The first partner meeting of the InnoCoop project, implemented within the framework of the Interreg Europe Programme, took place between 2 and 4 July in Kaposvár, organised by the Lead Partner, Somogy County Entrepreneurship Centre Foundation, in cooperation with CROST Nonprofit Ltd. as project partner. The aim of the InnoCoop project is to develop policy tools that promote innovative cooperation between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in rural areas. The project seeks to identify good practices in this field and to encourage project partners to apply them in their own operations.
The first day of the meeting was opened by Tímea Kárpáti, Deputy Mayor of Kaposvár. In addition to a professional presentation of the project and an introduction of the partners representing six countries (Greece, Lithuania, Italy, Serbia, Poland and Hungary), we had the opportunity to gain insight into the investment promotion activities of the city of Kaposvár. In a presentation by our partner Márton Szűcs, head of the secretariat, our partners learned about the “B Light” project, which operates within the framework of the Interreg Hungary-Croatia Programme and supports the innovation development of small and medium-sized enterprises in the border region. György Márton, CROST’s managing director and lead expert, also gave a presentation on the topic and summarised the results and experiences of the “B Light” project implemented during the 2014-2020 funding period.
On the second and third days of the workshop, we mapped out the innovative SME cooperation practices characteristic of Somogy County through visits to external locations. The Barcs and Region Entrepreneurs’ Association introduced itself. We learned about the operations of Szige-Mix Ltd. (Barcs) and Büttner Ltd. (Nagyatád), and we also visited Sefag Zrt. Zselici Csillagpark in Zselickisfalud. We had the opportunity to learn about the corporate values of the Katica Tanya experience centre (Patca) and its efforts in the field of environmental sustainability. At the end of the partner meeting, the “Balaton Bor” brand was presented in the Balatonlelle area, which is an innovative product based on the cooperation of local winemakers.
During the extremely informative three-day programme, we had the opportunity to learn about a number of potential good practices in Somogy County in the company of our partners, which may be included in our further analyses and project work. We would like to thank the Lead Partner for the organisation and the participating organisations and businesses for their warm hospitality!