Enterprise Europe Network - Sport Meets Business: How Entrepreneurs Beat the Recession

Enterprise Europe Network - Sport Meets Business: How Entrepreneurs Beat the Recession

BRUSSELS, September 12, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

    Orienteering, a popular sport in Norway, is about to get better thanks to a technology
developed by a small firm in the U.K. A new video
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhtNUPByFLQ ] shows the winning partnership between the
Norwegian Orienteering Federation and a British producer of body monitors. This joint
venture was forged with the help of the Enterprise Europe Network, a business support
network that helped more than 5 000 companies sign business and technology partnerships
across 51 countries.

    Jan Kobach is the Norwegian Orienteering Federation's
[http://www.orientering.no/Sider/default.aspx ] performance analyst. In this exciting
sport, athletes race on foot, bike or skis, equipped with a map and have to find the
fastest route to a destination revealed at the start. Kobach was looking for ways to
improve his athletes' performance when he discovered a body monitor that could be used to
guide runners in their choices of track, speed and map use.

    The tool is designed by Activeinsights [http://www.geneactiv.co.uk ], a
Cambridge-based firm that mainly sells this type of product to medical researchers. The
company contacted the Enterprise Europe Network to find business partners abroad and
enlist new clients.

    Joss Langford [http://www.linkedin.com/pub/joss-langford/5/523/269 ], technical
director, Activeinsights: "We found more than a new client and partner, we discovered a
new market application for our product." With 3000 staff members, the Network helps small
companies like Joss' bring research and commercial applications together.

    Speeding up international business

    Launched in 2008 by the European Commission, the Enterprise Europe Network already
served close to 2.5 million SMEs to find business and technology partners abroad, access
EU funding and navigate the maze of EU legislation. Its more than 600 member organisations
are located in Europe along with America, Latin America, the Middle East and Asia.

    EEN's key figures

       
        - 3,000 staff
        - 600 member organisations in 51 countries
        - 375,000 questions answered on EU matters
        - 5,000 companies signed business, technology or research partnerships
        - 1,000 additional jobs generated yearly
        - EUR220,000 average company turnover impact
        - EUR450 million impact on sales growth
        - 100,000 technology, IPR, finance and business reviews
        - 19,000 SME-events with 750,000 participants

       
        More information

        Press contact [lma@emakina.com ]
        Enterprise Europe network [http://portal.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu ]
        More stories
         [http://portal.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/success-stories/list ]
        Videos [http://portal.enterprise-europe-network.ec.europa.eu/news-media/videos ]

        Information on EEN
        Monica Salgado Fernandez
         [Monica.SALGADO-FERNANDEZ@ec.europa.eu?subject=Information%20on%20EEN ]
        +32-2-295-03-30

Enterprise Europe Network

CONTACT: High-resolution material:  1) Go to the FTP-Server: http://emakinaftp.eu/clients/ 2) Login: dgentrpress 3) Password: EmakinaDGENTRPRESS03 4) Select photos and videos (long & short versions, B-roll in EN, FR, DE and international versions, description, shot list).