Webinars

Speakers Francesco Camonita and Carina Dantas (CEO of SHINE 2Europe), discussed the insights from the study: “Crisis Costs for Europeans SMEs” carried out on behalf of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), developed by Wise Angle and SHINE 2Europe with INSME’s support.
The COVID-19 pandemic has become the landmark for one of the greatest economic shocks ever experienced. As such, many SMEs were exposed to financial and employment-related losses, especially in the retail and tourism sector. In the light of this, the EESC study analysed six SMEs challenges that will be presented and thoroughly discussed as well as recommendations for future policymakers. 

Relator: Dr. Francesco Camonita

Dr. Francesco Camonita is a researcher and project Manager at Wise Angle Consulting, Barcelona. He holds a Ph.D. in Geography (European Studies), an MA in European Integration (both from the Autonomous University of Barcelona) and a BA in International Relations with Spanish (Swansea University, UK). Francesco holds 9+ years of working experience as a university researcher, lecturer and research support specialist. He is still a regularly invited lecturer for the Departments of Geography, Political Science and the Faculty of Law at UAB. At Wise Angle, he coordinates research activities for service contracts while performing management functions for multiple R&D projects.

Relator: Carla Jambrina

Carla Jambrina graduates in Economics from the Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona. After her studies spent 3 years in Greece working for humanitarian projects. Then, she returned to Barcelona and became a consultant in business transfer and business valuation expert. Nowadays, she is the coordinator of the “Centre de Reempresa de Catalunya”.

RCT4MANU 
Innovate UK KTN and Innovate UK are delivering an EU funded project called RCT4MANU (“Test an innovative support scheme for manufacturing SMEs and accelerate the use of Randomised Control Trials (RCTs) in innovation agencies”). As part of this project, we are engaging with UK and EU Innovation and Development Agencies and offer training to use 4Manufacturing® in their business support programmes and build a pan-European network of like-minded business support organisations. The RCT4MANU project is also building experience in the use of RCTs to measure the impact of business support programmes in terms of increased productivity, resilience and sustainability from digitalisation. 


The RCT4MANU Project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 824219. 

Relator: Steven Barr and Nicole Ballantyne

Nicole Ballantyne makes targeted links within the manufacturing sector to the right knowledge, partners, technology solution providers, research & academia, facilities, grants and funding with a view to driving productivity, efficiency and economic growth. Nicole leads on Innovate UK KTN’s support of the “Manufacturing Made Smarter” part of the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. Her ambition is to grow a vibrant cohesive community of industrial digital technology providers, developers and users across industry and technology sectors. She supports manufacturers to embrace digital technology innovation to grow their business, and technology developers to innovate the best solutions for the manufacturing industry. As a Chartered Mechanical Engineer with 3 decades of industry experience (from TPM, WCM, SPC to ERP to NPD), Nicole has been involved in a variety of innovation support roles across many sectors (FMCG, O&G, Energy, Water, OEM). She has an eclectic and diverse network of contacts to draw upon. Steven Barr is a chartered engineer with over 35 years of experience of designing, making and the agile implementation of high-tech products and services in manufacturing and the built environment. Before joining Innovate UK KTN, Steven was National Director at the UK’s Manufacturing Advisory Service and founder of EDGE Digital Manufacturing to inspire Digital Breakthrough through cross-business collaboration on technical, organisational, financial and personal challenges and opportunities. Steven is a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) Manufacturing Policy Panel, and a board member of the not-for-profit Digital Readiness Level cross-industry consortium. He is the lead technical author of British Standard PAS 1040 on Digital Readiness, a guide to adopting digital tech.

On May 24^th at 3pm CEST took part in an insightful discussion with Value China.

This webinar is going offered a deep dive into the evolution of distribution channels in China, with a focus on FMCG. In particular, it will explain the main aspects to take into consideration while planning an omnichannel distribution strategy in China, sharing insights for selling international products with China.

China is a very attractive destination market for international companies, as shown by the fact that in 2021, China was the largest partner for EU imports of goods (22.4 %). To enter such a huge and competitive market, it is fundamental to have a deep understanding of the peculiarities of this market and establish a clear distribution and promotion strategy.

AGENDA

1. Introduction and market overview
2. Traditional import and retail channels
3. E-commerce platforms
4. Social Commerce
5. Case Study: selling on Xiaohongsh

Relator: Vincenza Caputo

Vincenza Caputo graduated in International Relations with Asia from the University of Naples “L’Orientale” and during her studies she spent two years in China thanks to CSC scholarship, improving tremendously her Chinese level and achieving HSK6. Following her academic studies, Vincenza specialized in International Business, gaining a professional master’s degree in Export Management from the Italian Trade Agency. For the past years, she has been living and working in Hangzhou, for a Chinese-Italian JV importing Italian F&B to China. She is now a China’s F&B market expert, specialized in market entry strategies and import procedures for Italian F&B products. From January 2022, she is in charge of project development for Value China, a Sino-Italian consulting, digital marketing and technology agency for the Chinese market, part of the Neosperience S.p.a company (NSP.MI), leading player in Digital Customer Experience.

Relator: Irina Martynova and Aleksandra Sukhareva

Irina Martynova launched digital products and programs for top-international banks (Raiffeisnebank, Societe Generale) and FMCG (Procter & Gamble). Irina is an experienced professional with more than five years of experience in launching corporate innovation programs for various industry leaders with top results based on pilots and commercial partnerships received, including such companies as VTB, ALROSA, ILIM etc. As the Head of Corporate Direction of GenerationS, Irina is on a team that has achieved the designation of Best Corporate Accelerator in Europe as awarded by the Corporate Startup Summit in 2018. Irina holds a master’s degree from Financial University in Russia (KPMG program) and several diplomas from Harvard Extension School on strategy and innovation. Aleksandra Sukhareva is the TechLab Lead at PepsiCo Russia. Since June 2019, Aleksandra has been responsible for development technological innovation and working with startups in PepsiCo Russia. Aleksandra has 14 years of experience in FMCG, 7 of which are at PepsiCo. Having gained experience in digital and product marketing of large European companies, Aleksandra joined PepsiCo in 2014 and took up the trend marketing of beverage and juice categories on the AFH channel, after which she moved to innovation management. Aleksandra graduated with honors from the Finance Academy under the Government of the Russian Federation with a degree in Finance and Credit. She also completed the program “Innovation in the Age of Disruption” at the INSEAD Business School.

On June 14^th at 3pm CEST took part in an insightful discussion with China’s largest accelaration platform: TOJOY

The session, organised in collaboration with TOJOY, aimed to provide an insightful discussion on “The Role of Accelerators in the Chinese Entrepreneurial Ecosystem”. Interestingly, China was the only world power to register growth during the pandemic. With TOJOY, we discussed China’s post-COVID recovery and its latest trends, focusing on the 14^th 5-year plan through which it aimed to become an innovation powerhouse and to boost technological and economic development. In particular, we will focus on the Greater Bay Area, which is considered the heart of Chinese innovation and as one of the most technologically and economic advanced regions on the planet.

TOJOY will also illustrate its business model and approach to incubation, comparing the Chinese start-up incubation and acceleration ecosystems with the Europe’s, and offer advice for international start-ups and early-stage companies looking to enter China.

Relator: Richard Burton and Scott Douglas Williams

A Franco-British national living in Paris, Richard has had a varied career in defence electronics, cable TV, computing, information services, stock exchanges, trade credit and political risk insurance. From 1999 to 2015 he was based in Hong Kong leading the Asian regional development for Coface. From 2016 to 2019 he set up and ran his own advisory business to help young technology related companies with their development and to raise funds and was also active in M&A between Europe and China as Senior Advisor in a boutique advisory firm in Hong Kong. Richard joined TOJOY Western Europe as CEO for EMEA West in September 2019 to develop the activities in this region. TOJOY is China’s largest business acceleration platform with at its core a network of over 700,000 investors and entrepreneurs. Richard is an active Angel Investor and board advisor with interests in fintech, video games, video clip apps and electric vehicle recharging stations amongst others. Richard is a former Chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Hong Kong and of the European Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong. He is Vice-president of the France-Hong Kong Business Association, based in Paris. He is married with three children and in his spare time enjoys long distance trail running. Scott is resident of Greater China and North Asia for the past 25 years primarily in Japan and China. He is the senior director working on global development growth for TOJOY Capital Holdings and is based in Shanghai, China. He is also the founder of the US-China Investment Committee. Scott is a prior senior executive with FedEx, DHL, and Nokia and prior vice president at the prestigious American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. He was also the turnaround executive of late iconic pop legend Stan Lee’s POW (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment studio and his archives while based in Beverly Hills. Scott has a graduate degree from the Thunderbird American Graduate School graduate master program of international business and has a finance degree from the University of Oregon.

Innovation is generally understood as the process of bringing valuable new products (and services) to market, and has been highlighted as one of the key factors that determines the future success of an organisation.

Intellectual property (IP), and the management of the IP throughout the new product development process is a critical factor in successfully commercialising products and services.

Click here to register.

The purpose of this webinar is to briefly outline what forms of IP protection may be required at each stage of the product development process, and how overall management of the IP may lead to overall improved revenues and profitability.

Relator: Maria Coro PLA Gutierrez and Sebastian Hanck

Maria Coro PLA Gutierrez, IP Expert in the Customer Department, EUIPO, has been working in the world of Intellectual Property for more than 30 years. She started as a patent examiner (mechanical specialty) at the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), specifically in the Technological Information Department where, in addition to making patent reports, she collaborated in the creation of several Technology Watch Bulletins. In 2013 she joined the Management Support Unit of the OEPM and was in charge of the SME Support Service for 6 years. In 2019 she was assigned to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO) as Seconded National Exper. Since then, she has been working in the Customer Department, working mainly in the SME Program of this office. Sebastian Hanck, Team Leader, Supportive Instrument in the Customer Department, EUIPO, Belgian, joined the EUIPO in 1997, worked in the Operations Department as trademarks examiner and then as Head of examination sector for 15 years. He then joined the Customer department where he was in charge of managing the Key User Programme (EUIPO key account programme for big customers) and now, since January 2021, leads the team SME supportive initiatives which includes the SME Fund and others.

The session is designed to explore Nigeria’s unfolding entrepreneurial ecosystem, the role of innovation in shaping policy making as well as public/private participation in entrepreneurship and a look into what lies ahead for Africa’s biggest economy. Innovation, driven by changing consumer preferences, technology and globalization is re-inventing the way we create, add and capture value in enterprises around the world. The emerging markets have not been left out in this rapid transformation. Nigeria – the Giant of Africa, leveraging her combined strengths of deep mobile & internet penetration, a high youth population with a penchant resilience for success and a 200 million people immediate market potential, has become a leading hub for investment within the continent.

Consider transforming cultural heritages into global marketplaces, birthing 3 unicorns and attracting over $700million in VC funding (2019), the adoption of technological advances in addition to institutional agility has morphed a mono-product economy into the global brand “Niaja” impacting virtually all industrial sectors.

Relator: Anita Umoh Amorighoye and Stella Nnedinma Ayika

Anita Umoh Amorighoye is the Co-founder and Chief Executive Ayzer Center for Entrepreneurship, Nigeria. An Enterprise Development institute that focuses on early-stage start-ups, Ayzer provides capacity, mentorship, access to finance and linkages to support business development. Anita comes with an extensive background in Banking, having developed commercial relationships and structured people programs through public- private partnerships. Anita holds an MBA (Chartered Banking) and a Master’s degree in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Stella Nnedinma Ayika teaches, mentors, and inspires young people to choose the world of entrepreneurship through project-based activities of starting their own businesses. she supports SMEs through joint training and research. Stella has gained experience from collaborative work in establishing innovation hubs in TVET institutions 2019 and the African Roundtable on Sustainable Consumption and Production since 2011. Value is created in education when teachers continuously hone their skills, practice what they teach and constantly research. Stella holds a Bachelor of Agricultural Technology, postgraduate diploma in education and Master of Science in Business administration (entrepreneurship option). While engaging over 900 learners yearly, Stella is passionate about harnessing a system that drives learners, SMEs and the society to understand gaps and create sustainable solutions.