TradeMalta has been granted EU funds to develop a knowledge platform for SMEs to use when planning their export and internationalisation efforts. The project, which will see TradeMalta investing in sector and market reports, eLearning content, planning tools and other knowledge assets that SMEs need to find international markets, will cost just under €1 million.
Over the next 24 months, TradeMalta, the public-private partnership formed between the government and the Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry, will be procuring various ICT, audiovisual, research and other material which will be made available on this knowledge platform.
This will ensure that SMEs in Malta will at least be at a par with their counterparts in leading European countries, when it comes to knowledge-based support. The internationalisation knowledge platform is co-financed under the Operational Programme I – European Structural and Investment Funds 2014-2020 ‘Fostering a Competitive and Sustainable Economy to Meet Our Challenges”.
To date, TradeMalta has provided assistance to SMEs in terms of co-financing of export marketing initiatives, training and matchmaking.
Through this knowledge platform, the agency will now offer content that SMEs will find useful to plan and execute their export and internationalisation.
TradeMalta plans to deploy a new staff member to support these information services as part of this project. Tenders for the procurement of key content components are expected to start being published by the end of this year.