Madrid, 2nd March 2017
PRESS RELEASE
Spanish Secretary of State Navia hails ‘BUSINESS BEYOND BORDERS’ launch as ‘a great
initiative’.
The first Business Beyond Borders (BBB) event is ‘a great initative’ said Spanish Secretary of
State for Energy, Mr Daniel Navia. The Secretary of State opened proceedings at the first BBB
event, which took place at Genera, Madrid (28th February – 1st March).
Speaking at the event, Mr Navia said: “It is very important to have this opportunity for all of us
to work together today. So let me express my thanks to Business Beyond Borders and to IFEMA
for organising the event here in Madrid.
Speaking specifically on EU energy targets, the Secretary of State said: “As all of you here today
know, we are in a transition phase; transformation of how our energy systems are going to work
in the future, and a shift towards more efficient and more sustainable systems. This will be a
shared effort - between Member States and between enterprises, the firms involved, users, and
society at large. It is a very important debate, and I encourage you all to participate as broadly
as possible together with our Ministry.”
BBB is a new European Commission-funded initiative, which will help EU businesses to
expand regionally and globally. By facilitating a series of Business-to-Business (B2B), Clusterto-Cluster (C2C), and Business-to-Cluster (B2C) matchmaking events at the top international
trade fairs around the world, the aim of the initiative is for new international business
partnerships to be formed and deals to be brokered.
Over 300 participants from more than 200 SMEs and 20 countries registered for the event;
resulting in over 900 B2B/C2C/B2C matchmaking meetings.
Mr José Luís Bonet Ferrer, President of the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, said: “It was very
clear to me that businesses participating in the Business Beyond Borders programme benefited
greatly from the comprehensive range of services that Business Beyond Borders supplied to
ensure the participants were event-ready, including help with developing a high-quality
partnership proposal, pre-selection of potential business contacts, and arrangement of one-toone business-to-business meetings.”
Mr Federico Morán, Director of Fundación para el Conocimiento madri+d – one of the local
partners of the BBB event in Madrid, said: “We are striving to bridge the gap between research
Visit us: www.businessbeyondborders.info
@EU_BBB #EUBBB
Business Beyond Borders is an initiative funded by the European Commission and coordinated by EUROCHAMBRES
and enterprise, and to turn ideas into business. Events such as Business Beyond Borders, which
connect companies which may otherwise not cross paths, is an excellent example of a means to
achieve this aim.”
Mr Eduardo López-Puertas, Managing Director of IFEMA, said: “It is a privilege for our
institution to be the starting point for this project, which through the celebration of some of the
most relevant trade fairs in the different professional areas, seeks to become an effective tool to
promote international trade relations among small and medium-sized European enterprises.
The main community we serve is the small and medium-sized enterprise - about 30,000
companies visit our trade fair every year with the aim of expanding the scope of their markets in
and out of our borders. Therefore, we appreciate the effort made by the European Commission
helping to generate B2B gatherings such as the present one. ”
Arnaldo Abruzzini, Chief Executive Officer of EUROCHAMBRES, said: “We were very pleased by
the response to the first iteration of the Business Beyond Borders initiative, and expect that
future events will be even more successful. As the programme develops, it will help European
SMEs overcome some of the barriers to internationalising their businesses, and initiate their
entry into new markets from Australia and South Africa to India, Chile, Iran, and beyond, with
the ultimate goal of increasing economic growth within and outside Europe. It is an ambitious
programme, but one which we know will have a real impact for European SMEs wishing to
expand their business beyond their own borders.”
To find out more about how European businesses can benefit from this opportunity to grow
across borders with a complete package of professional support, visit the Business Beyond
Borders website at www.businessbeyondborders.info
- ENDS Contact: Briony Whitehouse, LOWeurope: [email protected]
Visit us: www.businessbeyondborders.info
@EU_BBB #EUBBB
Business Beyond Borders is an initiative funded by the European Commission and coordinated by EUROCHAMBRES
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Genera:
The leading international event for energy and the environment, organised annually by
IFEMA in Madrid, is an annual exhibition that brings together leading operators in the
renewable energy and energy efficiency fields from around the world to showcase the latest
advances. Each year, it confirms its leading position in the Spanish energy fair industry and as
a reference in the international scene and it addresses professional visitors only. The 2016
fair attracted over 9,000 attendees from 33 countries.
The 20th edition of Genera took place from 28 February to 3 March, 2017, and hosted
thousands of businesses from across Europe and the world looking to trade and grow. It will
cover the following sectors: biofuel, biomass and residual waste, coal, cogeneration, energy
efficiency, geothermal energy, wind power, gas, hydraulic power, hydrogen and fuel cells,
mobility, oil, energy services, photovoltaic solar energy, solar thermal energy, solar thermal
electric energy, other energies.
Future BBB events
Genera was the first of ten BBB events planned for 2016-17. The next BBB event will take
place at Africa Utility Week, South Africa from 16-18 May 2017.
For
the
full
list
of
future
http://www.businessbeyondborders.info/events/
events,
please
visit:
The Business Beyond Borders Consortium manages the programme on behalf of the
European Commission. It comprises:
EUROCHAMBRES: The Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry
represents over 20 million businesses in Europe – 98% of which are SMEs – through
members in 43 countries and a network of 1700 regional and local Chambers.
EMECA: The European Major Exhibition Centres Association unites 22 leading exhibition
venues in Europe. They provide businesses with an excellent infrastructure and outstanding
information networks. The 22 EMECA Members organise and host 1,769 exhibitions a year,
both in Europe and all over the globe, with more than 350,000 exhibitors and over 41,5
million visitors.
Visit us: www.businessbeyondborders.info
@EU_BBB #EUBBB
Business Beyond Borders is an initiative funded by the European Commission and coordinated by EUROCHAMBRES
LOW: A strategic communications consultancy based in Brussels, with a network of associates
across Europe. We specialise in creating policy-rich events; managing complex programmes;
PR & all types of marketing communications; and EU related public affairs.
UFI: The leading global association of the world’s tradeshow organisers and exhibition centre
operators, as well as the major national and international exhibition associations. UFI
represents 700 member organisations in 83 countries around the world. Over 900
international trade fairs bear the UFI quality label.
Visit us: www.businessbeyondborders.info
@EU_BBB #EUBBB
Business Beyond Borders is an initiative funded by the European Commission and coordinated by EUROCHAMBRES