Here's why you need to attend a brokerage event

EEN’s brokerage events are designed for businesses to meet partners in different countries, form relationships and ultimately grow their companies (a bit like speed-dating but for businesses and much less awkward). Here’s what to expect from our brokerage events should you attend one…

There are normally many parties involved in the creation of brokerage events (aka missions). Back in June we travelled to Pamplona the capital of Navarra in Spain; with us we took two dozen UK companies from the Nanotechnology and advanced materials sector to Navarra to meet their Spanish counterparts.

We take with us companies who we feel would really benefit from the meeting international partners or/and organisations will sign up via our website.

The typical structure of a mission is on day one it’ll mainly be filled with presentations from the experts. The Navarra mission really got into full swing on the second day with presentations from the host organisation (the Industrial association of Navarra) and a one hour elevator pitch session with 12 companies showcasing their work.

The next 7 hours consisted of meetings with a twist; we kept a bell to ring once their time with a partner was up. This kept everyone on their toes and kept a general good sense of humor in the room. We kept the day going in a frenetic pace only interrupted by the necessary breaks to keep everybody hydrated and fed.

Although the day can be very fast-moving it’s a really effective way to meet international counterparts and the only complaint we received was that not enough businesses are aware of these types of events.

These events are incredibly productive, one of our clients that we took to the UK and Navarra mission was a start-up based in Cambridge. They produce thin and flexible printed batteries for wearable electronics.

Enterprise Europe Network’s (EEN) English advisers got in touch with the networks Spanish colleagues to ask about any potential partners that could support the start-up.

It turned out that the partner was a solid match for our client and even used their premises to test their developments. The level of connection was important and both parties agreed to continue the conversation and explore future collaborations, not only related to product development but also as potential partners in EU programmes.

They said:

The Navarra company mission has been unexpectedly productive for us. It was an excellent opportunity to identify potential collaboration partners both in Spain and the UK! There is a number of contacts now that we are pursuing further. Throughout the process, EEN has been incredibly helpful and accommodating in making this happen!

If you’d like to stay up to date with any upcoming brokerage events you can, follow us on twitter @EENEast, sign up to our newsletter or just keep an eye on our website.