Programme Category
Programme Name
Programme Description
The Single Market Programme (SMP) covers the single market, competitiveness of enterprises, including small and medium-sized enterprises, the area of plants, animals, food and feed, and European statistics. Specifically, the programme brings together aspects in order to streamline, exploit synergies and provide a better flexible, transparent, simplified and agile framework to finance activities aiming at a well-functioning sustainable internal market.
Identifier Code
Call
Summary
The overall objective of the EU SME Centre is to provide a first line of advice to target SMEs willing to go on the Chinese market, to increase and diversify their knowledge acquisition, exports, imports and investments.
Detailed Call Description
The EU SME Centre phase IV will not only further develop the activities of previous phases, especially the ones carried out in the most recent phase III, but will also provide new business support services that reflect, on the one hand, the needs of SMEs in the post COVID-19 pandemic and, on the other hand, the new EU policy priorities and the state of EU-China economic relations. Thus, the specific objectives of this call for proposals are:
- Assisting target SMEs to navigate the web to identify most suitable EU and non-EU business support organisations at their disposal, that can provide target SMEs with the most appropriate support;
- Assessing target SMEs’ readiness towards establishing and developing their commercial presence on the Chinese market;
- Assisting target SMEs to establish and develop a sustainable commercial presence on the Chinese market (through knowledge acquisition, exports, imports and investments);
- Advising target SMEs on the risks and opportunities of the Chinese market so that they can take informed decisions on envisaged business relations with Chinese partners;
- Improving synergies and best practice sharing among EU (and when applicable non-EU) BSOs at European, national and regional level, with the ultimate goal of helping the target SMEs intending to do business in China;
- Creating or further developing synergies with other EU funded actions, in particular with the SME IPR Helpdesk, with whom cooperation should be seamless, but also with the Enterprise Europe Network and other relevant actions;
- Strengthening European advocacy for EU and SMP COSME associated countries’ business communities, in particular SMEs, in relation to their business activities in China.
The Centre will essentially provide general business and legal support services, will offer information about market opportunities and market conditions in China and will provide networking opportunities with relevant potential partners to SMEs with a desire to enter or expand their operations in China.
Call Total Budget
Financing percentage by EU or other bodies / Level of Subsidy or Loan
90%. The indirect cost flat-rate is 7% of the eligible direct costs.
Thematic Categories
- Industry
- Trade and Commerce
Eligibility for Participation
- Associations
- Large Enterprises
- NGOs
- Other Beneficiaries
- Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
- State-owned Enterprises
Eligibility For Participation Notes
In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must be legal entities (public or private bodies) and be business support organisations from EU Member States and SMP COSME associated countries, entities representing groups of companies, including Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), and/or business economic interests of EU or SMP COSME associated countries and offering in the first instance non-individualised services for promoting trade and investment between Europe and China.
Applicants can be (non-exhaustive list):
- bilateral or European Chambers of commerce;
- sector specific trade organisations;
- industrial and professional associations;
- employers’ federations;
- business intermediary non-governmental organisations;
- sector specific agencies supporting SMEs in their trade, investment or commercial activities.
Proposals must be submitted by a consortium of at least four applicants (beneficiaries; not affiliated entities), which complies with the following conditions:
- minimum 2 entities must be established in the EU and must be from different Member States; and
- minimum 2 entities must be established in China.
Considering the specificity of the action it is strongly recommended that the consortium leader is established in the EU.
Applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) cannot submit more than one proposal under this call.
Call Opening Date
Call Closing Date
National Contact Point(s)
Ministry of Energy, Trade and Industry
Industry and Technology Service
1421, Nicosia, Cyprus
Email: sit@meci.gov.cy
Contact Person:
Spyros Triantaphyllidis
Telephone: 22867333
Email: striantafyllides@meci.gov.cy
(Publish Date: 04/10/2021-for internal use only)
EU Contact Point
For individual questions on the Portal Submission System, please contact the IT Helpdesk:
Non-IT related questions should be sent to the following email address:
EISMEA-SMPCOSME-ENQUIRIES@ec.europa.eu.
(Publish Date: 27/09/2021, for internal use only)