Calls for Tenders and Grants for Internationalisation

Did you know that you can receive cash contributions for internationalisation?

Periodically, the EU, MISE, Unioncamere and local Chambers of Commerce allocate funds to support the internationalisation of companies wishing to export. Just to give an example: the Monza and Brianza Chamber of Commerce has opened a call for proposals (READ HERE) in the amount of EUR 500,000 accessible until 31 December 2019.

What is internationalisation?

By definition, internationalisation is ‘the process of adapting a company, a product, a brand, conceived and designed for a defined market or environment, to other international markets or environments, especially other nations and cultures’.

It is abundantly clear that the process is something completely different from the classic participation in trade fairs and missions abroad, too often passed off as internationalisation. The trade mission should in fact be considered AFTER localising the product (i.e. adapting it to the market of interest) and AFTER getting to know the laws, customs and regulations of the same market.

In fact, trading internationalisation for participation in missions abroad is a serious mistake that leads in most cases to underestimating market opportunities.

Understanding the target market

I was talking to an Italian entrepreneur at the recent Thaifex in Bangkok (the most famous food fair in South East Asia); he told me: “I have been doing the fair in Bangkok for three years, never sold anything: the Thai market is too difficult!” No, the market is not difficult. It is saturated, like all modern and technologically advanced markets, and must be approached with a different strategy. It remains open and very profitable for those who give innovation, service and added value. But it is not enough.

The cultural component, market dynamics and compliance can be insurmountable barriers for those who are not LOCALISED. They can tell you any story that you will be forced to believe, not through any fault of your own, but through lack of information about the real market. So they will keep you at the door for years until you get tired of it.

Funding internationalisation

One of the added values of joining the Italia Food Asia Consortium is precisely the possibility of finding the right information from those who have been working in the sector for years so as not to take the wrong steps and accelerate the market entry process with the most appropriate strategy. And, most welcome of all, from having the market entry financed by institutions. Kha Group is in fact able to support you in drawing up your project and provide help in the application process. Even through contacts in Italy.

Interesting, isn’t it? Contact us today to enter one of the most interesting markets in the world: ASEAN, with 700 million consumers and an average annual growth rate of 6.7%.

An example of government financing