Technopark’s Technology Business Incubator (TBI) has joined hands with the Incubation Centre Arsenaal Brussels (ICAB) to provide better exposure and collaboration opportunities for start-up companies in the ICT sector.
A memorandum of understanding was signed by P.H. Kurien, Principal Secretary, IT; K.C. Chandrasekharan Nair, Chief Financial Officer, Technopark-TBI; and Julien Meganck, president, ICAB; in the presence of Belgium’s Princess Astrid of Belgium and Celine Fremault, Minister of Economy Brussels, in Chennai on Thursday. A 300-member trade delegation from Belgium led by Princess Astrid was in India last week to boost trade and investment ties between the two countries.
The MoU will facilitate exchanges and cooperation between Belgium and Indian SMEs, enabling them to establish businesses in both regions. It will also promote business development and technical collaboration. The Technopark TBI has offered free office space from three to six months to the Brussels companies that wish to do business with India on a reciprocal basis. They will guide these companies with practical cooperation plans and priority will be given to companies that are directly recommended by ICAB.
The co-incubation tie up was announced at a press conference here on Saturday by Mr. Nair and Jean Vereecken, Managing Director, ICAB.
Mr. Nair said the co-incubation pact would help SMEs from Kerala to expand at a faster pace. “This is a win-win situation for start-up companies here, especially those interested in the European market. Apart from free office space provided by the ICAB, they can also reach out to countries across Europe,” he said. “T-TBI and ICAB will also arrange for networking meetings and promote each other’s activities in their respective regions,” he said.
