2014-2015. Despite this, only 13% of EU SMEs have internationalised their businesses. Business Beyond Borders aims to help companies establish connections with their international counterparts.

How does Business Beyond Borders work?Business Beyond Borders supports companies through tailored, one-to-one matchmaking sessions at ten selected international trade fairs around the globe.

These meetings, which will be Business to Business (B2B), Cluster to Cluster (C2C) and Business to Cluster (B2C) focused, seek to connect companies and allow them to establish links with business partners around the world.

Before the fair events, SMEs and clusters will benefit from the selection of potential business partners following a business scan of the company’s readiness to go international, so that during the event they can optimise their meeting sessions.

Business Beyond Borders is a European Commission initiative which will help businesses, in particular small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and Clusters, to operate internationally with the ultimate goal of increasing economic growth within and outside Europe.

Managed by a consortium led by EUROCHAMBRES, this two-year project facilitates the internationalisation of EU SMEs and clusters through matchmaking sessions in trade fairs around the world.

Help European SMEs and Clusters

find business partners abroad

WHERE?

HOW?

EU Companies100

Non EU Companies

WHAT?

B2B / C2C / B2C one-to-one

matchmaking sessions

500+ meetings

per event

10 selected

international trade fairs

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Business Beyond Borders Timeline

GENERA Madrid, Spain Feb-Mar 2017

Energy and Environment

African Utility Week Cape Town, South Africa May 2017

Power & Water

HOST Milan, Italy

October 2017 Hospitality and Hotel Industry

TEXWORLD Paris, France

September 2017 Textiles and

Apparel

FIDAE Santiago, Chile

April 2018 Aerospace and

Defence

AMB Tehran, Iran April 2018

Metal-Cutting Technology

CEBIT Sydney, Australia

May 2018 Business

Technology Systems

VISION Stuttgart, Germany

November 2018 Machine Vision

Fensterbrau Frontale India New Delhi, India February 2018

Sustainable construction

TRUSTECH Cannes, France November 2017 ICT and Digital

Services

Please note that some of the trade fairs might be replaced. For the latest updates and information, please check the BBB website.

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Business Beyond Borders at GENERA

Keynote sessions highlights – Topics

Success Stories

Speakers

GENERA is an energy and environment international trade fair. Hosted yearly at Feria de Madrid, it is one of the main meeting and business points for renewable energy and energy efficiency in Spain. It annually confirms its leading position in the Spanish energy fair industry and as a reference in the international scene.

Main sectors covered are:Energy and environmental technologies, specifically biofuel, biomass and residual waste, coal, cogeneration, energy efficiency, geothermal energy, wind power, gas, hydraulic power, hydrogen and fuel cells, mobility, oil, energy services, photovoltaic solar energy, solar thermal energy, solar thermal electric energy and other energies.

Madrid (Spain)

GENERA

WHERE?

ABOUT

WHEN

2017 STATISTICS

28 February - 1 March

2017

Daniel Navia - Spanish Minister for Energy, Tourism and Digital Agenda

Business success stories of EU SMEs abroad

1

Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Protection

Funding programmes on Energy & Environment

Key requirements for the energy of the future

B2B / C2C / B2Cmatchmaking

meetings booked

1,012

302participantsregistered

increased their market knowledge

69%made new

business c

ontacts

88.9%

interested in participating in future BBB events

83 3%

look forward to engaging with their meeting partners

216SMEs & Clusters

More info: www.ifema.es/genera_06/

Eduardo López Puertas - General Director, IFEMA, Latin America IPR SME Helpdesk

Jurgen Foecking - Deputy Director, EU Representation in Madrid

José Luis Bonet - President, Spanish Chamber of Commerce & Industry

Pablo Huertas – Aventum“We met a company from another European country at Genera that specializes in solar steam generation. Around 80% of our business is waste-to-energy and low carbon technologies, and we are continuously on the lookout for new partnership opportunities. We have remained in contact and we hope to work together on a project soon. We have also kept in touch with 3 or 4 other companies with whom we are exchanging ideas and with whom we could form partnerships”.

Aventum was founded in 2000 by three engineers from different sectors of the industry who came together to offer consultancy services to a wide range of industrial companies. The company works on providing energy solutions to the industries and cities, focused on low carbon technologies and waste-to-energy.

Find more info about Aventum at: http://www.aventum.net/

Julien Constant – Aguasol Life “I had a very productive meeting with representatives from Inspiralia. We kept in touch and have now signed a partnership agreement to work together on an innovative solar water heating project. We are currently exploring funding sources and hope to sign the contract as soon as these are secured.”

Aguasol Life began its activities on 2016. It was in Genera to introduce Aqualink, one of its most innovative products, into the market. Aqualink is a water

treatment solution that facilitates the access to water in remote zones by providing portable solutions through innovative design and engineering.

Find more info about Aguasol Life at:

http://www.aguasol-life.com/

Ener

gy

Win

d

Oth

erSolar Thermal

Cogeneration

Biofuel

Hydrogen &

Solar Thermal

Mobility

Gas

Coal

Oil

Hydraulic Power

Transport &

Business &

Logistics

Residential Use

Fuel Cells

Electric Energy

Photovolaic

Business

Waste

Energy

Others

Effi c

ienc

y

Pow

er

Ener

gies

Energy

Solar Energy

and Residual

Services

216SMEs & Clusters

SECTOR

10,961Visitors

Energy and Environment

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AUW

Cape Town (South Africa)

African Utility Week is the only global meeting place, conference and trade exhibition for African power and water utility professionals.Organised annually, this fair offers a unique networking opportunity for engineers, stakeholders and solution providers alike.

Main sectors covered: products and services for the power, water and waste management utilities industry: power generation, T&D, metering, clean technology, finance, reliability, water supply or energy efficiency.

AfricanUtilityWeek

WHERE?

ABOUT

WHEN

2017 STATISTICS

16 - 18 May

2017

7,447Visitors

More info: http://www.african-utility-week.com/

SECTOR

Water, Power and Utilities

Benjamin Mugisha - African Trade Insurance AgencyAfrican Trade Insurance Agency (ATI) is a multilateral guarantee agency mandated to attract investments and increase trade within Africa. Since 2001, it has insured transactions exceeding $25 billion. Currently, it insures trade and investments worth an average of 1% of GDP per year in its member countries.

Around 80% of insured transactions are incoming from non-African regions, namely the USA, Europe and China.

After the Business Beyond Borders event, ATI has kept in touch with several potential partners met during the matchmaking sessions. The Agency has several ongoing negotiations, some of which are currently in the planning stage. One project is expected to kick off around October 2018.

Find more info about African Trade Insurance Agency at: http://www.ati-aca.org/

BBB Social Media Award

FINNZA FINNZA, a Finnish consultancy focusing on renewable energy solutions, won the first edition of the BBB Social Media Award.“I like the BBB matchmaking programme very much, it provides valuable opportunities for expanding one’s business”, said FINNZA’s Managing Director, Gregory Neethling.

Find more info about FinnZa at: http://www.finnza.com/

Business Beyond Borders at African Utility Week

100%are interested in

participating in future BBB events

71.4%made new

business contacts

Hydropower Workshop

Alexander Huppertz

RECP

Silvi Serreqi

EASME

Dirk Hendricks

EREF

Maurice Pigaht

MARGEBBB Demo Zone

Andrea Ranzanici

MARGEMark Williams

FOLIAWATER

66.6%look forward to engaging with their meeting partners

Success Stories

B2B / C2C / B2Cmatchmaking

meetings booked

2752

BBB CONNECTING PLATFORM

800118682

ParticipatingCompanies

EU Companies

Non EU Companies

meetings in which an EU company

took part

874

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Opening keynote session

Key BBB speaker:H.E. Tryne Thygesen

Danish Ambassador to South Africa

@EU_BBB

Business Beyond Borders

@BusinessBeyondBordersEU

Business Beyond Borders

Business Beyond Borders

General Information: info@businessbeyondborders.info

Press and media: press@businessbeyondborders.info

www.businessbeyondborders.info

Business Beyond Borders consortium:

Business Beyond Borders is an initiative funded by the European Commission and coordinated by EUROCHAMBRES

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