MobiliseSME strengthens the European entrepreneurial ecosystem
Jeniffer and John are specialist in digital marketing and the founders of SocioFy, an agency from United Kingdom that creates marketing solutions for SMEs and supports them in their digitalization change.
On the other hand, Edgard is an entrepreneur who promotes growth, training and networking among entrepreneurs around the world through his Portuguese company International HUB Association.
With the support of the MobiliseSME programme, Jeniffer and John travelled to 
Portugal to collaborate with Edgard for 6 months, with the focus on developing new services, expanding their customer base, exchanging market knowledge, and exploring opportunities in the local market of this country.
Both companies aim creating fair conditions for SMEs to digitize their companies and processes, and during this time, they held several events that provided a rich professional exchange of services between entrepreneurs and marketing professionals.
Additionally, they have participated in the preparation of the Tech Job Summit celebrated in Portugal in May 2022 , creating a strategic marketing plan for this event, contacting sponsors and speakers, and assisting in carrying out the live online meetings.
This collaboration allowed them to partner up with other local companies and get over 3.000 potential clients while deepen the knowledge on the Portuguese ecosystem for an expansion in this country.
MobiliseSME is a mobility exchange programme for freelancers and SMEs staff, co-funded by the European Commission and Coordinated by the Chamber.
The Chamber is also the local contact point for companies stablished in countries as Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark, and Malta among others.
For more information contact us sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com.
European MobiliseSME project consortium meets in Serbia
On the past 3rd and 4th of November, the consortium of the European MobiliseSME programme met again physically, this time in Novi Sad, Serbia.
During this two-day meeting, the project partners had the opportunity to review the program’s implementation and the project’s objectives, exchange ideas, and share lessons learned and best practices to support European SMEs.
The Consortium has started to plan the last months of the programme and the next final conference that will be held in Brussels in March 2023.
MobiliseSME is a pilot programme co-funded by the European Commission, and coordinated by the Chamber, that provides practical and financial support to SMEs and entrepreneurs to find partners at the European level to collaborate with from one to six months through the mobility of their employees, managers, or owners.
Sending and Host Companies have the opportunity to access new markets or consolidate their business in Europe, meanwhile, the seconded staff can acquire and transfer first-hand knowledge at the same time that develops abilities and skills in a professional environment.
The Chamber is the local contact point for enterprises and entrepreneurs based in Benelux willing to participate in this initiative that will be running until 31st of March 2023.
For more information, please contact:
Noelia Sánchez, Project manager
MobiliseSME, the opportunity to collaborate closely together to achieve innovation
Ehlen Boukje is the owner of Boukje.com Consulting, a Dutch consulting firm that advises companies and research institutes on funding acquisition, business development and communication about research & innovation. In 2020, driven by curiosity and an ambition to improve people’s resilience in health, Ehlen studied a master’s degree in Psycho-Neuro-Immunology (PNI) that sparked ideas for new business opportunities, which is now leading the company on a new path.
On the other hand, Dominic DeCaluwe, is one of the two owners of the Belgian company Crescendo MHP. He is a passionate triathlete that has turned his love for and knowledge about sports and physiology into his profession. With this attitude, he created the company MHP (Mastering Health and Performance) that focuses on supporting customers to become their own masters for their own desired situation.
Ehlen has stayed for 6 months in Belgium to exchange knowledge, expertise and practices with Dominic, and jointly set-up a knowledge bank for therapists and their clients.
During this period, they introduced each other their contact network and interviewed clients and therapists to understand their needs of knowledge. They managed to create the structure of the knowledge bank and took the time to develop and submit a joint grant application.
Both partners affirm that without the support of MobiliseSME programme they would not have had the opportunity to collaborate so closely together and to drive the innovation they were willing to achieve.
The Chamber is the coordinator of this EU initiative and the local contact point in Belgium and Netherlands for the programme.
Contact us to participate by sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com.
MobiliseSME, the perfect way to exchange ideas and profit the teamwork
Vilda Ramoskaite is the face and voice of Academy of Cognizance, an NGO based in Denmark constantly working on youth mobility projects, using non-formal education methods and introducing the importance of mindfulness to young professionals around Europe.
Her objective is to build a community where people can share, grow, and develop new relations, having the precious feeling of belonging.
Sonia Amroun is the founder of Awid Aman, a collaborative community project in Spain, where remote workers and digital nomads co-live in a warm atmosphere with stunning nature and home-prepared local food.
Their purpose is to provide an opportunity for individuals to live slow-paced, in small cities, to revive deep connections and improve their relationship with nature and humanity.
Since June 2022, they are collaborating in “La Isla Bonita” through the MobiliseSME programme. There they exchange their knowledge, experience and ideas about co-living and community creation, support each other to expand their contact network and wide their skills on management, marketing and social media.
They have organized different events for social entrepreneurs, trying to raise awareness on the conscious movement, the femininity or share the secrets of permaculture, among others.
The common objective of Vilda and Sonia is that everybody works together to live conscious and sustainable lives, and they have found in the MobiliseSME programme the “perfect way to express, exchange ideas and profit the teamwork”
Click here to see other successful collaborations of MobiliseSME.
The Chamber is the coordinator of the initiative. Contact us to participate in the programme by sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com
First face-to-face meeting of the MobiliseSME consortium takes place in Valencia
On 27-28 April, the European MobiliseSME consortium met for the first time in person after almost two years of working together virtually.
Project partners from Ireland, Serbia, Croatia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Belgium, France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Greece and Montenegro met in Valencia with the aim of sharing experiences and lessons learned, strengthening their collaboration and establishing future actions to further support European companies.
MobiliseSME is a programme funded by the European Commission and coordinated by the Chamber that aims to strengthen the competitiveness of European SMEs and develop the skills of their staff through the temporary mobility of their managers, owners and employees to establish partnerships with other companies abroad.
Through the MobiliseSME programme, shipping and hosting companies have the opportunity to access new markets or consolidate their business in Europe, develop new products or services, conduct joint research or projects and share their networks.
In addition, the mobility can acquire and transfer first-hand knowledge of a subject area or other organisational methods, while developing intercultural and linguistic skills in a business environment.
In parallel, the meeting served to achieve synergies between the project partners, create links and generate an atmosphere of trust that will strengthen the collaboration of the partners.
MobiliseSME partners, or local contact points, offer practical and financial support to companies in finding European partners to collaborate with through the secondment of their staff.
For further information, please contact:
Noelia Sanchez, project manager
mobilisesme@e-camara.com
Justlearn and Zala Elena discover other ways of working thanks to MobiliseSME programme
Philip Rossen is the founder and CEO of Justlearn, a Danish micro company established in 2017 that supports people in the process of learning new languages. The main purpose of Justlearn is to connect people across cultures and geographies.
With Justlearn, Philip joined the MobiliseSME programme as Host Company through the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg.
Elena Zala is the founder of Zala Elena PFA, a Romanian micro company founded in 2018 and specialized in Digital Content, Copywriting, SEO, Email Marketing, Social media management, Market research and PR. She is a passionate content manager and blogger who sees a huge opportunity in the impact of digitalization.
Zala Elena PFA is the Sending Company in the MobiliseSME programme.
With the support of the programme, Elena has moved in September 2021 to Kolding, Denmark for a 6-month collaboration with Philip. The secondment is focused on exchanging knowledge, discovering new markets, and developing services and online products that will make their business even more successful in the future. They are currently working on the online marketing activities and preparation of the content that will be presented in the Justlearn blog.
Raising brand awareness
Accordingly, Justlearn aims to expand its portfolio internationally, with special interest in Romania, and expects to increase the number of users of the platform, raising brand awareness and the company’s reputation in the media by strengthening its communication strategy and promotional activities.
Zala Elena PFA expects to be introduced to a new way of running a company in a domain that provides numerous opportunities for growth. Her objective is to promote her brand and improve digital skills by creating a social media strategy with Justlearn while mastering the local language.
Elena and Philip commented that “participating in the MobiliseSME programme means the opportunity to expose people to a new way of working, to understand and draw inspiration from new cultural customs that, in the end, enrich people and work and make them more adaptable to different circumstances”.
Click here to find out more about other successful collaborations of the MobiliseSME programme.
Contact us for more information by sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com
The Chamber presented the EYE and MobiliseSME programs in the SME Open Day in Luxembourg
On November 25th, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg participated in the SME Open Day in Luxembourg during the European SME week. This annual initiative, coordinated by the European Commission, aims to highlight European SMEs by promoting entrepreneurship and helping to create a more favourable environment for small and medium enterprises. This year, the event was again organised in person and provided SMEs in Luxembourg with information on entrepreneurship, business development and financing.
The participants of the event we welcomed by Sabrina Sagramola, Manager International Affairs & National Coordinator of the Enterprise Europe Network-Luxembourg at Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, who encouraged them to make the most of the event and to networking among them and with the support organizations present in the event.
After that, participants had the opportunity to participate in the interactive conference/concert “Resilience Journey: how to turn threats into opportunities?” with Alain Leduc, CEO of Créativores.
Additionally, different thematic conferences were organised to give participants specific advice on entrepreneurship, development and financing.
The Chamber participated in the “Demo corner” providing participants details on how to register and participate in the mobility programs for entrepreneurs and SMEs, Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs and MobiliseSME respectively.
Finally, the event was closed with the intervention of the CEO – Director General of the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, Carlo Thelen, the Minister for the Middle Classes and Tourism of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, Lex Delles, the Representative of the European Commission in Luxembourg, Anne Calteux, the Luxembourg Member of the European Parliament, Christophe Hansen and the Deputy Head of Unit, Industrial Forum, Alliances, Clusters of the European Commission, Crispin Waymouth. They all highlighted the importance of European projects and the Enterprise Europe Network for the SMEs that want to take their business at the EU level.
The Chamber thanks the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce their invitation to the event and the opportunity to inform SMEs and entrepreneurs about the EU programs to support them.
For more information about:
- The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program, please contact at erasmus4youngentrepreneurs@e-camara.com
- The MobiliseSME program, please contact at mobilisesme@e-camara.com
MobiliseSME brings EU funding to Agribusiness
Paolo Sospiro is the director of a Belgian organisation that supports SMEs in the search for projects and tenders at European level, and Mauro Picardo is the representative of a pomegranate cooperative in Italy. These two professionals have been collaborating through the MobiliseSME programme since April 2021.
In March this year, Paolo registered his association EUAbout in the programme managed by the Chamber. He was looking forward to sharing his experience and expertise in European tenders and projects with other SMEs and to expand his network of contacts in the agribusiness sector at European level.
In the framework of the MobiliseSME programme, he decided to join forces with Mauro Picardo, head of Melograno Vita, a pomegranate cooperative in the Marche region that uses innovative technologies to harvest, process and produce pomegranate in the most environmentally friendly way.
At the beginning of their exchange, Melograno Vita was interested in developing a methodology for collecting data from the cooperative’s members and finding out how to enter EU projects.
Thanks to the collaboration with Sospiro, they have successfully submitted two calls for proposals at European level and one at national level, as well as partnering with the Polytechnic University of Marche to work on bio-packaging. As a result, Melograno Vita, the Polytechnic University of Marche and SIPREM decided to become the shareholders of the new spin-off of the cooperative, Melograno biotech, a start-up dedicated to R&D activities for the production and transformation of pomegranate.
In addition, they have met with regional authorities and companies in the value chain to prepare for new regional agricultural calls for proposals.
On the other hand, to meet the EuAbout objective of expanding its professional network in Agribusiness, Melograno Vita has shared its Italian contacts in the sector while supporting Paolo to improve his knowledge on the specific systems of organic circular economic production of pomegranate.
Paolo Sospiro and Mauro Picardo are great examples of a successful collaboration focused on innovation and the development of new products and services.
Click here to find out more about the MobiliseSME programme.
Contact us to register in the programme by sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com
MobiliseSME programme, giving SME’s staff the opportunity to travel and develop cross-border partnerships in current times
Beata Vlnková and Rudi Verhoest are the owners of two companies who started collaborating through the MobiliseSME programme at the end of March 2021.
Beata has travelled from Slovakia to Belgium to partner up with Rudi during six months in the wine business sector.
They have joined forces to develop their projects, each bringing their own expertise to the table. Although it isn´t easy during the current situation, their collaboration is bringing out the best in both.
Beata is the President of the Association of Sommeliers of the Slovak Republic and CEO of Wine Wave Travel, a wine travel agency based in Slovakia that wants to expand its activities to Belgium.
Her aim is to promote and sell Slovakian and Austrian wines in the Belgian market and expand her network in the country, meanwhile acquiring new competences, such as the Dutch language.
On the other hand, Rudi has thirty years of expertise in the bank and insurance sector in Belgium. He is a wine enthusiast and a cuisine lover who has decided to make a career change: from finance to wine.
He wants to increase his knowledge on the wine sector, improve his tasting skills, learn all about wine sales and eventually, consider opening a future wine business.
Both are currently collaborating on a market research in the region of La Roche, in Ardennes. Together they scout for potential customers and contact the tourist office and gîtes in the region. 
Since April, they have organized several wine tastings adapted to the Covid measures. They started with only two attendees but were able to welcome fifteen people last week with the cooperation of the local agency Back-to-Nature.
They have also been presenting their project to the Ambassador of Slovak Republic to the Kingdom of Belgium and Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and talked about a future event at the Embassy to put in contact Slovakian wine producers and Belgian customers.
Through their alliance, both are exchanging their knowledge in their fields of expertise, sharing their practises and contact networks, while developing their abilities, even languages.
Both are developing a business plan and setting up future collaborations to prepare a scenario after Covid, with the organization of wine tasting events and wine trips between these countries.
Beata and Rudi have seen in MobiliseSME programme the opportunity to partner up and adapt to the current challenges. They are confident many more activities will come towards summer.
Click here to discover more about MobiliseSME programme.
Contact us to register in the programme by sending an email to mobilisesme@e-camara.com.
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