Enterprise Europe Network: 10 years

TAIWAN Business.EU l institutions l agencies Enterprise Europe Network ... 10 Years of Experience with International Support of Industry Enterprise Europe Network, a worldwide network for supporting international technological and trade cooperation between companies, is celebrating its 10th anniversary. During the decade of its existence, it has supported over 2.6 million companies in innovative management and helped them enter onto international markets. Aside from that, almost quarter million of these companies attended 700,000 cooperation meetings organised by the network, whose activities cover 65 world countries. That makes it the largest network focused on promoting enterprise and innovation in the world. The Czech Republic has been a part of EEN since the network's creation in 2008. Its services are provided to Czech companies via a consortium of six organisations promoting enterprise in the Czech Republic, all coordinated by the Technology Centre of the CAS. Other members of the consortium are: BIC Plzeň, Centre for Regional Development of the Czech Republic, South Moravian Innovation Centre in Brno, Chamber of Commerce of the Moravian-Silesian Region in Ostrava and Regional Chamber of Commerce Brno. The main activities of the consortium within EEN include: counselling for entrepreneurs (information services and counselling in matters of trade, marketing, business legislation, international trade cooperation and finance), innovation and international transfer of technologies (supporting companies' innovative activities and active assistance during international transfer of technologies either mutually between companies, or between research institutions and the industry as a whole), international trade and research cooperation (promoting international trade cooperation and active assistance in international transfer of research results between companies or between research institutions and the industry as a whole), financial and project counselling (supporting and initiating the participation of Czech business entities in EU's Framework Programme, programmes for drawing on EU structural funds and other EU subsidies to promote innovative enterprise and research), protection of intellectual and industrial property (consulting on matters of protecting intellectual and industrial property of SMEs). Since the Czech network is funded by the European Commission and the Ministry of Industry and Trade, its services to Czech entrepreneurs are completely free of charge. special 2018 2 14 18 -20 8 00 Cooperation between the Czech and Taiwanese EEN began shortly after Taiwan joined the network in 2015. Czechs were some of the first to begin sharing their experience with EEN services with Taiwan by initiating Czech-Taiwan Joint Business Council meetings. Since then, many coordinated activities have taken place both in the Czech Republic and on Taiwan. The Taiwanese network is managed by TAITRA (Taiwan External Trade Development Council), which is thus the main partner for cooperation with the Czech network. Taiwanese EEN frequently utilises business delegations to facilitate cooperation; the delegations always visit several European countries and the local networks help secure potential business partners for the members of the delegation. Taiwanese delegations most commonly include companies from branches such as ICT, electrical engineering, tooling, etc. On the part of the Czech EEN, the Technology Centre of the CAS has organised Czech delegations to trade fairs in Taipei in cooperation with TAITRA. In the last three years, the Technology Centre of the CAS has made it possible for its client companies to attend trade fairs such as PV Taiwan (photovoltaics) or Medicare Taiwan (traditional and alternative medicine). In these EEN activities focused on promoting business cooperation with Taiwan, the Technology Centre of the CAS cooperates with a number of partners, particularly the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague or the Governance Institute, which focuses on supporting Czech entrepreneurs in developing their activities on Asian markets.