Developing local businesses

The Enterprise Europe Network within Malta Enterprise is organising a series of events aimed at supporting local enterprises develop their business, learn about new opportunities or finding business partners within specific niches such as sustainable construction, procurement, research and development and innovation.

Green Build Malta will assess the current situation of the Maltese construction industry

Green Build Malta is a national conference and brokerage event being organised on Thursday to assess the current situation of the Maltese construction industry and address the opportunities available to improve its sustainability by capitalising on innovative and green practices.

This important business event is intended to bring together all professionals operating within the building and construction industry in Malta, including architects, designers, consultants, entrepreneurs, academics and policy makers.

Aspects of design, materials and regulation will be addressed during the national conference, which will also provide a platform for main players and stakeholders to network, discuss, collaborate and exchange information and experiences.

Organised in collaboration with the Building Industry Consultative Council and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry and with the support of the EEN offices in Sicily, the conference will be complimented by one-to-one meetings between Maltese and Italian entrepreneurs.

A delegation of around 15 companies will be visiting Malta specifically for the event, which will offer the opportunity to individually meet with Maltese entrepreneurs and facilitate technology transfer and project collaboration.

The Enterprise Europe Network within Malta Enterprise is also organising a business seminar to brief Maltese businesses on the activities of the UN Procurement Division and to register qualified suppliers online by the close of the event.

During the event, which will be held between November 13 and 14, official buyers from four UN agencies – namely the UN Procurement Division, the UN Relief and Works Agency, the UN Population Fund, and the UN Development Programme – will be explaining how Maltese SMEs may benefit from the UN’s procurement opportunities.

Participants will also have the opportunity to network and meet the UN official buyers on a one-to-one basis, who may also guide them to prepare an online registration as a vendor to the UN.

The importance of research and innovation for companies to ensure their competitiveness and long-term sustainability has been widely recognised over the years.

However, faced with pressure from competitors, rapid technology changes and shifts in their operating markets, enterprises cannot afford to rely solely on their own research.

Open innovation thus becomes an opportunity for enterprises to leverage intellectual resources from external sources outside their own organisation, overcoming the limitations imposed by their own boundaries to tap into the infinite knowledge that is already available elsewhere.

Enterprises can save time and money by involving third parties, thus benefitting from inventions and new technologies developed by other organisations or by collaborating with suppliers and competitors outside their own organisation through licence agreements or joint ventures.

Malta Enterprise and the Enterprise Europe Network are also organising a training workshop on November 22 at Le Meridien Hotel in St Julian’s, led by Aleardo Furlani, managing director of Innova Spa.

Malta Enterprise, with the support of the Enterprise Europe Network, is also organising a business mission to participate in LEaN2012 in Genoa between November 29 and 30.

The brokerage event is the right platform for those seeking new partners for commercial, technological purposes and for RTD activities.

Participants will have the opportunity to promote their technology and expertise to a range of Italian and international organisations. For further information, visit www.maltaenterprise.com, call 2542 0000 or e-mail info@enterprise-europemalta.com.