CAMARA DO COMERCIO E INDUSTRIA DE PONTA DELGADA

Their core work

CCIPD is the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada, serving businesses in the Azores (Portugal's Atlantic archipelago). Their core function is supporting local SMEs with innovation management, internationalization, and access to EU funding opportunities. Within H2020, they operated exclusively as a node of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN), delivering innovation advisory services and helping Azorean companies connect with European partners and programs like the EIC Accelerator.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their early H2020 period (2015–2018), CCIPD focused on broad SME innovation management and internationalization — general capacity-building to help Azorean businesses become more competitive. From 2019 onward, their focus sharpened toward specific EU funding instruments, particularly the EIC Pathfinder and Accelerator programs, suggesting a move from generic innovation support to targeted funding navigation. This mirrors the broader EEN evolution from matchmaking toward deeper innovation advisory services.

CCIPD is evolving from general innovation advisory toward specialized guidance on EIC instruments (Pathfinder, Accelerator), making them increasingly useful for SMEs seeking EU deep-tech funding.

How they like to work

CCIPD has always participated as a partner, never as a coordinator — consistent with their role as a regional EEN node within a national Portuguese consortium. With 11 unique partners across only 1 country (Portugal), they work within the same domestic EEN network repeatedly. This makes them a reliable, low-risk consortium partner for Portugal-focused activities, though they do not bring a broad international network of their own.

CCIPD's 11 consortium partners are all Portugal-based, reflecting their role within the national EEN consortium. Their network is domestic and EEN-centric, rooted in the Portuguese innovation support ecosystem.

What sets them apart

CCIPD's distinct value is geographic: they are the innovation gateway to the Azores, a remote EU outermost region with unique challenges and opportunities in blue economy, renewable energy, and agri-food. For any consortium needing reach into Portugal's Atlantic islands or seeking to demonstrate outermost-region impact (a scoring advantage in many EU calls), CCIPD is one of very few credible partners. Their chamber-of-commerce status also gives them direct access to the local business community.

Highlights from their portfolio

• EEN-Innovation PT
  Their only funded project (EUR 18,573), representing the initial entry into H2020 as an EEN node in 2015.
• EEN-InnovationJourne
  Most recent project (2020–2021) marking their evolution toward EIC instrument-specific advisory, the latest phase of EEN services.