On 1 September 2020, 24 new cluster Partnerships started working under the third edition of the Clusters Go International action. The action supports clusters from Europe to work together and look for trade and investment opportunities and cooperation partners in third markets for the benefit of their members, especially Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs).

The Partnerships are made up by 78 clusters covering 20 European countries. The Partnerships will be active, mainly, in the following sectors: clean-tech and environmental services, energy, health, mobility, smart cities, ICT, electronics, textiles and hospitality. Nineteen countries are targeted with the USA, Canada, China, and Japan being the most popular ones.

In a globalised world, in order to thrive, companies need to take advantage of new opportunities created at international markets. The activities supported by this action will reinforce the growth, enhance the competitiveness and strengthen the long-term sustainability of participants.

The action will also help clusters and companies to respond to the most recent challenges created by the pandemic. Partnerships will work towards making international supply and value chains more resilient, adjusting to recent shifts in consumer demand and creating international partnerships for innovation.

Previous experience showed us that SMEs, instead of doing it alone, are more successful in internationalisation when they receive support from clusters through the organisation of international study visits, partnering and “matchmaking” missions.