JONING FORCES TO MAKE SMEs STRONGER

How to overcome the lack of organized businesses and clusters, lack of specific knowledge for the industry and missing specialised laboratories or information centres? Partners of both projects STRONGER and KETGATE met to find common solutions and provide better support to SMEs. 

Project KETGATE which enables small and medium-sized enterprises to access high-tech services in order to enhance cooperation with relevant stakeholders in the field of research and technology has been promoted within the project STRONGER. The goal is ultimately for small and medium-sized enterprises to deliver smart solutions to the market more quickly and efficiently, affect private and public investment, and support the dynamic development of KET-based knowledge.

Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) today represents the main link in the development of strategic technologies, contributing to economic growth and job creation, and addressing social challenges. Key Enabling Technologies drive industry, work, and life in a positive direction and focus on the fourth industrial revolution.

The project “Together Stronger – Product Development and Internationalization – STRONGER” was funded from the cross-border program IPA CBC Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina-Montenegro.

The STRONGER project addresses SMEs in the Programme area working with growing, collecting and processing of herbs. Trying to overcome the lack of organized businesses and clusters, lack of specific knowledge for the herb-related industry sector and missing specialised laboratories or information centers, the partnership of the project will focus on education and advisory activities. The goal is to empower business supporting organisations and research institutions to provide support and advisory services for SMEs in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. Providing better support to SMEs will grant them access to the market and promote cross-border activities in the herbs collecting and processing industry. The project will address stakeholders in all three countries and initiate cross border cooperation that will result with a cross-border cluster e-platform for B2B and e-learning; educating more than 20 SMEs and 4 business support institutions and setting up 2 laboratories for research, product testing and standardisation purposes of herbs and plants set up.