On the 15th of May 2024 took place the second international event of euWater4i-SD, where around 40 participants from all over Europe and Kenya gathered to meet innovative European companies offering water-smart solutions and to learn more about the opportunities of the Eastern African water market. The event was the second of its kind, with the first one taking place two years prior also organised in Munich as part of the IFAT, the International Trade Fair for Environmental Technologies.
The event consisted of two parts – presentations from various industry experts and then a matchmaking event for all participants.
- First was a keynote speech by Jenny Atmanagara, Manager for Cluster & Start-ups at the Baden-Württemberg International GmbH, on “Building Resilient Economic Ecosystems – Experiences and Lessons Learned from Baden-Württemberg THE LÄND”. It focused on internationalization policies that can be applied on the regional level. Dr. Atmanagara shared best practices from Baden-Württemberg, hoping to inspire participants to adopt and relay these strategies to their own policies.
- Then proceeded special guests from Africa – Gathuru Mburu from Kipya Africa andVirginia Nchoko Nanetia from Kenya Water Institute. Both representatives introduced themselves, spoke about theis respective regions in Africa and shared insights about the opportunities in Kenya that could be relevant to the participants.
- Louise Gubanski, International Project Manager at Ecoliance RLP e.V then presented the achievements and results of the euWater4i-SD project since its beginning in 2021. The five project partners – ACLIMA,CREA Hydro&Energy, Ecoliance, France Water Team, Green Synergy Cluster) have been developing and implementing a joint internationalization strategy for their SMEs, with a focus on the Eastern African and Latin American water markets. Two exploratory missions were organized to Kenya and Peru, two trade missions to Bolivia and Mexico, two matchmaking events in Spain and France, three online training sessions (“How to build an internationalisation strategy“, “How to go international in Eastern Africa“, “How to go international in Latin America“), four international market factsheets, vouchers for coaching & mentoring, 20 market intelligence bulletins, a guide on EU funding, and an eMarket place.
- Aleksandra Vladimirova from Green Synergy Cluster presented the Guide on EU and National funds – a tool meant to help SMEs get oriented in the various funding instruments and programs. It comprises several EU-funded programs, along with key thematic areas, budgets, requirements and other relevant information.
- Finally, four European SMEs were then given the floor to introduce their companies, present their solutions, and discuss their approaches to internationalization:
- Isabel Loder, Fonto De Vivo
- Radka Bumbová, AQUAPROCON s.r.o.
- Anna Shepelenko,Boreal Light GmbH
- Slavi Terziev,PV Power
Finally, the last part of the event was dedicated to matchmaking. Prior to the event, participants registered for 15-minute meetings with each other via the b2match platform. In total, over 35 meetings took place and allowed the participating SMEs and organizations to make new contacts, share their ideas and find potential future partners.
