RECOIN

The main objective of the RECOIN project is to reinforce the capacities and facilities of small and medium-sized enterprises operating in the Uusimaa region for growth and internationalization by developing their competence and ability to innovate, increasing their market, future, and technology intelligence, and expanding their network of contacts. This creates opportunities for the participating companies to innovate products and services outside of their core business activities and the domestic market and provides the courage to take new steps.

The RECOIN project aims to create a systematic process to spur the innovation activities of SMEs, and thus their growth and internationalization, by providing SMEs operating in the Uusimaa region with market and future intelligence from large-scale enterprises (aspirational companies) and the latest research data. The innovation activities of the enterprises are reinforced by increasing their knowledge of future technologies and by helping them identify European growth and development platforms in the wake of the aspirational companies, which could be used to obtain more resources for development work.

During the project, the SMEs in the operating area are dredged actively, their innovation activities are spurred, they are encouraged to seek growth and internationalization, and their growth bottle necks are eliminated. The latest market and future intelligence is gathered by listening to the aspirational companies, which is then specified further with research interviews. Brainstorming, innovation sessions and hackathons are used to translate the latest information into support for the growth and internationalization of the SMEs in an interesting and concrete manner, together with international funding opportunities.

As a result of participating in the project, the core competence and enterprise skills of the companies are improved. Agile scanning and swarm intelligence activities becomes a permanent part of their strategic work. The companies participating in the project will carry out surveys and take steps toward new business areas and new markets. They innovate new or improved products, production methods, technologies or services. In the longer term, the enterprises’ capacities for acting in the international market in a competitive manner are improved.

The European Regional Development Fund ERDF is the main source of funding for the RECOIN project. The project duration is October 1, 2019 – December 31, 2021.