SMARAGD

Small and medium-sized companies in the Meuse-Rhine region are struggling to keep up with the fast changes due to external factors such as emergent innovative technologies, along with the push for more eco-friendly products and not enough skilled workers.

The SMARAGD project will make life easier for these SMEs by providing them with digital tools to quickly and easily implement smart technology, create sustainable products, and improve their processes. The project will also provide easily accessible digital training modules on the SMARAGD web-based digital platform for use by employees across borders.

In the end, companies will have a better understanding of new digital tools for developing advanced and sustainable materials, can develop new strategies to develop better sustainable products and processes, and will maintain or increase their competitiveness to access international markets.

The funding initiative for the Euregio Meuse Rhine supports SMEs in setting up cross border innovation partnerships. It covers the entire spectrum of activities: From approaching companies, setting up cross-border co-operation consortia, financing their innovation projects to follow up support/market entry. The STIPP instrument therefore consists of a part that supports SMEs in their project development and partner search, but also in all aspects of their co-operation, and another part that focuses on the direct financing of their innovation projects .