A successful euWater4i-SD trade mission to Peru and Colombia
Under the EuWater4i-SD project a trade mission was organized to Peru and Colombia from June 3 to 7, 2024. There European SMEs had the chance to meet local stakeholders, authorities and institutions and visit the international water fair ACODAL Congress & Exhibition in Cartagena. The SMEs participating in this mission had the opportunity to receive financial support for their trip expenses up to 3000 euros. In total, 9 companies participated in the mission: ABO valve s.r.o. (Cz), BIOTRAKI LTD (Bg), Bonik system ltd (Bg), Boreal Light GmbH (De), Planetai Space Group (Sp), PV POWER (Bg), ricion AG (De), Strojírny Brno (Cz), SWIS GmbH (De).
Creating meaningful and lasting connections with business, NGOs and government agencies in Latin America can be hard for European SMEs due to the geographical distance and cultural differences, which is why in-person networking events like the one organized in Lima, Peru are so important. The EuWater4i-SD consortium organized meetings with varios types of organizations such as:
- The World Bank,
- GIZ Perú,
- Autoridad Nacional del Agua,
- PNSR – Programa Nacional de Saneamiento Rural,
- Programa Subsectorial de Irrigaciones – MIDAGRI,
- Centro de Competencias del Agua
Following the networking event, the companies had the chance to visit Latin America’s largest water-related fair – ACODAL Congress & Exhibition in Cartagena. ACODAL is organized by the Colombian Association of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering and its annual congress brings together leaders, industry specialists, academics, professionals, experts, organizations, governement representatives, and other key actors from thewater sector. Alongside the many conferences, participants could visit company stands in the exhibition and take part in B2B meetings in a dedicated room.
Thanks to this mission, the European companies managed to participate in valuable networking and get familiar with Latin-American markets, creating meaningful connections and growing their business in the process.
