EPIMELITIRIO IOANNINON

Their core work

The Chamber of Ioannina is a regional chamber of commerce in northwestern Greece that serves as a local node of the Enterprise Europe Network (EEN). Their core H2020 activity is providing innovation management advisory services and Key Account Management (KAM) support to Greek SMEs seeking access to EU funding instruments like the SME Instrument and Fast Track to Innovation. They act as a business intermediary — helping local companies navigate EU innovation programs rather than conducting research themselves.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early period (2015-2016), their work centered on building basic innovation management capacity and establishing the EEN advisory function in the Epirus region. From 2017 onward, their scope broadened to include guidance on specific EU funding instruments — SME Instrument, Fast Track to Innovation, and FET-Open appear as keywords in the later projects. This suggests a shift from general advisory to more targeted, instrument-specific support as the EEN mandate evolved.

Moving toward deeper, instrument-specific advisory services for SMEs, which could make them a useful regional access point for organizations seeking Greek SME partners.

How they like to work

The Chamber has participated exclusively as a partner, never as a coordinator, across all four projects. With only 12 unique consortium partners concentrated in a single country (Greece), they operate within a tight national network — likely alongside other Greek EEN members and chambers. This is a reliable, low-profile partner fulfilling a regional intermediary role rather than a consortium-shaping organization.

A compact, nationally-focused network of 12 partners within Greece, reflecting the domestic scope of the Enterprise Europe Network Enhancement program. No evidence of direct international consortium partnerships beyond the EEN umbrella.

What sets them apart

As the chamber of commerce for the Epirus region, they offer direct access to the local SME ecosystem in northwestern Greece — an area underrepresented in EU research networks. For consortium builders needing a Greek regional partner to handle SME outreach, dissemination, or technology transfer to local businesses, they bring established institutional relationships. However, they are an intermediary, not a technical or research partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• ENHANCEMENT 2015-16
  The foundational project that established the chamber's EEN innovation advisory function for the Epirus region.
• Enhancement SGA4
  The most recent iteration (2020-2021), reflecting the broadest scope of EU instrument support including FTI and FET-Open guidance.