The partners of the ‘Consolidation of the Central Atlantic Alliance for the competitiveness of SMEs in the blue economy’ (SmartBlueF) project attended to the Kick-off Meeting at the Cámara de Comercio do Norte in Mindelo. During the meeting the attendees presented their entities and they delved into the knowledge of the project. They examined the activities planned for 2020 in order to set the deadlines for the implementation of the tasks that will begin in January 2020.
The project is funded by the Territorial Co-operation Programme INTERREG MAC and it is included in the Axis 2: Improvement of the competitiveness of SMEs / PI.3.d Support of the growth capacity of SMEs in regional, national and international markets and in innovation processes. Its main objective is to promote the competitiveness of the companies in the blue economy through the implementation of a transnational network of innovation support agents that promotes the innovation culture and the internationalization by leveraging synergies, capabilities and shared resources.
The SmartBlueF project was approved in the second call for projects of the INTERREG V-A Spain-Portugal MAC (Madeira-Azores-Canaries) co-operation programme 2014-2020 and is 85% co-funded with ERD funds. The project is led by the CMC, working with its partners: CETECIMA, PLOCAN, PROEXCA, the Regional Science and Technology Fund of Azores (FRCT), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Azores (CCIA), the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madeira (ACIF- CCIM), and the Regional Agency for the Development of Research, Technology and Innovation (ARDITI), the Regional Development Institute of Madeira (IPRAM), the Azores Regional Directorate of Maritime Affairs (DRAM), the Azores Business Development Society (SDEA) and the North Chamber of Commerce of Cape Verde.
