Friend Europe 2025-2028

ongoing

The Friend Europe project proposal aims to contribute to the objectives of the Single Market Programme and to the EEN Call of Proposal by improving SMEs competitiveness particularly through the implementation of the triple transition to sustainability, digitalization, and resilience. The project seeks to assist and support SMEs with sustainable growth ambitions that are ready to scale their activities within the Single Market and in third countries increasing their competitiveness, skills and resilience to global challenges. The Friend Europe final goals are related to increasing their market presence, internationalizing in Europe and beyond, pursuing innovation and digitalization processes, and becoming more resilient and economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable. The proposal directly responds to the local northeastern Italy business and economic context (this area is traditionally part of the main economic and development centers of Europe called “Blue Banana”). The consortium brings together a group of complementary diverse institutional partners from the three key regions and has been fostering the business development in the area for more than 15 years in the framework of Enterprise Europe Network, supporting approx. 10,000 SMEs over the years. The partners will cooperate according to a client centric approach and to the integrated hub-and-spoke model to provide added-value advisory and partnering services, in particular the following: business development within the Single Market, EU legislation and policies, internationalization and cooperation within FTAs, resilience, sustainability, digitalization in synergy with EDIHs, regional integration, innovation enhancement including IPR, cluster support, access to finance including EU funding, and participation in the SME feedback mechanism. They will moreover assist companies in the partnering processes to internationalize, innovate, technologies transfer, and foster R&D collaboration in EU programs.