Space2Waves Final Newsletter #4 August 2022
Welcome to the 4th and final Space2Waves project newsletter, August 2022
Welcome to the 4th and final Space2Waves newsletter which includes details of the final project activities, the recent partners technical meeting in Toulon, reports from the various International Missions (including testimonials from SME participants), as well as news of the SpaceWave Alliance and sustainability of the programme after the project finishes.
Space2Waves is a project funded by the COSME programme that was launched in September 2020.
The project has supported 30 European SMEs using or creating Earth Observation technologies with a tailor-made programme to assist them in accessing the 4 target markets of Australia, Canada, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates which have been identified as having the highest potential for growth for European SMEs. To find out about the SMEs being supported on the programme please visit: https://www.space2waves.eu/sme_participants/
Space2Waves brought together the cooperation of 6 European clusters from 5 European countries; France, Greece, Portugal, the UK and Italy. Learn about the partners at the following link: https://www.space2waves.eu/partners/
The project has run for 24 months and closed in August 2022 under the coordination of Pôle Mer Méditerranée.
To be kept up to date with the SpaceWave Alliance, future projects in this area and related events and activities please sign up to the Interest Group at the following link:
https://www.space2waves.eu/interest_group/
Posted 2022-05-11 13:18:05
Space2Waves successfully over delivers on its targets
Despite this internationalisation project taking place during a worldwide pandemic with severe travel restrictions, Space2Waves has successfully over-delivered on its targets in an impressive effort to think creatively and use online technologies to overcome physical meetings.
The project, which comes to a close in August 2022, has over-delivered on a number of its targets including managing to organise over 230 business-to-business meetings, and involve over 300 SMEs in interactions either via online webinars or through physical missions and events.
In total 30 European SMEs were supported with an intense training and tailored coaching programme. 4 International trade missions took place, 3 in person, to Australia, Canada and the UAE, and one virtual to South Africa,
6 Blue Growth sectors were addressed by the project; fisheries, port infrastructure, maritime transport, climate change, aquaculture and EEZ surveillance.
In addition to the coaching for the 30 supported SMEs, a further 300+ SMEs and organisations benefited from numerous events including country specific webinars, virtual matchmaking sessions, Learning+ business coaching and introductions to various relevant organisations.
230 B2B meetings were arranged between the SMEs who were connected with relevant SMEs, universities, national and regional authorities, multinational organisations, business clusters, innovation hubs and research networks across the four target markets of Australia, Canada, South Africa and the UAE.
For more information about the project please visit https://www.space2waves.eu/ and to be kept informed of future activities sign up to the project Interest Group at https://www.space2waves.eu/interest_group/
Posted 2022-07-19 10:56:31
Space2Waves partners gather for final project meeting in Toulon
The Space2Waves partners gathered in Toulon for the final meeting of the project in July 2022.
As a result of the project starting during the Covid pandemic it was great to finally to meet the partners in person for the first time!
Discussions centred around the outcomes of the mission programme, the SME internationalisation achievements and the remaining activities for the project.
Pole Mer Mediterranee hosted the meeting in Toulon in the South of France where they provided a very interesting walking tour of the city in between the two half days of meetings.
The partners discussed the success of the project, which despite the Covid crisis, has enabled 30 SMEs to have 230 B2B meetings in 4 target countries across 6 blue growth sectors.
The project has successfully assisted European SMEs with Earth Observation technologies and services to expand their business overseas and develop concrete business collaborations with the potential for many more business opportunities in the future.
Good links have also been made with new clusters in the target countries which will be developed after the project finishes in order to maximise its success.
Posted 2022-07-15 13:39:29
Busy schedule for Canada Space2Waves matchmaking mission
6 European SMEs were part of the matchmaking mission to Canada which undertook a busy schedule of presentations, pitches, meetings, visits and dinners.
Check out the SMEs that chose Canada as their market for internationalisation at the following link: https://www.space2waves.eu/sme_participants/
The mission was organised around the H2O Conference which took place in Halifax, Nova Scotia in June 2022. https://h2oconference.ca/
In addition to attending the conference to meet with potential partners and network with relevant organisations, the SMEs also visited universities, took part in a COVE demonstration event, attended the Oceans Gala dinner and were invited to pitch at a 'Start-up Yard'.
For Aerospace Valley, the partner responsible for organising the mission, it was a useful occasion to make links with the Canada Aerospace and Defence cluster and the Canada Ocean Supercluster.
The SMEs took part in a total of 60+ B2B meetings during the mission and a further 40+ online to develop business contacts, collaborations and future commercial interests in the Earth Observation/Blue Growth sector.
Posted 2022-06-28 09:59:40
Trade mission to Australia meets top Space organisations
The Space2Waves trade delegation that visited Australia in June 2022 were welcomed by visits and networking with key innovation partners in Sydney.
The trade mission organisers, Pole Mer Mediterranee, arranged meetings for the SMEs with the Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade), the Australian Space Agency and National Space Industry Hub.
The SMEs then had a busy schedule of B2B meetings with a number of universities, relevant stakeholder organisations, multi-national businesses, regional authorities and government departments as well as other SMEs working in Earth Observation technologies and services. In total over 60 business to business meetings were arranged for the 6 European SMEs interested in the Australian market; you can view the participants at the following link: https://www.space2waves.eu/sme_participants/
An encouraging number of business collaborations are expected from the mission with several companies in serious discussions over future projects and initiatives.
Commenting on the programme, LS Engineering from Portugal commented, “We were very pleased to participate in Space2Waves. During the programme we have learnt about the latest developments in the blue economy and space opportunities including the main actors and investment opportunities in Australia. During our Trade Mission we had the opportunity to establish really useful contacts with businesses, organisations and relevant programmes. We were very pleased with the assistance we received and the organisation of the various events throughout Space2Waves. We look forward to similar initiatives in the future.”
Posted 2022-06-09 10:46:15
Virtual trade mission to South Africa fosters new collaborations
Due to the rise in Covid cases and low levels of vaccinations in South Africa, the trade mission to this market was held virtually, online, on 31st May 2022.
More than 20 virtual B2B meetings enabled the SME's participating in the mission to explore the South African market.
The South African companies gathered together in Johannesburg to present their businesses both in-person and using videos of their premises and capabilities.
The keynote speaker at the virtual mission was, Mr Odwa Mtati, CEO of the South African International Maritime Institute (SAIMI) who promoted the importance of companies working together. Other useful connections were made with the Water Research Commission, Blue Cape, Aquaculture Innovations and OceanHub Africa.
Although the political situation in South Africa is somewhat unstable, good links were made with the South African International Maritime Institute which we hope will prove fruitful for future business collaborations for the SMEs from Europe who took part.
Geomatys, who are a geospatial intelligence company, welcomed the project support and thought 'the virtual mission was fantastic!'.
For details of the SMEs taking part in the South African market please visit: https://www.space2waves.eu/sme_participants/
Posted 2022-06-06 16:59:57
Trade mission to UAE establishes excellent links for SMEs
Space2Waves project partner, DTA hosted a successful mission to the UAE in March 2022 for the European SMEs wishing to expand their business in this market.
The aim of the mission to the UAE was to establish contacts with local stakeholders in the aerospace and maritime sectors. A local consultant, Di Francia Advisor was selected to assist with the mission as they have 15 years local presence in the UAE.
The format for the mission was hybrid with both the physical mission and remote meetings arranged. The physical mission took place during the Expo Space Week 20th-26th March 2022 with participation in the International Forum, 'Sustainable coastal management: technologies for an integrated approach'.
11 SMEs chose the UAE market for their internationalisation, with a range of EO technologies follow the link for details of the companies https://www.space2waves.eu/sme_participants/
SME participant CMCC who offer EO technologies for coastal resources protection, commented, 'Thank you for the great experience. The project has offered real opportunities with solid partners'
This event was organised by Regione Puglia and CMCC Euro-Mediterranean Centre on Climate Change. Project partner DTA, who are leaders for the UAE part of Space2Waves, presented the project during the event and introduced the European SMEs.
In addition B2B meetings were held over two days which were attended by CMCC, Digimat, Novotech, Satlantis and Satsense. A number of visits to relevant organisations also took place including a visit to the Sharja Technopark.
SME participant, Satsense, who offer EO technologies in maritime transport and aquaculture, noted, 'The Mission to the UAE has provided us with a good overview of the market and the target customers as well as business practices and culture. This will help us to develop new business in the short, medium and long term.'
Further discussions and connections have continued since the mission and we fully expect a number of research agreements and business collaborations to be finalised in the coming months.
Posted 2022-05-11 13:09:56
Continuation of the SpaceWave Alliance
Following the successful conclusion of the Space2Waves project; the SpaceWave Alliance will continue the development and support of European Earth Observation (EO) technologies in the Blue Economy.
The Alliance is comprised of 6 members; Pôle Mer Méditerranée (France), Aerospace Valley (France), Marine South East (United Kingdom), Distretto Tecnologico Aerospaziale (Italy), Forum Oceano (Portugal) and Corallia (Greece). https://www.space2waves.eu/partners/
The SpaceWave Alliance aims to foster cooperation for the internationalisation of European SMEs using or developing EO technologies in the maritime sector. The Alliance will promote the common interests of its members by providing a sustainable, collaborative working environment that acts as an international accelerator, as well as collective services and fast and easy platform to enable SMEs to Go International.
Specifically the SpaceWave Alliance aims to:
* Expand access of European businesses to international customers for maritime satellite applications and Earth Observation applications activities;
* Engage together in a long-term agenda for international Cluster cooperation and develop a joint Internationalisation Strategy Plan and Implementation Roadmap promoting cooperation across related industries and sectoral boundaries in support of emerging industries;
* Facilitate the transnational transfer of knowledge and technologies between Earth Observation Clusters and Blue Growth Clusters;
* Promote cutting edge technologies inside and outside Europe and facilitate their application into international markets of other sectors;
* Explore and promote international market opportunities and enable international matchmaking;
* Facilitate SME members towards specific third countries;
* Mobilise public and private financing for the development of the Internationalisation Strategy Plan developed within SpaceWave;
* Participate in matchmaking events in order to be informed about various EU initiatives that could provide them with additional support in addressing third markets;
* Stimulate exchange of information and develop possible collaboration and synergies with other European partnerships targeting similar third markets;
Stay tuned for more information and activities and sign up to our Interest Group to be kept informed - https://www.space2waves.eu/interest_group/
If you are interested in joining the SpaceWave Alliance to share your expertise and network, contact us on space2waves@polemermediterranee.com
Posted 2022-07-20 15:44:52
The challenge of delivering an internationalisation programme during a worldwide pandemic!
The Space2Waves project started in September 2020 - in the middle of the Covid pandemic; so how did the partners manage to develop and implement an internationalisation programme for SMEs when travel and meetings were so restricted?
It was a challenge which forced the project team to quickly adapt the activities that had been planned by being creative and developing new ways to support the SMEs.
It meant quickly developing all our 'online capabilities' and working closely with the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency https://eismea.ec.europa.eu/index_en to adapt to the challenging conditions.
Partners and SMEs quickly got used to online project meetings, webinars to deliver the training programme, online workshops with break-out rooms for one-to-one discussions and virtual matchmaking events to introduce the international SMEs and organisations.
The 30 SMEs, selected for the Space2Waves programme, were all very receptive to these new working practices and welcomed the chance to develop their businesses in these new international markets.
After two years of constant adaptation and sometimes doubts, the project partners are pleased to say that the project has been successful and impactful for the SMEs and that excellent new contacts have been made in the field of Earth Observation technologies for the maritime sector.
Well done to all who adapted and worked with us along the way.
Posted 2022-07-20 16:05:10
International support and business coaching available for SMEs
The EU Global Action on Space is offering business coaching for SMEs to expand internationally and find suitable international business partners.
Participating companies have access to target market information, a pool of experts, tailored business support, networking and educational events and individual coaching.
Priority will be given to SMEs established and based in EU member states that operate in the space sector or use space data, technologies or services.
Applications are open now with various cut-off dates until November 2023.
Marine and Coastal management, Climate change adaptation and hydrological monitoring are just some of the many sectors that the programme covers.
For more information please visit: https://eu-global-space.eu/business-coaching
Posted 2022-07-21 12:31:10
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