BAYERN HANDWERK INTERNATIONAL GMBH

Their core work

Bayern Handwerk International (BHI) is the international arm of the Bavarian Skilled Crafts sector, operating as an Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) contact point that helps SMEs in Bavaria access EU innovation support. Their core work is delivering innovation management capacity-building to craft and trade businesses — assessing SME readiness through tools like IMP³rove and Innovation Health Check, and connecting them with EU funding instruments like the SME Instrument and EIC. They act as a bridge between the Bavarian Handwerk (skilled trades) sector and European innovation programs.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

BHI's work has been remarkably consistent across 2015-2021, running four sequential iterations of the same InnoBavaria programme. The early phase (2015-2018) focused on foundational innovation management and key account management for SMEs. In the later phase (2019-2021), the toolkit became more specific — adding structured assessment methodologies (IMP³rove, Innovation Health Check) and expanding from Horizon 2020/COSME to include EIC, reflecting the EU's own instrument evolution.

BHI is maturing from general SME support toward more structured, tool-based innovation assessment — expect them to continue as an EEN node with growing EIC advisory capability.

How they like to work

BHI exclusively participates as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for regional EEN contact points operating within larger network consortia. With only 9 unique partners all within a single country, they work in a tight, stable network — likely the same Bavarian/German EEN consortium renewed across programme cycles. This makes them a reliable, low-risk partner for anyone needing a regional SME gateway in Bavaria, though they are not a consortium-building hub.

BHI works with a compact network of 9 partners, all within Germany. This reflects their role as a regional EEN node embedded in a stable domestic consortium rather than a pan-European network builder.

What sets them apart

BHI's distinctive value is its direct access to the Bavarian Handwerk (skilled crafts and trades) sector — a massive economic segment in Germany that is often underserved by traditional innovation support structures. For anyone needing to reach manufacturing SMEs, craft businesses, or trade companies in Bavaria, BHI is an established gateway with years of trust and relationships. Their combination of EEN membership and sector-specific focus in one of Germany's strongest industrial regions makes them a useful dissemination and outreach partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• InnoBavaria_5
  Most mature iteration of the programme, incorporating formal IMP³rove methodology and Innovation Health Check diagnostics alongside EIC advisory.
• InnoBavaria_2
  The foundational project that established BHI's role in EU-funded SME innovation support, running from 2015-2016.