"ECOFUNDING"

(MED Programme)

Within the European Enterprise Network (EEN), the financing issue and, particularly, the financial engineering for the development of projects in the fields of the sustainability, the energy efficiency and the eco-innovation, is a priority that still needs a lot of work. In addition, there is a widespread tendency in the whole MED area that links green axes (sustainability and energy efficiency) to innovation and business axe: financing and innovation need to be more reachable to energy efficiency and eco-innovation companies in order to enhance their competitiveness at national and EU/international level.

ECOFUNDING is a project designed to create new investment spaces that favor green SMEs. The main objective of the project is to create a comprehensive platform of financial resources that link investors and entrepreneurs and include all financial engineering mechanisms the EU is betting on, at the same time, that it provides with innovative solutions to financing concerning venture capital, private investment and the creation of public-private cooperation structures.

KiNNO Consultants LTD. as external expert of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ioannina is responsible for:

• Identifing innovative funding instruments on energy development and eco-innovation in the Region of Epirus
• Identifying Regional stakeholders and financial & funding schemes and innovative tools on energy and green business and for the development of project’s online platform that enhances the access of SMEs to grenn funding
• Designing three ICT Tools for supporting SMEs access to green funding (Autodiagnistic, Rating & RSS tool)
• Providing consulting services to support ten local SMEs that are interested in energy saving, eco-innovation, green and blues business to develop their Business Plan
• Conducting Regional Pilots implementation evaluation Report mapping the needs and opportunities of local SMEs on green funding

Partnership: Council of Chambers of Commerce of the Valencian Region (Spain), CONFINDUSTRIA SICILIA (Italy), Verona Innovazione – Special Agency of the Chamber of Commerce of Verona (Italy), FRENCH RIVIERA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (France), Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Marseille Provence (France), University of Algarve – Division of Entreprenurship Support and Technology Transfer (Portugal), Development Agency Zagreb – TPZ Ltd. (Croatia), Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ioannina (Greece), Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Cyprus), AVEN (Valencian Regional Agency of Energy) (Spain), "Jozef Stefan" Institute - Energy Efficiency Centre (EEC) (Slovenia),

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