On 8th & 9th of June the Enterprise Europe Network Annual Conference brought together 800 Network partners, representatives from the European Commission and guest speakers. The event marked the beginning of a new chapter for the Network (2015 - 2020).  Cork Chamber is proud to be one of the 600 Enterprise Europe Network member offices across more than 60 countries which provide business support to SMEs. Members such as chambers of commerce and industry, technology centres and universities, regional development and innovation agencies bring together around 4500 local experts. The Network helps ambitious SMEs innovate and grow internationally, combining international business expertise with local knowledge to help them enter new markets, forge new commercial partnerships, access finance and grow faster.

The annual gathering of the world's largest support network for SMEs with international ambitions attracted an inspiring combination of high-level speakers from the European Commission as well as industry leaders and SME innovators. They included Nicolas BRUSSON, co-founder and chief operating officer of BlaBlaCar - an online car sharing service and Andrew O'Shaughnessy, CEO of Newsweaver - a successful Irish SME headquartered in Cork. 

Patrick Lambert, Director of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME), that oversees the EEN project said: "This new phase of the Enterprise Europe Network is great news for ambitious SMEs who want to grow internationally. While the Network continues to help businesses find new commercial partners and enter new markets, its experts are now also providing specialised support to innovative SMEs with high growth potential."

The European Commission set up the Enterprise Europe Network for the first  time in 2008 to help SMEs, the backbone of the European economy, make the most of business opportunities in the EU and beyond - the ultimate aim being to contribute to creating growth and jobs for Europe.