On 13 November the first edition of the Enterprise Europe Network Sport Itinerary successfully came to an end!
As introduced back in March, this pilot action was launched at the beginning of this year to promote promote the sports ecosystem and create business opportunities for companies with international ambitions. A joint calendar of free business events was made (e.g., B2B, workshops, learning opportunities), including in the context of high-level international sports events.
The Network group of experts working on Tourism organised seven free of charge international B2B events and several thematic workshops open to all European SMEs and involving 5 different EU countries:
01-31 March 2023:
Cycling Europe B2B/Workshop
Dusseldorf, Germany
16-17 March 2023:
MBM Tourism B2B
Prague, Czech Republic
19-21 May 2023:
Eductour Sport&Food, company mission
Aosta, Italy
05-07 June 2023:
Islands of Innovation Matchmaking Event - Sports, Tourism and Social Innovation B2B
Azzorres, Portugal
28-29-30 June 2023:
Torino Fashion Match 2023 B2B
Torino, Italy
30 June 2023:
Ocean Race B2B
Genova, Italy
13 November 2023
Sport, CHE IMPRESA! Workshop and Enterprise Europe Network Award Sport Itinerary 2023
In conclusion of the Itinerary the group of experts has selected 3 companies that successfully participated to Network events during the year in order to participate to a special final Network Prize.
The final ceremony has been held during the workshop: “Sport, che Impresa” organised by Torino Chamber of commerce at the Tennis ATP Finals. The workshop was an important occasion to discuss about the Sport Ecosystem and future business opportunities with big brands like Juventus, Mizuno, Ferrino, reach the point of view of athletes and analyse the SportsTech ecosystem global insights with SportsTechX company.
At the end of the workshop the following companies have been awarded as finalists for the Network Sport Itinerary:
- Cristina Sorice, TourDivini, participating to the B2B MBM Tourism Prague 2023 event;
Mrs Cristina Sorice has a local tour operator in Italy and thanks to the participation at this B2B she got in contact with new commercial partners and added new touristic/sportive activities in her catalogue. Thanks to this added value she already received contacts and reservation for 2024 of new clients from USA and Australia.
- Francesca Picasso, Wylab, participating to the B2B Ocean Race 2023 event;
Mrs Francesca Picasso works for Wylab, the first Italian incubator focusing on start-ups developing innovative technologies and solutions for sport. Thanks to the participation at this B2B she got in contact with ESPI (European Platform for Sport and Innovation) and they are now evaluating their application and further collaborations at EU level.
- Colum Donnelly, Digital Mosaik, participating to the B2B Islands of Innovation 2023 event;
Mr Colum Donnelly, Strategic Advisor at Digital Mosaik, a company developing virtual experiences that unite, train, excite, improve people's work and business performance. They use the metaverse technologies and help companies learn about them and integrate them effectively. Thanks to the participation to this B2B event he got in contact with the School of Education of the Polytechnical Institute of Bragança and they started a successful collaboration for the application of an EU Erasmus+ project called Fighters of Cognitive Decline focusing on neurodegenerative diseases
Thanks to the successful results of the Enterprise Europe Network Pilot Sport Itinerary 2023, the Network group of experts in Tourism is already working on a new calendar of events for 2024 in order to continue with the activities focusing on the Sport Ecosystem and business opportunities.