European business incubator for SMEs to be launched

BANGALORE: Information Technology Services Marketing Association (ITSMA), a non-profit organization, plans to start a European business incubator in Bangalore to help European companies access the Indian market later this year. ITSMA helps ICT small and medium businesses (SMEs) in Europe and India to explore partnerships.





Elaborating on the rationale behind the program, ITSMA secretary general Surbhi Sharma said that compared to the US and UK, continental European countries are more difficult to access owing to language and culture barriers. "Most European countries like Spain, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany are encouraged by the outsourcing opportunities in India, but then India does not sell itself well especially in Europe. We help them with advice on the market and help them in accessing the right companies," she added.





According to her, a lot of European companies are also looking at India as a gateway to the Asian market. "Around 95 percent of the European IT market consists of SMEs, which are open to different kinds of market strategies. Generally SMEs are interested in tie-ups with Indian companies for IT products and services while some countries like Denmark look at opportunities in gaming, telecom and animation," Sharma further informed.





On the perception that Europe is traditionally a conservative market she said, "Yes, Europeans are risk-averse especially about emerging markets. But SMEs in Europe are given a lot of subsidies and grants by governments to work on innovative projects."





Highlighting other advantages in Europe such as a stable market and high business ethics Sharma said, "Companies there want partners to grow along with them."





ITSMA on its part plans to map the R&D capabilities of SMB companies in India so that it becomes easier to close deals. The organization has already provided handholding support for a clutch of clients including a European CAD/CAM player, which was looking for tie-ups for software applications in India and also a Spanish BPO for promoting new technologies.





- CyberMedia News