The European Commission has announced the EU-India Matchmaking Event, which will take place from 19 to 21 November 2024, in conjunction with the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2024.

The event will be jointly organised by the European Commission through the European Cluster Collaboration Platform (ECCP), in collaboration with Global Business Inroads, partners of the Enterprise Europe Network, the Government of Karnataka, and the departments of Electronics, Information Technology, Biotechnology, and Science and Technology.

The initiative will provide an important meeting platform for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and clusters from the European Union, non-EU countries participating in the Single Market Programme/COSME Strand, and India.

The event aims to strengthen cooperation between EU and Indian clusters, promoting Cluster-to-Cluster (C2C), Cluster-to-Business (C2B), and Business-to-Business (B2B) collaborations. Furthermore, it intends to identify areas of common interest and enhance collaboration between industry and academia in the fields of research, development, and innovation.

The event will focus on the biotech, digital, green tech, and advanced manufacturing sectors.

Various activities will be offered, including:

• preparatory webinars to provide information on how to do business with India and optimise participation in the event;
• field visits to scientific and technological institutions in Bangalore, such as: the Bangalore Science and Technology Cluster (BeST), the Bangalore Bioinnovation Centre (BBC), and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-Camp);
• knowledge-exchange seminars and matchmaking meetings to promote collaborations between clusters and SMEs;
• a debriefing session to gather feedback from participants;
• participation in the Bengaluru Tech Summit 2024.

SMEs interested in participating must submit their application via the links below by 16 July 2024:

- SME form,
- Cluster form.

Late applications will be accepted until 8 November 2024, provided that eligibility criteria are met and costs are borne by the participants.

For further information, please consult the official EU-India matchmaking page, or email een1@confindustria.lombardia.it.