SMEs, Business, policymakers, venture capitalists, and academics meet in brussels on tuesday 6 June to discuss how to accelerate innovation across Europe.
“The importance of SMEs for innovation has become the leit motiv for competitiveness in Europe”, said Jonathan Zuck, the President of the Association for Competitive Technology. “But we should stop speaking for SMEs and listen instead to their needs. The objective of the SME Innovation Day is exactly that: talking to innovative SMEs and giving them the opportunity to bring their direct experience on the issues that affect their business.”
The event provides a platform of exchange focused on critical factors around SMEs “innovation business”.
“When we talk about innovators, it makes sense to understand their characteristics”, said Zuck, “First of all, the need to rely on a strong intellectual property regime, which is critical to the ability to protect their innovations while building partnerships and raising capital.”
ACT will host a dinner seminar for SMEs “Turning Your Innovations into a Successful Business: Attracting Venture Capital and Business Partners While Protecting Your Innovations”, focused on how entrepreneurial companies can leverage their intellectual assets to raise capital, develop partnerships, and create new streams of revenue. The seminar will see with the participation of more than 40 SMEs and presentations by entrepreneurs, IP and VC experts.
The programme includes also a Venture Capital Summit and an exhibition area for SMEs, in parallel with sessions which will see with the interventions of Commissioner for Information Society and Media Viviane Reding and members of the European Parliament (among others).
Among the SMEs who will attend the SME Innovation Day:
Michael Setton, Cyberfab (France) – “Protecting what makes us unique provides investors and lenders with a measurable assessment of our company’s value, which is important for our long-term health”.
Daniel Doll-Steinberg, Tribeka (UK) – “Patents and other IP protections provide SMEs like Tribeka the security to create award winning innovations and new jobs for the citizens of Europe.”
Jan I.Nielsen, Premitech (Denmark) – “It always my experience that having patent protection makes a difference with investors and lenders”.
Robin Teasdale, Galleria (UK) – “Our patents helped put Galleria on the same playing field as our larger competitors”.