The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) led a delegation of 27 companies from its regions at COMPUTEX 2022, the second-largest trade show dedicated to the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) industry.
The group had 27 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and high-potential start-ups — from 38 economies where the EBRD invests — join both the COMPUTEX and InnoVEX events. They had the opportunity to attend the event thanks to support from the TaiwanBusiness – EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.
These SMEs included companies that focus on improving people’s abilities, such as Montenegro’s Flourish, which provides soft skills training to workers, and Egypt’s Eyouth, which connects young people with learning opportunities. Other members of the delegation aim to improve already existing mechanisms, including Jordan’s QuiqClaim, which provides financing for the medical insurance industry, and microlending solutions provider Simbrella from the Netherlands.
The EBRD visitors had a chance to connect with other entrepreneurs and exchange industry insights. In addition, eight companies selected from a pool of ICT pioneers exhibited their businesses at the EBRD’s virtual pavilion in InnoVEX and pitched their technologies to manufacturers and prospective buyers.
Facilitated by the EBRD’s Business Matching and Development program, which promotes international business exchange and knowledge transfer, the global exhibition aimed to raise the profile of SMEs pioneering digital technologies for innovation and sustainable solutions.
The program promotes the business matching activities of SMEs in ICT, helping them access international know-how, gain new skills and establish successful cross-regional business networks and partnerships to become more competitive.
ICT, a rapidly growing sector in the EBRD’s regions, presents strong business development opportunities for SMEs. High-tech enterprises drive innovative solutions to emerging global challenges and have an important role to play in fostering a diversified, sustainable economy that encourages competitiveness and access to foreign markets.
ABOUT EBRD：
The EBRD is the largest single investor in many of the countries where it operates. It is active in 38 economies from central Europe to Central Asia, the Western Balkans and the southern and eastern Mediterranean and more recently Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza. The Bank’s investments also mobilize significant foreign direct investment into the economies where it operates. It invests mainly in private enterprises, usually together with commercial partners. It provides project financing for the financial sector and the real economy, both new ventures and investments in existing companies. It also works with publicly owned companies to support privatization, the restructuring of state-owned firms and improvement of municipal services. The Bank is owned by 66 countries and two intergovernmental institutions (the European Union and the European Investment Bank). It maintains a close political dialogue with governments, authorities and representatives of civil society to promote its goals. It also works in cooperation with international organizations such as the OECD, the IMF, the World Bank and UN specialized agencies. In all its operations, the EBRD follows the highest standards in corporate governance and sustainable development. As a public institution, the EBRD is committed to a rigorous public information policy.
