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Success cases catalogue

Introduction

The project NEXT, co-financed by the Euro-pean Commission through the programme IPA Adriatic, has been promoted by Marche Region (Italy) as Lead Partner - together with 10 partners coming from 6 different coun-tries of the Adriatic basin (Italy, Albania, Bos-nia-Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia).

Its general objective was to create a web platform and a set of services, supporting co-operation among public bodies, researchers, Research and Technology Transfer Centres (RTTCs), enterprises and investors. Accord-ing to the principles of transnational coopera-tion, open innovation as well as governance of the Adriatic-Ionic area as a whole, NEXT’s specific goal was to enhance technology transfer and applied research, innovation and foster internationalisation of SMEs.

For pursuing its goal, the project put in network:

839 innovation actors, including SMEs and RTTCs, 109 of which currently active at Adriatic - Ionian area level ,

814 projects, 32 of which are implemented in the Adriatic - Ionian area,

17 private investors, willing to invest in start -ups and innovation projects in the Adriatic-Ionian area,

and provided a set of services and tools for improving the R&D capacity and internation-alisation rate of SMEs and RTTCs located in the Adriatic basin, as:

NEXT IS, www.nextisplatform.eu, a col-laborative on-line platform supporting the identification of research partners, patents, R&D projects, investors and other informa-tion useful to:

• Analyse business opportunities in the Adriatic Ionian area (NEXT Outlooks and Trends)

• Get in contact with actors, who can su-stain innovation and internationalisation processes in partner countries (NEXT Open book)

• Be informed about financing opportuni-ties supporting R&D projects and busi-ness development in the Adriatic Ionian area (NEXT Blog).

NEXT Box, a set of guidance and tutoring services targeting SMEs willing to apply for grants in the framework of EU programmes for basic and applied research projects, in-cluding the organization of a match-making event to connect with potential partners (event organized in Civitanova Marche – Italy - 5-7 June 2014). The services provided in-cludes:

This documenT aims aT capTuring successful case sTudies, success sTories, and besT

pracTices from sTakeholders, who have been acTively involved in The projecT neXT.

http://www.nextisplatform.eu/http://www.project-next.eu/en/documents/public-documents/http://www.project-next.eu/en/documents/public-documents/http://www.project-next.eu/en/documents/public-documents/http://blog.adriatic-next.eu/welcome/

• NEXT Info Point, a window providing in-formation on the financing opportunities through EU programmes and on servi-ces provided by the project NEXT.

• NEXT Info Desk Europe, a desk carrying out preliminary assessment of project ideas developed to fit into European Programmes, like Horizon 2020 and COSME as well as counselling.

NEXT Investment Booster, a set of gui-dance and tutoring services for the identi-fication and access to risk capital, targeting high growth potential start-ups (Events or-ganized among others in Miločer -Budva – Montenegro on 29 Sept-3 Oct. 2014, Milan – Italy - during the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Milan on 18th March 2015 and in Ancona –Italy - on 11-12 June 2015 - www.project-next.eu/en/documents/public-do-cuments/). Among the tutoring services the project offered the NEXT Pitch Elevator, a self-assessment tool and a capacity building program for evaluating the market potential and attractiveness of proposed business ideas and learning how to better present them to private investors.

Other events/activities and ad hoc sup-port provided by project partners, such us Business plan competitions, and specialised consulting services for R&I.

This compendium contains the most rele-vant success cases in the efficient use of the above mentioned services and tools; it describes, case by case, how SMEs and Research and Technology Transfer Centres have benefited from the opportunities offe-red by the project and the results they have achieved.

http://www.project-next.eu/en/documents/public-documents/http://www.project-next.eu/en/documents/public-documents/

Agrointegral (Serbia)BB Solar (Montenegro)BINA sh.p.k./Cuni (Albania)ComTrade (Montenegro)Eco Green Production (Albania)Eko-Vladoš (Montenegro)Emerald Technologies (Bosnia Erzegovina)Eng. Artur Xhahysa (Albania)EVE (IT)Freello (IT)Natural Clima (IT)Podrumi Andrija d.o.o. winery (Bosnia Erzegovina)

Construction Cluster of Šumadija and Pomoravlje (Serbia)Federal Agromediterranean Institute of Mostar (Bosnia Erzegovina)Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (Montene-gro)Meccano (IT)Palushi (Albania)Wood Cluster Herzegovina (Bosnia Erzegovina)

Index

SMEs 5Agrointegral 6

BB Solar 9

BINA sh.p.k. 12

ComTrade 14

Eco Green Production 17

Eko-Vladoš 19

Emerald Technologies 23

Eng. Artur Xhahysa 25

EVE srl - Enjoy Visual Experiences 29

Freello 30

Natural Clima 33

Podrumi Andrija d.o.o. winery 36

RTTCs 41Construction Cluster of Šumadija and Pomoravlje 42

Federal Agromediterranean Institute of Mostar 44

Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (IEED) 46

Meccano 50

Dr Arben Palushi 53

Wood Cluster Herzegovina (DKH) 56


SMEs

Fruit and vegetable dryerAgrointegral

Agrointegral is a family business involved not only in the production of fruit and vegetable dryers, but also in the

development of a sustainable model of agricultural production.

NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED

Fund-raising for the production of the dryers and development of the network of co-workers involved in the same model.

NEXT SERVICES/ACTIVITIES THE ORGANIZATION BENEFITED OF

Other activities/services offered by the local partner including:

• Dryer testing for the production of various fruits and vegetables

• Laboratory testing in order to investigate the quality of the ready-made product

• Improvement of technological means (e.g. energy saving, faster production, quality impro-vement, etc.)

BENEFITS/RESULTS ACHIEVED

Innovative continuous belt dryer was constructed in such a way to allow for energy efficiency and make the whole drying process more efficient.

The beneficiary

Agrointegral. Sumadija region, Serbia

Production of continuous belt driers is at the bottom of the business model dealing with rural development. The possibility to move the dryer to different places makes this type of produc-tion possible for different producers and in different locations as well.

The model itself entails the inclusion of small agricultural businesses in the production of dried fruit and vegetables which will then be exported jointly.

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Organization’s representative

Igor Kojčić – [email protected]

+38164607034

Organization’s needs

The exchange of ideas and experience will doubtlessly help to contribute to the improvement of the Agrointegral dryer and of its business model. The focus of our idea is the Sumadija Region and it is therefore important for us to establish collaboration with local institutions, companies, organisations, agricultural producers, etc. Agrointegral participated in the NEXT Project because the company intended to:

• present and promote its products and technology;

• improve its positioning on the international market;

• develop contacts with enterprises, R&D centres, financial and governmental institutions, and potential investors interested in cooperation;

• investigate available funding sources and opportunities to participate in European projects;

• promote its own potential;

• establish business cooperation at the international level.

NEXT service provided

Agrointegral participated in the NEXT Project because the company intended to:

• present and promote its products and technology;

• improve its positioning on the international market;

• develop contacts with enterprises, R&D centres, financial and governmental institutions, and potential investors interested in cooperation;

• investigate available funding sources and opportunities to participate in European projects;

• promote its own potential;

• establish business cooperation at the international level.

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mailto:[email protected]

Benefits and impacts

Agrointegral has produced a range of innovative prototype dryers for fruit, vegetables, and herbs. Our goal is to continue to develop technological solutions, including those able to gua-rantee uniform quality of finished products in accordance with EU standards and procedures. Agrointegral plans to position itself in the market as a producer and seller of dryers, as well as a producer and seller of various types of dried fruit, vegetables, and herbs.

NEXT helped the company in improving the dryer process and in creating connection with innovation intermediaries at local level.

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Organic Solar Cells BB Solar

Company working in Solar and hydro energy power plants and facilities, wind energy, energy efficiency


Networking for setting up bilateral cooperation with companies and research centers for technology and knowledge transfer


• Next IS

• Next Box

• Next Investment Booster

• Other events or activities organised by the local partner


Bilateral cooperation has been established with an international company, and methodologies for improved solar-driven energy conversion systems, through thermal management experti-se, have been examined.

The beneficiary

BB Solar, Podgorica, Montenegro

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BB Solar is a private company active in the construction sector as well as in the following fields: high-voltage wiring, HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) installations, and renewable energy sources. Furthermore, the company works in the field of electrical installa-tions as well as in wholesale of electrical equipment and LED lighting.

BB Solar performs a wide range of activities: design, maintenance, consulting, and trading. The expert engineering team and renowned partners guarantee high-quality services:

• building site: identifying and designing the site in such a way that it promotes the local ecosystem, possibly including provisions for rainwater management, wildlife habitat, and plant life;

• building materials: using non-toxic (renewable or recyclable) materials;

• building systems: designing heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems that mini-mise energy and water waste through the use of high-efficiency devices, proper insulation of buildings, and enhanced use of passive renewables (e.g. daylighting, passive solar, natural ventilation) and active renewables (e.g. rainwater harvesting, solar photovoltaics);

• occupant health: designing buildings so that occupants and users can live in a healthy environment (primarily in terms of indoor air quality).


Ivan Burzanović – Executive DirectorAddress: Vuka Karadzica 5, 20 000 Podgorica, Montenegro

Telephone: +382 20 230 392; +382 67 818 108

Email: [email protected]

www.bbsolar.me


The company needs to establish bilateral cooperation and networking aimed at technology transfer, and to acquire knowledge that contributes to developing thermal technology for solar energy conversion in local conditions, including:

• heat pipe-augmented glass tube collectors for hot water heating;

• heat pipe-augmented parabolic concentrator/steam generator systems;

• high temperature heat pipe solar receivers for Stirling engines used in Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems;

• dissipating heat from solar cells in photovoltaic (PV) systems;

• thermal heat exchange/thermal storage systems.

These thermal solutions help to create reliable and cheap renewable energy options for resi-dential and commercial demand. Two-phase heat transfer technologies, such as heat pipes, and single-phase pumped liquid cooling systems represent consolidated approaches for ther-mal management in solar energy conversion systems.

High-temperature heat pipe solutions for CSP receivers used in Stirling engine-driven energy conversion systems eliminate non-uniform heat fluxes and associated hot spots where two mirrors overlap.

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Heat pipe and pumped single-phase cooling technologies can be used to remove waste heat from solar cells in PV energy conversion systems. Advanced thermal management techniques can lower solar cell temperatures and improve PV conversion efficiency.


BB Solar participated in the Business Speed Dating event organised on 5-7 June 2014 in Civitanova Marche (Region of Marche) as well as in two workshops with local stakeholders held on 3 June 2014 and 26 January 2015 at the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro. The company also took part in the conference ‘Business and Education – Joint Potential’ held on 2-4 April 2014 at the University of Donja Gorica (Podgorica and Budva) where a round table on innovations in SMEs was organised.

Furthermore, the company was involved in the creation of the open book ‘Energy potentials of Montenegro’ by participating in a survey aimed at collecting relevant data that contributed to the company’s positioning in accordance with indicators of innovative capacities and potentials.

Finally, the company took part in the first Adriatic Invest Boosting event held in Milan in the framework of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress on 16-19 March 2015.


Bilateral meetings were held with developed companies operating in field of solar energy sy-stems; furthermore, networking actions were implemented through social networks in order to carry out analysis on possible adjustments of existing know-how to local conditions and their transfer to the company. Cooperation was established with an international company and a regional research centre with the aim of analysing the technical requirements to introduce su-pramolecular assembly that enables the development of cheap, high-performance, and stable organic semiconductor-based solar cells and panels.

Most commercially available solar panels are composed of rigid silicon crystal cells that are difficult and costly to manufacture. Flexible thin-film solar cells are much less expensive to ma-nufacture, but do not convert as much sunlight into useable electricity. Organic semiconductors including pi-conjugated molecules and polymers have been researched widely for solar cell appli-cations; however, the energy conversion efficiency and stability of organic-based solar cells have not reached commercialisation requirements. Researchers have developed a supramolecular assembly approach that improves solar energy conversion efficiency and stability in organic bulk heterojunctions (the photoactive layer in most efficient organic photovoltaic devices). Existing bulk heterojunctions rely on the random organisation of two different organic molecular/polyme-ric species, leading to poorly defined and often unstable networks for electron-hole separation and transport. However, in the supramolecularly assembled bulk heterojunction, controlled (or programmed) self-assembly of the organic molecules results in an organic bulk heterojunction structure that secures stable and ordered pathways for electron-hole migration, leading to im-proved cell efficiency and stability. The supramolecular assembly scheme can be easily extended to include many different conjugated organic molecules for optimal light absorption and voltage output, therefore strongly leveraging the existing development of organic light absorbers. This paradigm shift in fabricating orga-nic solar cells overcomes a critical issue that has limited the deve-lopment of organic photovoltaic cells, and creates bulk heterojun-ction organic solar cells that offer the high efficiency of first-genera-tion solar cells and the low cost of second-generation solar cells.

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Intelligent solar panel for water heating BINA sh.p.k.

Intelligent solar panel for water heating which rotates in the north-south and east-west directions following sun rays,

increasing performance by 150%.


To identify potential business partners for the manufacturing of the solar panel


Events organised by PfD Foundation in the framework of NEXT Project activities (Competition on Innovative Ideas held in Tirana, Albania)


• Establishment of collaboration with the stakeholders of NEXT partner countries in the field of the production of solar panels for water heating

• Registration in the NEXT IS Platform, which resulted in information exchange among com-panies, meetings with different actors, etc.

The beneficiary

BINA sh.p.k., Tirana, Albania

BINA is a company registered in Albania. Its core activities consist of solar panels, electronic devices, hardware and software maintenance services, etc.

The company target market is represented by industrial and agricultural enterprises, hotels, private citizens, etc.

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Albina Çuni – Administrator of BINA sh.p.k. Telephone: +355 695552235


www.binashpk.com


To promote the business idea and build up connection and discuss cooperation opportunies with third parties interested in placing the innovative product on the market


The company attended all the activities organised by PfD Foundation (the NEXT local partner) in the framework of the NEXT Project. The company registered in the NEXT IS Platform as well as in the project database created by partners. Furthermore, the company had the chance to take part in the competition ‘Your Innovative Idea’ and to present its business idea to all local innovation intermediaries active in the filed of intelligent solar panels for water heating.


Registration in the project database

Registration in the Next IS Platform

Promotion of the business idea through media and social networks

Fruitful cooperation between the Albanian actors in the innovation and research fields

Meetings and connections set up with innovation intermediaries and companies

Albina and Ndue Çuni

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mailto:[email protected]://www.binashpk.com

Knowledge Factory ComTrade

Like many successful projects, Knowledge Factory is the result of joint efforts of the private and public sectors, and was created

as a result of ComTrade initiatives to accelerate the process of adoption of new technologies and their active use in daily life.

Encouraged by the success of the initial event and the level of support from the international IT vendors and local institutions, the organisers decided to continue and expand this concept, with additional emphasis on the educational dimension and a more pronounced adjustment programme for students in elementary and secondary schools. So far, the event has been held four times in a row, as well as in three different countries in the region, and attracted over 10,000 visitors, dealing with a large number of topics related to hardware and software.


Find mechanisms to proceed with and widen the partecipation in the Knowledge Factory project also by creating innovation awareness among students


NEXT IS

Other events or activities organised by the local partner


Use of an interactive online platform (NEXT IS) to connect with possible partners and to search for new projects and project partners

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Established in 1990, ComTrade is a leading IT company in the region with offices in 11 countri-es across Europe and North America. Its technology centres are located in three major cities – Ljubljana (Slovenia), Belgrade (Serbia), and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina).

ComTrade is a system of companies that operate in the field of software solutions, system in-tegration, and hardware distribution. With a proven track record of delivering industry-leading IT solutions and software engineering services, ComTrade has become a trusted developer of end-to-end technology products and solutions in various industries.

Our partner network includes leading global vendors – Microsoft, Cisco, IBM, Intel, HP, Citrix, Fujitsu, EMC, Oracle, and many others.

Our customers are some of the world’s most renowned businesses spanning a number of industries, including government, financial institutions, healthcare, telecommunication provi-ders, high-tech vendors, SMEs, and enterprises.

ComTrade is certified in accordance with leading industry standards, and holds the following certifications:

• ISO 9001:2008/TickIT;

• ISO 27001:2005;

• ISO 14001:2005;

• Accredited Gold Partner of the International Software Testing Qualifications Board (ISTQB).


Lana Mazic Marketing Managers at ComTrade IT Solutions and Services d.o.o.


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ComTrade needed:

• to promote, expand, and consolidate, in qualitative and quantitative terms, cooperation with research institutes, enterprises, and researchers;

• to promote investment opportunities to foster research and technology transfer;

• to be part of an interactive online platform.

Partnerships and collaboration between the education sector and leading IT firms is of great importance, not only for the creation of favourable circumstances to export knowledge, but also for the development of the IT sector on local markets.


ComTrade benefitted from the following NEXT support:

• online visibility and match-making service offered by NEXT IS;

• participation in the conference ‘Business and education – joint potential’ held on 2-4 April 2014 at the University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica and Budva, where a round table on innovation in SMEs was organised.


‘With the goal of turning education into an opportunity, we started Knowledge Factory’, says Lana Mazic. ‘Young generations need to have easy access to the latest knowledge and ways of thinking, which was the goal of Knowledge Factory from the very beginning. Through lec-tures, workshops, demonstrations, and exhibitions, this educational event stimulates curiosity and creativity in the sphere of information technology. That’s why I initiated our latest project, the ‘Tesla tablet’, named after the most recognised scientist from this region, Nikola Tesla.’

The University of Donja Gorica and ComTrade continue to play their role as socially respon-sible institutions that create favourable circumstances for exporting knowledge from south-eastern Europe, and build a stronger foundation for developing the IT sector in the region.

Thanks to the NEXT project ComTrade was able to:

• enhance communication with the academic community;

• find support for project preparation;

• work with students on their research projects;

• set up cooperation with research institutes, enterprises, and researchers.

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From waste to biofuelEco Green Production

Recycling of burned oils into glycerol and biodiesel


To present the innovative idea to a qualified audience


• NEXT IS

• NEXT Box

• NEXT Investment Booster



Establishment of new collaboration with stakeholders of NEXT partner countries.

The beneficiary

Eco Green Production, Tirana, Albania

Animal fats and cooked oil share common physical features and produce similar effects as to environment pollution. They yield physical destructive effects, such as animal and plant decay, and are toxic substances that turn into toxic products. Furthermore, they destroy agricultural products and have negative effects on animal reproduction and the surrounding habitat.

In addition, animal fats and cooked oil release a strong odour in the air. They also pollute both the sea coastline and flora and fauna inside the water, and block water filtration plants and water pipelines.

Oil-polluted earth regenerates after 10 years. Just to have an idea: four litres of oil pollute an area equal to a football pitch or six Olympic swimming pools.

In order to tackle this problem Eng. Boiken Koci developed a research on recycling burned oils into glycerol and biodiesel, i.e. a diesel fuel replacement produced from vegetable oils or animal fats through the chemical process of transetherification. Biodiesel consisting of mono-alkyl esters can be used in all types of diesel motor in any percent from 0 to 100% with little or no modifications to the engine.

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The advantages of biodiesel are listed here below:

• it is biodegradable;

• it is non-toxic;

• it has a favourable emissions profile;

• it is renewable;

• it is carbon neutral;

• it requires no engine modifications;

• it can be blended in any proportion with petroleum diesel fuel;

• it features a high cetane number and excellent lubricity;

• it has a very high flashpoint (>300°F);

• it can be made from waste restaurant oils and animal fats.


Eng. Boiken Koci Administrator of Eco Green Production

Telephone: +355 692195005



To present and promote innovative initiatives with the aim of doing something different and positive for the whole community


The company benefitted from the services provided by the NEXT Box: it took part in the match-making event organised on 5-7 June in Civitanova Marche during the“Innovactors” event. The company also availed itself of the Investment Booster service: it presented its re-search at the first Adriatic Invest Boosting event held in Milan in the framework of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress on 16-19 March 2015.

The company also took part in meetings, B2Bs, and the Competition on Innovative Ideas organised in Tirana by the local NEXT partner.


‘Participating in the activities implemented by PfD Foundation, NEXT project partner’ – says Eng. Koci – ‘has been a positive experience for me. I had the chance to get to know and have contacts with other partners, to share our ideas with them, to exchange information, and to establish new collaboration. These advantages have been extremely important for us as re-searchers to move our project forward.’

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Biomass Project KolašinUpdate and Supplements to the 2012 Feasibility Study

Eko-Vladoš

Company working in the production of energy from biomass, processing wood, cork, straw, and wattle


Sharing knowledge and actionable solutions for central heating of the Kolašin area.


Next IS

Next Investment Booster

Events and activities organised by the local partner:

• feasibility study on the planned project for heat generating plant of the Kolašin area – sup-plements and updates;

• analysis through knowledge transfer and networking with energy companies;

• participation in two international and two local events and in one conference leading to the establishment of networks aimed at knowledge and technology transfer.


Bilateral cooperation was established with an international company. Furthermore, a feasibility study on the planned project for the heat generating plant of the Kolašin area was conducted, and knowledge was exchanged through NEXT social networks.

The beneficiary

Eko-Vladoš, Kolašin, Montenegro

Eko-Vladoš is a private company that pro-vides expertise and knowledge gained from studying customised solutions designed to

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meet customers’ special needs. The company performs a wide range of activities: studies, targeted R&D, prototypes, production, after-sales service, and training courses. Its aim is to be a key reference for those who cannot find appropriate solutions in standardised products.

The result of this philosophy leads to the creation of modules that are:

• suitable to be used in remote and difficult areas, where a rapid response and absolute flexibility are necessary in the use of resources;

• able to ensure a quick intervention as well as rapid deployment and set-up procedures;

• characterised by a structure that combines functional autonomy, total mobility, high safety standards, strength, durability, and ease of maintenance.

The remarkable dynamism and flexibility of the staff, the know-how gained over the years, and the highly innovative patents have allowed the company to rapidly develop on the national and international markets. The company deals with energy production from biomass as well as processing wood, cork, straw, and wattle. The company works in the construction field in re-lation to the design of heating, cooling, plumbing, and electrical systems that minimise energy and water waste through the use of high-efficiency devices.


Milosav Bulatović – Executive DirectorAddress: Vladoš 1, 81 210 Kolašin, Montenegro

Telephone: +382 20 860 840; +382 20 865 872

Fax: +382 20 860 840



The company was looking for new knowledge and connections to fine-tune an existing feasi-bility study for the heat generating plant in Kolašin.

The feasibility study covered all aspects of the planned project for the heat generating plant of the Kolašin area, since the last one conducted in 2012 resulted to be unusable due to several serious omissions:

• in the previous study it was stated that the main source of raw material is forest residues which need to be collected by somebody who makes wood chips out of them, and sells them to the heat generating plant in Kolašin. This scenario is wrong and does not provi-de any security for potential investors who are willing to invest in such project. A similar project implemented in Austria is presented as a best practice. However, we should be aware that the situation in Montenegro is different from Austria, and that a similar project cannot be implemented in Montenegro but in the near future;

• the calculation of costs of raw materials is wrong. The author of the study calculated them ex works. However, over 90% of potential sources of raw materials are located more than 20 kilometers far from the heat generating plant. This means that it is necessary to include delivery costs. Moreover, in the calculated price the cost of wood chipping, which is signi-ficant, had not been included;

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• the building of a facility for wood chipping at the heat generating plant had not been consi-dered at all. It is necessary to place this facility close to the heat generating plant because it may turn out to be useful, should raw materials not be always delivered in the form of wood chips, i.e. the form required to use them in the heat generating plant. In fact, for better efficiency of the boiler, wood chips should be similar in size.

On the other hand, the part of the study dealing with distribution of heat is rather good; it only contains some minor mistakes and miscalculations which will not make any significant difference.

The results of the previous study show that the heat generating plant of Kolašin is not feasible for small users, and barely feasible for big users.

We hope that this new analysis prepared in the framework of the NEXT Project will show different results, and that the heat generating plant of Kolašin will become a feasible project.


Bilateral relations with foreign companies active in the field of biomass processing and wood and wattle production have been established. NEXT social networks were used to transfer knowledge and to exchange experiences. All of this resulted in the conduction of a feasibility study necessary for the project the company is planning to implement.

The company participated in two workshops with local stakeholders held on 3 June 2014 and 26 January 2015 at the Chamber of Economy of Montenegro, as well as in the conference ‘Business and Education – Joint Potential’ held on 2-4 April 2014 at the University of Donja Gorica in Podgorica and Budva, where a round table on innovations in SMEs was organised.

Furthermore, the company was involved in the creation of the open book ‘Energy potentials of Montenegro’; the company participated to a survey that enabled its positioning in a sort of innovation chart, according to several identified indicators of innovative capacities and poten-tials.

Finally, the company took part in the first Adriatic Invest Boosting event held in Milan in the framework of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress on 16-19 March 2015.


Bilateral relations have been established with a company and two research centers, and knowledge was exchanged through social networks. All of this led to the elaboration of all fundamental elements necessary for the future implementation of the heat generating plant project, including: • research on the availability and market price of biomass material: the first step was

to identify all potential sources of raw material (wood waste) which are located 100 kilo-meters far from Kolašin;

• research on potential users’ interest and requirements: during field visits, the team assessed the need for a heat generating plant. The team found out that there were not so many differences between the previous and current situation;

• costs of investments (plant, network, heat generating plant system, etc.): further to a detailed analysis of the previous study we found out that many data had changed since then. In particular, the capacity of the boiler that had been initially planned was too small

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to meet a potential energy demand of 5.5 MW. For this reason, we suggest installing a biomass boiler with a capacity of 3.0 MW along with an oil boiler with a capacity of 2.5 MW. The latter should be used in case of demand peaks. Such a distribution of energy production allows for the possibility to produce most energy from biomass. Furthermore, it ensures that demand peaks can be tackled thanks to the oil boiler;

• project phases: on the basis of the previous study and of new calculations, the only profitable way to implement this project is to implement the project in a single phase (con-struction of the network and building of the heat generating plant);

• annual operations costs: they can be divided into:

- costs of raw materials;

- electricity;

- maintenance costs of equipment and network;

- other materials;

- labour costs.

• calculations of potential savings or losses with the new heat generating plant sy-stem: the previous study contains some calculations comparing the existing heating sy-stem costs with the new planned system. The same data will be used to make new cal-culations in order to show potentials and differences;

• calculations of potential cash flow and profitability: looking at all the results of this project, it basically turns out that it is profitable and feasible.

In order for the project to be feasible, it is recommended:

• to find one or two companies in the region that can assure enough raw material:

• to sign long-term contracts with suppliers of raw material;• to arrange a special deal with forest companies and private forest owners concerning

forest residues;

• to create a municipal strategy which obliges local woodworking companies to take care of their wood residues;

• to promptly start public discussion about the heat generating plant system in order to find as many users as possible;

• to develop new studies on new technologies concerning the use of wood waste;

• to develop a complete project documentation for the central heating system;

• to create an open ten-der procedure to find potential investors;

• to intensively look for grants and subsidies which are related to green energy and re-duction of greenhouse gases.

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The pure metal PCEmerald Technologies

Emerald is a start-up company from Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina, specialised in design and production of highest-

quality PC components.


Creation of the conditions to register the company and to start production following the esta-blishment of the necessary contacts.


NEXT Investment Booster


Emerald became tenant of the Intera Technology Park, and all the preconditions for launching the production of computer housings have been created.

The beneficiary

Emerald Technologies, Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Emerald Technologies is a start-up company that is currently in the process of registration, specialised in the production of high-quality PC hardware. Its first product is an aluminum computer housing of the highest rank. Currently, the second prototype made out of pure me-tal is under construction, and production is expected to start soon. Over the past six months Emerald Technologies has been tenant of the Intera Technological Park; the contract is ex-pected to be extended.

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Srđan Škoro, CEO Telephone: 0038 763484196

E-mail: [email protected]


Emerald is a start-up company, currently in the process of registration, which is developing its innovative product: computer housings. In addition to technical solutions and design, the company approached the prototype development. On the basis of technical and economic analyses it has been determined that the product is competitive all around the world and can easily compete with products from China or USA. Through this project, the representative of Emerald Technologies tried to establish the necessary contacts that would help him access the world of PC hardware and better understand this sector.


As soon as Emerald is registered, all information about the start-up company will be put on the Next IS platform.

Also, through the support of the NEXT Project, a business plan has been prepared. Since this company is recognised as innovative and endowed with potential for growth by NEXT project partners, the representatives of Emerald Technologies attended the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Milan, Italy. During the congress, they had the opportunity to present their idea to a large number of people, and contacts have been established for potential cooperation.


Based on the experience gained in Milan, the company participated in the Start-up Weekend held in April 2015 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and won the first prize, being therefore awarded KM 5,000 which will be used for the prototype development of its product.

Emerald Technologies became tenant of the Intera Technology Park, and all the preconditions for the prototype development, as well as for finding investors and launching the production have been created.

Emerald Technologies plans to keep the whole production process in Bosnia and Herzego-vina. The development of the second prototype, which will be entirely made of metal, is ex-pected soon. The first series of products will be produced according to that model.

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Fighting against pine processionaryEng. Artur Xhahysa

Innovative equipment to protect pine trees from processionary


To identify partners which might support the development of innovative equipment


• NEXT IS

• NEXT Box

• NEXT Investment Booster



Information exchange with innovation actors in the Adriatic-Ionian macroregion, and establi-shment of cooperation at local level

The beneficiary

Eng. Artur Xhahysa, Albania

In the coniferous forest a very dangerous pest is spreading year after year: the pine proces-sionary. Several areas are being destroyed by the growing presence of this pest. It has been very difficult to fight against it, and the ways used until today have not been successful.

Coniferous forests in Albania cover the following surfaces:

• high coniferous forests: 84,461 ha;

• black pine, fir, etc.: 80,800 ha;

• Mediterranean pine: 3,441 ha.

About 30-50% of these surfaces are infected by these pests. This percentage varies from year to year, depending on climatic conditions.

In the fight against this pest it is necessary to use a manual or electric 20-litre backpack pump which is attached to a telescopic stick. At the top thereof is an injector which pierces the sac of larvae and injects pesticide. The test was conducted in the Donegal-Monaghan area near the village of Gomsiqe, about 2 km away from Neck-Qelë.

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During the test four chemical preparations in two variants – with and without glue – were applied.

The best results were obtained with Cipromex and Karate. In addition, these preparations are the cheapest. The 5% chlorine solution, too, achieved positive results but it is very expensive.

A worker is supposed to destroy from 1,000 to 1,500 nests per day (considering a working day of six hours). This process should be accompanied by daily controlling and monitoring by a field expert who has the necessary tools for this.

Organization’s represenative

Eng. Artur Xhahysa – Innovator Telephone: +355 682197699



To promote the development of new equipment and get visibility beyond national borders

• To find partners and supporters to foster equipment development


Eng. Xhahysa benefitted from the services provided by the NEXT Box, taking part in the match-making event organised on 5-7 June in Civitanova Marche during the “Innovactor” event, and also by the Investment Booster service, presenting its new equipment at the first Adriatic Invest Boosting event held in Milan in the framework of the Global Entrepre-neurship Congress on 16-19 March 2015.

He also took part in meetings, B2Bs, and the Competition on Innova-tive Ideas organised in Tirana by the local NEXT partner.


• Registration in the database

• Registration in the Next IS Platform

• Good cooperation among Albanian stakeholders in the innovation and research fields

• Meetings with research and innovation institutions

‘What we need is the collaboration among actors’, says Eng. Xhahysa. ‘Our research efforts have been promoted by the activities organised by the NEXT project partner and we are very satisfied. Cooperation opportunities have been created thanks to the events organised by project partners not only in Albania, but also in Italy, in which I had the chance to participate. We are very happy to have registered in the NEXT Platform and in the project database.’

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Enjoyable experiences for peopleEVE srl – Enjoy Visual Experiences

Multimedia products and services for communication and promotion of the architectural, cultural, and artistic heritage, as

well as of museums and trade fairs


Networking in the Adriatic-Ionian area and access to European funding in the framework of H2020


NEXT Box


Access to a qualified network of innovation actors

Access to update information on funding opportunities

The beneficiary

EVE srl – Enjoy Visual Experiences

Ancona, Italy

Mirror interactive game, Fano, 2014, Exhibition ‘Perfecto e Virtuale’

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EVE – Enjoy Visual Experiences is a spin-off of the Civil, Construction, and Architectural En-gineering Department (DICEA) of the University of Marche, where the know-how developed by the academic community consolidates and is ‘placed’ on the market thanks to the sup-port of Touchwindow srl and JEF srl, two thriving companies in the framework of multimedia communication and the set-up of museum and web spaces.

EVE is active in the ICT field and aims at developing multimedia high-tech products and services in order to study solutions with strong market impact, mainly targeted at the ar-chitectural, cultural, and museum heritage sector but also at the trade fairs sector and at professions and trades. The products sold by EVE are interactive and have a strong com-munication impact. Furthermore, they are produced using cutting-edge technologies inte-grated in the process which stretches from survey (ENJOY SURVEYING) to communication/enjoyment of the cultural heritage through immersive and interactive museum installations and multimedia events (ENJOY CULTURAL HERITAGE).

Stakeholders involved range from public organisations to cultural associations, from trade industry to the trade fairs sector.

EVE places the user at the core of the multi-sensorial experience. The user ‘interacts’ and ‘reacts’. All of this in the awareness that the cultural development of a population also goes through the capacity to make culture accessible, engaging, exciting, and thrilling.


Eva S. Malinverni – EVE President Professor of Geomatics, DICEA, University of Marche

Address: Via Brecce bianche snc, 60131 Ancona, Italy

Telephone: 0039 0712 204419

Mobile: 0039 347 2801098


www.3deve.it

Architectural Mapping, Loreto, 2014

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mailto:[email protected]://www.3deve.it


The main need of the recently born spin-off, whose competitive advantage is based on the search for multimedia high-tech solutions, is to create a network of international contacts with other companies, universities, and research centres in order to be able to create and implement new applied research activities financed by EU and national/regional funding. All of this is aimed at broadening the range of products and services offered.


EVE benefitted from the support offered by the NEXT Project in the framework of the service line ‘NEXT BOX’, which includes an online and one-stop shop service to monitor EU funding opportunities and to provide assistance in the access thereto. This service is complemented with activities, such as match-making events, aimed at fostering the identification and launch of trade and/or study and research partnerships with partners from the Adriatic-Ionian area.

More in detail, EVE:

• took part in the match-making event organised in the framework of the Innovattori Event held in Civitanova Marche on 5-7 June 2015;

• benefitted from the alert service on open calls in the framework of the Horizon 2020 and COSME programmes.


Thanks to its participation in the NEXT Project, EVE:

• identified and directly got in touch with a selected list of universities and research centres from the Adriatic-Ionian area (in particular from Albania), with specialised competences in the fields EVE is interested in, with which it could build partnerships to participate in any projects in the framework of the Horizon 2020 Programme;

• accessed periodical briefings on open calls to which it could respond with its project ideas.

‘By using NEXT IS online services’ – says Prof. Malinverni – ‘I want to build upon contacts developed during meetings in order to consolidate

relationships with public and private actors of the Adriatic-Ionian area interested in working on multimedia applications aimed at promoting the

artistic and cultural heritage.’

Holobox for the representation of 360° 3D- models and immersive boxes for hyper-realistic experiences

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#DilloConFreello #BastaUnoSquillo Freello

Web&mobile marketing platform aimed at collecting contacts and interacting with consumers, based on the free call concept


Access to risk capital in order to develop the entrepreneurial project, and access to support tools to foster the growth of the start-up and further development of technology platform services




• Access to a restricted network of Business Angels

• Access to support tools (business incubator)

The beneficiary

Freello

Porto San Giorgio, Italy

Freello is a business unit of the company ‘CAR consulenza’, which deals with mobile marketing.

Freello offers famous brands, media agencies, and TV channels the possibility to create a multi-platform communication channels with consumers, building upon landline and mobile communication.

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Through its web&mobile marketing platform, Freello allows for the collection of contacts (mobile phone numbers, interests, user profiles) as well as for the interaction with brands by making use of the ‘missed calls’ mechanism: televoting, prize contests, surveys, and events are associated with one or more phone numbers that can be dialled by users in order to interact, participate, and express their preference free of charge. How is it possible?

Freello keeps track of all incoming calls without answering – no costs are then charged to the end user – and sends a message through different channels (SMS, email, Facebook, Twitter, and WhatsApp) with multimedia contents.

This allows for the collection of users’ preferences and contacts useful to build highly profiled databases.

Freello changed the way of conducting advertising campaigns, shifting from a ‘push’ tele-marketing approach to a ‘pull’ system which enables consumers’ active and autonomous participation.

To date, Freello is developing its business in Italy and Latin America with important interna-tional development projects.


Francesco Pieragostini – Project LeaderAddress: Via Galileo Galilei 14, 63822 Porto San Giorgio (FM), Italy


www.freello.com

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Freello has an ambitious business plan, including the creation of a company independent from CAR consulenza, able to promote on its own its services on the national and interna-tional markets.

Mr Pieragostini says: ‘NEXT has provided us with an outstanding opportunity to take our first steps in the start-up process, thus meeting three needs:

• to get in touch with private investors (Business Angels) that can fund the project in the start-up phase, providing specialised support in the access to the market/clients and in the development of business strategies;

• to access support tools, such as business incubators, able to support further deve-lopments of the functionality of the Freello platform in order to broaden the range of services offered;

• to access qualified contacts in the Adriatic-Ionian area with the aim of broaden the refe-rence market.’


Freello benefitted from the support provided by the NEXT Project within the service line ‘NEXT Investment Booster’ aimed at fostering meetings and deal-making with selected groups of innovation intermediaries and investors.

More in detail, Freello had the chance to present its business idea, and to take part in one-to-one meetings with intermediaries and investors, during:

• the Adriatic Investment Forum in the framework of the Global Entrepreneurship Con-gress held in Milan on 18 March 2015;

• the Boosting Event held in Ancona on 11-12 June 2015.


Thanks to its participation in the NEXT Project, Freello achieved the following results:

• cooperation with IBAN (Italian Business Angels Network) aimed at fine-tuning its busi-ness plan and at identifying the right group of investors and potential clients whom the company could be presented to;

• an expression of interest from Digital Borgo, a business incubator based in Pescara and targeted at young digital start-ups, concerning the development of new functionalities of the platform;

• cues and ideas to broaden the market of industrial automation systems.

As observed by Mr Pieragostini, ‘through the use of NEXT IS online services, we aim at spre-ading knowledge about the state of the art of our project in order to get in touch with other actors active in the Adriatic-Ionian area. All of this is aimed at evaluating trade partnerships and further developments of the Freello platform’.

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Natural air conditioningNatural Clima

Company active in the field of adiabatic cooling


To develop a network of international contacts with other firms, with the aim of furthering the company’s international dimension

To understand the logics and functioning of the risk capital market in order to support the development of new company projects


NEXT IS



Commercialisation agreements to export Natural Clima products to Albania

Identification of the organisational model and of the financial needs and risk capital sources for the commercial exploitation of new patents

The beneficiary

Natural Clima Cooling Systems, Montecosaro Scalo (MC), Italy

Natural Clima’s mission is to design and build environmentally friendly air conditioning systems for large rooms, in compliance with environmental sustainability principles. Proposed solutions are easy to use, cheap, and environmentally friendly, and can be customised according to clients’ needs.

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Natural Clima systems are based on ‘evaporative cooling’, i.e. a process that lowers tempe-rature in a natural way by exploiting air flowing through an evaporative pad. Pad surfaces are constantly wetted with water. A part of heat is transferred from the air to the wet surfaces of the evaporative pad: the air comes out of the pad at a lower temperature. This system is extre-mely effective and allows for the possibility to cool large rooms with low power consumption and at a lower purchase cost than other solutions. It also guarantees that the air is kept clean and free of contaminants. This is made possible because air particles – dust, pollens, etc. – are captured by the wet surfaces of the evaporative pad.

Professionalism, experience, and continuing education and training make the Natural Clima team a reliable partner able to identify and provide tailored solutions, and to support custo-mers with quick consulting and assistance services.

Warmth, cold, humidity, and wind – if gauged and exploited properly – will support people’s well-being.


Paolo Dignani – Managing Director

Address: Via Roma 208, 62010 Montecosaro Scalo (MC) (Italy)

Telephone: +39 0733 564101


www.naturalclima.com

mailto:[email protected]://www.naturalclima.com/


‘I was curious about the NEXT Project, that’s why I approached it’ – says Eng. Dignani. ‘I wan-ted to understand what type of services and benefits it would provide us.’

Natural Clima is a start-up which was founded two years ago and is rapidly growing. It aims at expanding both in the Italian and foreign markets, and pays great attention to innovation and the ongoing development of cutting-edge cooling technologies.

Taking part in the NEXT Project represented an opportunity for the company to establish new relationships with companies of the Adriatic-Ionian area, and to receive advice and support in order to have access to the capital risk market.

‘I wanted to understand how risk finance works’ – says Eng. Dignani – ‘in order to evaluate whether and how it could represent a viable way to exploit our new patents without impacting on our company’s financial assets.’


Natural Clima benefitted from the support offered by the NEXT Project within the service line ‘NEXT Investment Booster’, taking part in, and presenting its business to a selected group of investors and companies of the Adriatic-Ionian area, during:

• the Adriatic Investment forum within the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, held in Milan on 18 March 2015;

• the Boosting Event held in Ancona on 11-12 June 2015.

Furthermore, Natural Clima benefitted from NEXT IS services, registering in the platform.


The participation in the NEXT Project enabled Natural Clima to:

• learn how to present its business to investors in a professional and effective way;

• understand its funding needs and be able to identify the right target of risk capital inve-stors (venture capitalists);

• define the right organisational arrangement (spin-off) with the aim of launching new initia-tives and patents on the market;

• network with a group of companies of the Adriatic-Ionian area in order to conclude agre-ements for the commercialisation of the company’s products in other countries (Albania).

‘NEXT has been a concrete and interesting project’ – says Eng. Dignani – ‘as well as an excel-lent training experience because I did not know how to put in practice the new projects and patents we are working on, and how to transform them into organisational patterns”. Natural Clima, thanks to the support provided by NEXT experts, has indeed identified a solution aimed at bolstering new patents. This solution envisages the creation of several company spin-offs for each developed patent, so as to bring it to the market without impacting on the start-up’s organisational structure and cash flow.

The NEXT Project offered Natural Clima interesting opportunities to acquire an international dimen-sion and to grow. ‘Meeting with entrepreneurs, networking, and exchanging ideas is very con-structive’ – says Eng. Dignani. ‘It allows us to enjoy positive effects in the short and medium term.’

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Teaching winery at school Podrumi Andrija d.o.o. winery

The representative of the winery was asked to give lectures to students of the summer school of the University of Donja Gorica

(UDG) in Montenegro about wine-making in Herzegovina.


Promote the winery culture and the business al local and international level


NEXT Box


Unfortunately, the schedule of the summer school overlapped with unexpected duties in the winery, but the staff hopes that this school will be organised again next year and intends to stay in touch with UDG representatives.

The beneficiary

Podrumi Andrija d.o.o. (winery), Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Podrumi Andrija d.o.o. is a company that produces high-quality local wine brands Žilavka and Blatina. Carrying on the family tradition, Andrija Ćorić’s family decided to build up a new cellar in Paoča with a capacity reaching half a million bottles. Its main market is Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the winery also exports to several countries in Europe. Its goal is to expand wine production, while maintaining high quality stan-dards.

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Josip Martinović – Production ManagerAddress: Paoca b.b, 88260 Čitluk (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Telephone: 00387 63 438823



The reason why the winery decided to take part in project activities is to promote its wines and possibly to expand the market for its products. The management did not expect to im-mediately achieve positive results; however, they plan to develop the contacts that have been established in the framework of the project.


The winery team attended the match-making event held in Civitanova Marche, Italy.


In the framework of its cooperation with UDG, in addition to educational aspects, the winery team hopes to get familiar with the Montenegrin wine market, since this country is very in-teresting for the company’s business. Some insights about this market are expected to be provided by UDG.

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Cancer treatment comes from plants

AESIS Therapeutics s.r.l.

Pharmaceutical start-up for research and clinical development of anti-cancer agents


Greater visibility at national and international level and access to public and private funding


NEXT IS


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Acquisition of new knowledge and operational capacities

Greater visibility and establishment of a network of qualified contacts with public and private actors

Access to public and/or private funds

The beneficiary

AESIS Therapeutics s.r.l

Jesi (AN)

Italy

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Aesis Therapeutics is a pharmaceutical company created within JCube in Jesi (AN) in De-cember 2013 as an innovative start-up. Aesis is also an Italian-Spanish spin-out of two drug discovery companies: Aeromics (biotech company) and Naxospharma (chemical company). The entrepreneurial team consists of professionals with a background in industrial pharma-ceutical research, boasting extensive experience in R&D of anti-cancer agents, gained in multinational and biotech companies. The project is aimed at pre-clinical and clinical deve-lopment until phase I of the innovative anti-cancer drugs discovered by the two companies. Drugs under experimentation come from berberine, a plant-derived compound with plentiful pharmacological healing effects. More in detail, the start-up has proposed two new inter-nationally patented pharmaceuticals aimed at treating very aggressive types of cancer, not particularly responsive to chemotherapy. The new compounds are based on clinically tested targets for anti-cancer treatment, and probably interfere with their protein biosynthesis. At the end of phase one, the business model envisages licensing the product to trade partners in order to further develop and place it on the market. For R&D activities, the company co-operates with the National Institute for Elderly People’s Rest and Care (INRCA), an Ancona-based rest and care home with scientific purposes.


Carmela Salvatore – Director and Co-founderAddress: presso JCube, Via della Barchetta 1, 60035 Jesi (AN), Italy

Telephone: 0039 0733 1836132



AESIS Therapeutics took part in the NEXT Project upon a recommendation from the JCu-be incubator and Confindustria Ancona, of which AESIS Therapeutics is a member as an innovative start-up.

By participating in the project, AESIS expected pro-motional actions, and therefore to gain greater visi-bility on both the Italian and the macro-regional mar-ket, beyond the possibility to get in touch with new investors.

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http://www.inrca.it/inrca/home.aspmailto:[email protected]


AESIS Therapeutics benefitted from the support offered by the NEXT Project within the fol-lowing service lines:

• NEXT IS: the company signed up and published its presentation there;

• NEXT Investment Booster: AESIS has been selected twice:

1. for the presentation to investors (pitching) during the Adriatic Investment Forum in the framework of the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, held in Milan on 18 March;

2. to participate in the Adriatic Boosting Event, which envisaged a training course on pitching, as well as presentation to investors, and a separate session with one-to-one meetings;

• NEXT Box: the company benefitted from the alert service and the helpdesk to receive support in the submission of a project proposal in the framework of the service line ‘SME Instrument’ within the Horizon 2020 Programme.


Thanks to its participation in the NEXT Project, AESIS Therapeutics achieved the following results:

• optimisation of its capacity to present its business model to several actors, thus learning to tailor communication on the actor with which it interacts. ‘NEXT helped us know the rules, tricks, and expert advice on pitching’, says Ms Salvatore;

• increased awareness of the investor’s point of view, and thus of its expectations, as well as increased awareness of strengths and weaknesses of the project in business terms;

• establishment of contacts with qualified stakeholders which will guide the team in the identification of, and presentation to investors able to meet the company’s specific fun-ding needs (venture capitalists);

• direct relationships with officials of the Region of Marche who managed the project and who work with the aim of bringing the Region into the European innovation environment. Ms Salvatore comments: ‘It was very important for us to introduce AESIS, our project, and our short and long-term objectives to these people who foster match-making betwe-en investors and start-ups as well as start-ups’ awareness on calls.’

Looking at what NEXT will give AESIS in the long term, Ms Salvatore says: ‘We hope that the project will be a driving force for AESIS, which in the case of new funding can result in an increased number of projects, patents, researchers, both for us and for our partner research centres, in particular INRCA, the Ancona-based scientific institute aimed at care and hospi-talisation of elderly people, which is our main partner.’

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Green garageConstruction Cluster of Šumadija and Pomoravlje

The main purpose of the project proposal is the construction of a public, storey above-ground garage with verdant walls and the

porch on the roof made of plates with photovoltaic cells, which could provide these facilities with basic power supply.


To foster the collaboration of local actors to implement the project


Other events or activities organised by the local partner, including:

1. Presentation and promotion of services and the innovative project‘Green garage’

2. Development ofcontacts with enterprises, R&D centres, financial and governmental insti-tutions, and potential investors interested in cooperation

3. Monitoring of available funding sources and opportunities to participate in European projects

4. Establishment of business cooperation at the international level


To have the project idea promoted among local stakeholders and innovation intermediari-es and to set up cooperation agreements with enterprises, R&D centres, financial and go-vernmental institutions, and potential investors in the region.

The beneficiary

Construction Cluster of Šumadija and Pomoravlje, Serbia

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The general goal of the cluster is to increase competitiveness in the construction sector in theŠumadija and Pomoravlje Region. The specific goal of the cluster is to increase the reco-gnition of clusters as a guarantor of quality in the execution of works and tasks in partnership with educational and scientific institutions and also local governments in order to develop innovative projects in the field of environmental protection and the use of renewable energy sources, which is of general interest.

The areas that will be covered by the cluster are:

• design, supervision, and technical support;

• performance:

• consulting and engineering.

The priorities in the activities of the cluster are:

• provision ofthe necessary licenses for costruction works;

• professional specialisation;

• training of new staff;

• connection within the sector as well as among different sectors;

• provision of legal information and consulting;

• preparation and monitoring of tender documents;

• support and cooperation in communication with institutions at local, national, and inter-national level;

• coordination of pricing policies;

• mutual promotional activities;

• connection with the best talents

• technical consulting among members;

• business and financial consulting;

• common procurement and use of hardware and software accounting advice.


Jelena Bojović – RepresentativeTelephone: 0038 1668206464


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FarmER application product developmentFederal Agromediterranean Institute of Mostar

FarmER app is a relatively user friendly and innovative way to operate with databases. It can be applied to every operating

system and is an end-user application as well as a proprietary in-field application.

It is simple to install and stands out for being easy to update, intuitive, efficient, easy to na-vigate, and easy to remove. Furthermore, it does not need third-party software, is easy to troubleshoot, and complies with standards and effective error handling.


Together with its Croatian partner SANO Agritehnika, the Federal Agromediterranean Institute of Mostar intends to further develop the FarmER application for Android (iPhone, tablet, etc.) as well as to apply for EU funding.


NEXT Box


After taking part in meetings held in Civitanova Marche (Italy), where the Federal Agromediterranean Institute of Mostar got in touch with SANO Agritehnika, the Institute started the procedure for the recognition of in-tellectual property rights for its pro-duct; the application is currently un-der evaluation.

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The beneficiary

Federal Agromediterranean Institute of Mostar, Herzegovina-Neretva Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The Institute is a public research centre that operates in the Herzegovina Region. The primary goal is to support agricultural and food businesses through the development of programmes, studies, and projects introducing technological solutions and efficient transfer of knowledge from all over the world, especially from the countries of the Mediterranean area. The Institute constantly invests in personnel and equipment, and in international cooperation. It also organises scientific and professional meetings, symposia, conferences, and pu-blishing activities. In this way, it gradually promotes itself to domestic and foreign professionals and the scientific public.


Dubravko Pocrnja – Expert ConsultantAddress: Biskupa Čule 10, 88000 Mostar (Bosnia and Herzegovina)



By attending the match making-event, the Institute aimed at learning more about how to prepare this kind of events, since this is not a common way of making contacts in its region. Expectations were not high but the representative was pleasantly surprised to actually get some contacts which will result in future agreements.


The Institutes representative make use of the support offered by the NEXT Box taking part in the match-making event organised in the framework of the Innovattori Event held in Civitanova Marche on 5-7 June 2015.


SANO Agritehnika helped the Institute understand ‘what to do next’ since the staff is not ex-perienced in product development procedures as to either technical and legal aspects. This resulted in the submission of the application for the recognition of intellectual property rights for the Institute’s software. In the long term the Institute plans to sign cooperation agreements with SANO Agritehnica and to apply for EU funding.

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Joint project proposalInstitute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (IEED)

Scientific-research organisation aiming to support the development of entrepreneurship and the private sector in

Montenegro


Establishment of partnerships with other organisations and creation of opportunities for coo-peration with them on future projects


NEXT IS

NEXT BOX



Matching with potential project partners for the development of new projects

Opportunity to present activities to foreign markets

The beneficiary

Institute for Entrepreneurship and Econo-mic Development (IEED)

Podgorica, Montenegro

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The Institute for Entrepreneurship and Economic Development (IEED) is an economic think tank established with the aim of providing support in the development of entrepreneurship and the private sector in Montenegro. Since 1998 IEED has been operating as an independent policy centre, registered as a non-governmental organisation according to the Montenegrin law. In the framework of its activities, IEED is carrying out researches on the most important social and economic topics, preparing recommendations for policy development, conducting activities in order to train entrepreneurs, and thus contributing to the improvement of the life quality of Montenegrin citizens. Core policy areas of IEED’s research work include: regional policy and regional development, social policy, economic reforms, business environment and job creation, and energy.

Through programmes, projects, and advocacy activities, IEED’s mission is to promote and implement the ideas of free market, entrepreneurship, and private property in an open, re-sponsible, and democratic society in accordance with the rule of law in Montenegro.


Jelena Medjedovic – ResearcherTelephone: +382 20 620 611


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To strengthen networking and build new partnerships

• To expand to other markets

• To participate in new projects


IEED benefitted from the following support offered by NEXT:

• NEXT IS online visibility and networking service;

• participation in the Business Speed Dating Event organised on 5-7 June 2014 in Civitano-va Marche, which was part of the NEXT Box service line;

• participation in the conference ‘Business and education – joint potential’ held on 2-4 April 2014 at the University of Donja Gorica, Podgorica and Budva, where a round table on innovation in SMEs was organised.


Thanks to the NEXT Project, IEED was able to:

• establish communication with several organisations (Economic Faculty of Shkodra Univer-sity, University of Macerata, S&T Montenegro, Fondazione Smart City, etc.);

• establish cooperation and preparation of the joint project for IPARD (Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance in Rural Development), Operational Programme Human Resources Development for 2012-2013, financed by the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).

Furthermore NEXT gave IEED the possibility to transfer and exchange knowledge with other higher-education institutions, research centres, and companies, also thanks to the co-organi-sation of the Stock Exchange of entrepreneurial ideas.

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Innovation culture at the service of companies Meccano

Private/public research and innovation centre


To spread knowledge about the Research Centre in the macro-region and to determine the needs of the companies of the Adriatic-Ionian area in order to tailor the services offered by the company on market needs.


NEXT IS

NEXT Box



Visibility at macro-regional level

Establishment of new cooperation, development of new project ideas, and access to new European funding

Strengthening and enhanced efficiency of incubation services

The beneficiary

Meccano, Fabriano (AN), Italy

Meccano is a research centre aimed at developing a business culture based on R&D, innova-tion, and quality, which are stra-tegic factors for the competiti-veness of Italian businesses.

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The main objective of Meccano is to support businesses in the development of new products, processes, and markets, thus fostering the creation of industrial and institutional relations.

Meccano’s business model develops along the lines of an ‘innovation without fracture’ pro-cess, which is able to guarantee the introduction of innovative technologies through a pre-established model in order to trigger within companies a shift towards a tailored innovation culture. This culture guarantees improvements in terms of competitiveness of the business world, based on the identification and enhancement of its main features.

Meccano supports businesses in their innovation processes, acting as a point of reference for the development of applied research. Close and constant cooperation with universities, national and international scientific institutions, and private experts allows Meccano to bene-fit from a constantly updated flow of technological and scientific know-how, which ensures continuous innovation in some key sectors.

Meccano, jointly with its subsidiary, the European Quality Institute, develops high-level com-petences: from R&D on innovative products and efficient processes to lab tests aimed at assessing that products are consistent with European and international directives governing the placement of products on the market.


M. Letizia Urbani – Director GeneralAddress: Via G. Ceresani 1, Loc. Campo dell’Olmo, 60044 Fabriano (AN), Italy

Telephone: +39 0732626511


www.meccano.it

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mailto:[email protected]://www.meccano.it


‘I decided to take part in the project because in my opinion it was a wonderful opportunity to know new things and to promote our company at both regional and macro-regional level among businesses and institutions of the Adriatic-Ionian areas’, says Ms Urbani.

Meccano is a research centre that constantly commits to analysing the needs that emerge in the area, with the aim of updating the range of services offered according to busines-ses’ innovation needs, directing its investments towards the provision of an adequate and prompt response to the most widespread needs. Every year, Meccano invests about EUR 500,000/700,000 in tangible and intangible research assets – such as labs, equipment, and staff know-how – in order to provide the companies of the Marche Region with the best of cutting-edge technologies that can guarantee them a competitive advantage on a global scale.

‘The NEXT Project seemed to provide a useful chance to support our needs analysis and liai-son efforts with the business world. Furthermore, the NEXT Project offered support services to start-ups’, says Ms Urbani.

Meccano has recently become an incubator for innovative businesses. It provides them with operational locations and specialised assistance in the start-up phase. The NEXT Project, which provided assistance to a selected group of start-ups in accessing risk capital, offered Meccano a range of services coordinated with those already offered by the research centre, aimed at including these start-ups into a qualified network made up of operators and inve-stors in the macro-regional context.


Meccano benefitted from the support offered by the NEXT Project within the following ser-vice lines:

• NEXT IS: the company signed up to the platform and used its services;

• NEXT Box: the company participated in the match-making event organised in Civitanova Marche on 5-7 June 2014, during the Innovattori event, and benefitted from the tender alert service;

• NEXT Investment Booster: the company encouraged its start-ups to participate in trai-ning and networking events with investors during the Adriatic Investment Forum organi-sed within the Global Entrepreneurship Congress, held in Milan on 18 March 2015, and the Boosting Event held in Ancona on 11-12 June 2015.


Thanks to its participation in the NEXT Project, Meccano has achieved the following results:

• increased knowledge of the needs of the territory as well as of public funding opportuni-ties for innovation at regional level;

• a network of new contacts and collaboration with businesses and institutions of the Re-gion of Marche to work on project ideas emerged during meetings. All of this led to the submission of four European project applications:

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1. ‘Social links’: proposal submitted in the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme (currently under evaluation);

2. ‘#Singol Point of Access: a public-private regional policy for an innovative market approach integrating health and social care services’: proposal submitted in the fra-mework of the Employment and Social Innovation (EaSI) programme (currently under evaluation);

3. ‘GRAGE’: project on towns tailored on the elderly’s needs, submitted in the framework of the Horizon 2020 programme, subprogramme ‘Marie Sklodowska Curie Actions’, jointly with the University of Macerata (this project has recently been funded) (http://ricerca.unimc.it/it/finanziamenti/finanziamenti-internazionali/progetti-e-network-inter-nazionali-di-unimc/grage);

4. Horizon 2020 Theme Energy, ‘Set open 1 – Research and innovation action for emer-ging technologies’: proposal submitted in the framework of the Horizon 2020 pro-gramme;

5. the extension of the range of services offered to businesses incubated within Mec-cano, in addition to support in accessing risk capital. ‘NEXT has selected five of our incubated start-ups through the project ‘CultLab – Spin off di Impresa Culturale’ (CultLab – Spin off of Cultural Enterprise)’ – managed by Meccano, the University of Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’, and the University of Macerata, and promoted and funded by the Local Action Groups of the Region of Marche through the Rural Development Plan 2007-2013 – Axis IV – LEADER Approach – Measure 421 – Territorial and transna-tional cooperation according to the inspiring principle of the Fully-Developed Cultural District of Marche Region – ‘to take part in networking sessions with investors’ – says Ms Urbani. ‘Recently some of them have been invited to meet in Milan with the aim of planning targeted meetings with Italian and foreign Business Angels of the IBAN group’.

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http://ricerca.unimc.it/it/finanziamenti/finanziamenti-internazionali/progetti-e-network-internazionali-di-unimc/gragehttp://ricerca.unimc.it/it/finanziamenti/finanziamenti-internazionali/progetti-e-network-internazionali-di-unimc/gragehttp://ricerca.unimc.it/it/finanziamenti/finanziamenti-internazionali/progetti-e-network-internazionali-di-unimc/grage

Bioproducts from one-cell algaeDr Arben Palushi

Use of the vegetative part of cyanobacteria as integrated food to breed mammals in intensive animal farming


The researcher was looking for partners to further develop his research and bring it to the market.


NEXT IS



• Establishment of collaboration with the stakeholders of NEXT partner countries

• Registration in the NEXT IS Platform, which resulted in information exchange among com-panies and in advantages for the NEXT IS Platform itself

The beneficiary

Dr Arben Palushi, Albania

Dr Arben Palushi is a biologist whose research field is biology of aquatic environments.

The research has been conducted in Lake Fierza in the Region of Kukës, situated in the north-east of Albania. This area has very good economic resources and provides an ideal environ-ment for the development of the economic potential coming from the vegetative quantity of phytoplankton.

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Cyanobacteria are one-cell algae which have a very rapid vegetative growth. They stand out for reproducing themselves within a few hours. Cyanobacteria:

• feature a photosynthesis process which is faster than in higher plants;

• can absorb dissolved gases (O2, N2, CO2, etc.) from water;

• can absorb free ions of nitrogen salts (N±x) and phosphorus (P±x);

• can be used to produce medicines and cosmetics.

This idea

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