On Tuesday evening, during the annual SME Assembly, the most important event for small and medium enterprises in Europe, the European Commission announced the winners of the 2021 European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA). The initiative rewards entities promoting entrepreneurship and small businesses at national, regional and local level.

The Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO) project, funded by the Interreg POCTEP Programme (2014-2020), through its Firefighting Open Innovation Lab, and supporting the initiatives of entrepreneurs and enterprises in the field of forest fire prevention and control, won the European Enterprise Promotion Awards in Category 4: Supporting the Internationalisation of Business.

Forest fires are a hazard that we see with alarming frequency in Europe, and Spain has been particularly hard hit. To build the country’s and Europe’s firefighting capacity, the Firefighting Open Innovation Lab-CILIFO (FOIL-CILIFO) accelerator, managed by the Finnova Foundation within the framework of the Iberian Centre for Research and Fight against Forest Fires (CILIFO), has been supporting entrepreneurs, technologies, companies and start-ups in the sector of forest fire prevention and extinction and forest management. The project offers companies the opportunity to test innovative technology in a real environment, helps them find international partners to replicate their results, and provides legal advice and support in accessing European funding with the help of specialised mentors. To date, 25 companies from up to 10 countries are benefiting from the services offered by the accelerator, which is the first of its kind in the sector. 

More information on the project here.

More information on the European Enterprise Promotion Awards here.