The team of Stara Zagora Regional Economic Development Agency (SZREDA) became the first partner of the INNOGROW project consortium (9 partners from eight EU countries), that received approval for good practice identified in Bulgaria within the framework of the project. The number of localized good practices is one of the key objectives of the project to promote the exchange of useful experience in the regions of Europe.

The good practice, which has been considered as successful for transfer in other countries and regions in the EU, is the TechnoStart initiative, which has three implemented editions by the Ministry of Economy and is directed at financing business ideas for students. After the discussion with the representatives from the institution, the necessary information and consent from the Ministry was obtained and the good practice was uploaded in the INTERREG Europe platform.

Dear reader,

Welcome to the fourth edition of Newsletter series of the INNOGROW project that promotes the adoption of innovation by rural economy SMEs, through sharing practices and experiences between regions and actors relevant to rural economy SMEs competitiveness, and integrating lessons learnt into regional policies and action plans.

During the last period of implementation all activities contributing to the exchange of experience and the communication of project results are progressing significantly. Partners have advanced with the development of an innovative online benchmarking tool to support INNOGROW regions in assessing their performance on improving rural economy SMEs competitiveness. The first study visit to transfer experiences on innovative production policies has been held in Mantua, Italy, with the participation of 30 representatives from Greece, Italy, Latvia, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovenia. Moreover, partners to the INNOGROW project are planning the next interregional workshop in Budapest, on new business models for rural economy SMEs and the upcoming study visit in the region of Thessaly.

In this newsletter, you will find information about past, current and future project activities, key project results and upcoming events, as well as interesting conclusions drawn from the study visit in Mantua and the regional stakeholder meetings. Through our project website and this periodic newsletter, we will keep you informed about our progress and key outcomes.

The INNOGROW project team!

Download 4rd Newsletter INNOGROW.

On the 28th of September, 2018 (Friday) at 11:00 in the conference hall of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry - Stara Zagora the fifth local stakeholders meeting on the above-mentioned project was held. The aim of the INNOGROW project is to improve the conditions for encouraging innovation in SMEs in rural areas to increase their competitiveness. The thematic meeting was related to the preparation and implementation of measures that will nurture innovation in rural SMEs in Bulgaria and Europe.

innDate: 30 November 2017 - Time: from 10:30 to 11:30 AM CET
Registration deadline: Wednesday, 29 November 2017

In this webinar, we will cover the following topics:
-The market access for EU agribusiness (impact of the economic and demographic situation of Japan & trade integration);
-Trends in this changing market that will bring opportunities to EU agribusinesses, in the EU-Japan EPA context;
- Policy and general recommendations for EU exports of food products to Japan.

For more information and to register:
http://www.eu-japan.eu/events/minerva-webinar-market-opportunities-eu-agribusinesses-context-eu-japan-epa

Costs: Free

Thanks for your interest in our activities.
Kind regards,

Margherita Rosada
EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation
Rue Marie de Bourgogne 52 - 1000 Brussels
TEL +32 2 282 3715
http://www.eu-japan.eu