According to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), multinationals have been the key driver of Central European business innovation in recent years. While this innovation has brought benefits, it has not helped local companies, nor has it prepared the region for the challenges ahead.
In fact, a dependence on multinational innovation has left Central Europe’s economies vulnerable, according the EIU report entitled ‘A Time For New Ideas: Innovation in Central Europe‘, sponsored by Oracle Corporation. While a handful of local SMEs have managed to innovate, the region faces a shortage of talent and a lack of support for innovation among local governments.
Continue reading ‘EIU: Multinational innovation in CEE is not enough’
I recently had a drink with two Hungarian entrepreneurs who are working on an interesting mashup. They’ve created a front end for Google that closely resembles the functionality of Startlap.hu (for my Hungarian-impaired readers, this translates as “start page”.)
Their creation, Godzi.hu (no idea what that means) is now in public beta. The functionality is, indeed, impressive. But how do the founders take this great idea and make it into a business?
Let’s start by talking about what Godzi does.
Continue reading ‘Godzi is a refreshing idea but will people use it?’
I was in Prague earlier this month conducting a partner search for a social networking company. While I cannot comment on the specifics of that business, I can pass on a few observations about the Central European Internet market.
The online populations of Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia and Austria are relatively small. They are linguistically and culturally isolated. Even the Austrians, who share a common language with Germany and part of Switzerland, prefer to use Austrian websites. This limits the scale of any online business that addresses a single Central European market.
However, it would be a mistake to conclude that there aren’t any decent opportunities in these markets.
Continue reading ‘Online opportunities in Central Europe’
I am pleased to be able to contribute for the first time to a new nowEurope issue that so far has been quite underestimated in some European countries: Technology transfer, in particular in ICT.
The core business of CITT is to devise a strategy to establish and get running a viable cooperation between the ICT industry and research. Although a lot has been done recently on national and EU levels, Europe still gives away too much technology and know how to competing markets.
Continue reading ‘CITT: Add “Technology Transfer” to Europe’s vocabulary!’
Let me continue to post some remarks to the previous notes on the new initiative the “Centrope ICT technology transfer” which broadens the variety of activities taking place in the so called “Centrope region”. The region accounts for about six million inhabitants.
Why and how did it all start? The CITT project was initiated by the Vienna IT Enterprises Platform of the Vienna Business Agency more than a year ago. VITE is the network for IT companies, research-, development- and educational institutions which have their seat in Vienna. The main goals of VITE is raising awareness for the value of cooperation and implementing existing skills and ideas to initiatives.
Continue reading ‘The plant bears its flowers in clusters’
As part of the NETIES project, we have conducted a survey of small and medium sized enterprises interested in participating in Sixth Framework funded projects. This survey was carried out in Hungary, in parallel with our colleagues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This research was conducted in two parts. The first survey, summarized here, collected information from companies and organizations interested in taking part in an FP6 funded project. The second survey researched those who had previously taken part in a project.
One insight of this survey is that two-thirds of respondents (64%) had little or no knowledge about the FP6 programme, while 56% were interested in receiving information online.
Continue reading ‘Survey One results: Companies interested in applying for FP6′
As part of the NETIES project, we have conducted a survey of small and medium sized enterprises interested in participating in Sixth Framework funded projects. This survey was carried out in Hungary, in parallel with our colleagues in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
This research was conducted in two parts. The first survey gathered information from companies and organizations interested in taking part in an FP6 funded project. The second survey, summarized here, researched those who had previously taken part in a project.
One insight of this survey is the high level of satisfaction among Hungarian companies taking part in FP6. Nearly one third of companies (29%) rated their FP6 participation a ‘four’ on an ascending value scale of one to four, while 48% gave it a ‘three’. A full 90% agreed they would do it all over again, if given the chance.
A total of 39 companies took part in this survey, which was carried out in partnership with the Hungarian Association of IT Companies (IVSZ).
Continue reading ‘Survey Two results: Companies which have successfully applied for FP6 support’
How has Hungary fared in the European Commission’s Sixth Framework Programme? While data is only available for four of the six calls, it is still possible to draw some preliminary conclusions. This data was provided aby the National Research and Technology Agency, as well as the National Office for Research and Technology.
The good news is Hungary’s overall performance in FP6 has increased over the previous FP5 program. Unfortunately, the participation of small businesses has dropped significantly. It also seems clear that new Instruments introduced in FP6 have had the effect of excluding the participation of Hungary, and other New Member States (NMS).
Continue reading ‘Hungary’s FP6 score card’
On Tuesday I took part as a coach and moderator at Europe Unlimited’s Biotech Venture Academy, held here in Budapest. I attended the BVA in Warsaw in March, and offered my impressions about how well the format works. Hungary has a reputation as the region’s leader in biotech, so I was interested in comparing the quality of attendees at the two events.
The first thing I want to say about Budapest Biotech Venture Academy is that the quality of participation was high. The BVA format puts entrepreneurs in front of a group of business coaches to pitch their companies. The coaches offer their criticism and suggestions, and they work with each entrepreneur in a one-on-one meeting to improve the presentation.
Continue reading ‘The BVA comes to Budapest’
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