Enterprise Europe Network: Ready to reach new heights?

5. October 2026

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Enterprise Europe Network: Ready to reach new heights?

Your idea works at home. But what happens when you want to take it to Portugal, Greece or Japan? Who do you call when you need a partner, manufacturer or access to finance in a country where you know no one? For a small company, the first step abroad is often the hardest. And it is rarely the product that is missing – it is the connections, local knowledge and trust.

Vision

Ceu Filipe, International Business Advisor at Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), opened her pitch at the September Velvet Innovation Meetup with a simple question: “Do you want to reach new heights?” EEN helps small and medium-sized enterprises expand abroad, find international partners and navigate foreign markets. The idea behind it is simple: a good business should not be held back by national borders. Ceu summed up EEN’s work in three things – connecting people, opening doors and creating impact. As she put it, “People make the real difference in a business.”

Gamechanger

Enterprise Europe Network is a European Commission network supporting SMEs with international ambitions. Rather than simply pointing companies towards information, EEN connects them with advisors who know their local markets and can help them find the right people and opportunities. The support spans sectors and includes innovation, sustainability, internationalisation and access to finance. In practice, that can mean finding a partner abroad, exploring a new market or gaining the knowledge needed to make the next move.

Who is it for?

Small and medium-sized companies, innovators and entrepreneurs who want to grow beyond their home market. The sector does not matter. Whether they work in gaming, textiles, agri-food or something else entirely, EEN advisors can help them explore opportunities beyond their borders.

What has worked so far?

Ceu came to Brno from Portugal for the first time, but she was far from the only international EEN advisor in the room. During two days in Brno, colleagues gathered from 15 countries, including Portugal, Greece, Germany and Belgium. It was a small-scale demonstration of how the network works: local advisors connected across borders, ready to help companies find their way into new markets.

Do you have international ambitions? Are you looking for partners, new markets or new knowledge abroad? Talk to the EEN team. Ceu’s invitation at the meetup was straightforward: “Let us know what your ideas and your needs are, and we will see what we can make happen together with you.”

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