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MANTRA Match & Connect: Interactive Community Session for Manufacturing SMEs and Techology Experts

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23 July 2026 | 11:30–12:30 CEST | Online

Registration link for the session

MANTRA Match & Connect is an interactive online community session designed to bring together SMEs and technology experts from across the MANTRA ecosystem.

The event offers participants the opportunity to present innovation projects or technological expertise, receive constructive feedback from peers, and identify new collaboration opportunities. Rather than a traditional webinar, the session encourages discussion, knowledge exchange and networking.

Who should participate?

SMEs

Are you developing an innovative project and looking for feedback, partners or technical expertise? This is an opportunity to showcase your project to the MANTRA community, discuss your challenges and connect with organisations that can help move your ideas forward.

Apply to present your project

Tech-savvy Participants

Are you a technology provide, innovation expert or solution developer? Present your expertise, explain how you can support SMEs, and connect with organisations looking for innovative solutions and future collaborations.

Apply to present your expertise

How it works

Selected participants will each give a 3-minute presentation, followed by a short interactive discussion with the audience. Rather than a traditional presentation, the aim is to encourage dialogue, gather constructive feedback and identify potential collaboration opportunities within the MANTRA community.

To ensure a balanced programme, the MANTRA consortium will select two SME presentations and two Tech-savvy presentations, representing a diverse range of countries, sectors and technologies. Applicants who are not selected to present are still warmly encouraged to attend the session, participate in the discussions and join the networking activities.

Preparing your presentation

Selected speakers will be invited to prepare one presentation slide using a common MANTRA template, which will be provided by the organisers. Using a shared template will ensure that all presentations are concise, visually consistent and easy for participants to follow within the allocated time.

The slide should include:

  • Organisation logo
  • Organisation name
  • Project title or area of expertise
  • A brief description of the project, technology or solution
  • Your main challenge (for SMEs) or value proposition (for Tech-savvy participants)
  • The type of feedback, expertise or collaboration you are looking for
  • Contact details

Presentations should be clear, focused and accessible to an international audience. Speakers are encouraged to highlight specific challenges or collaboration opportunities that can stimulate discussion and help build new connections across the MANTRA ecosystem.

We look forward to bringing the MANTRA community together to exchange ideas, inspire collaboration and create new opportunities for innovation.

 

SECPhO is a cluster based on Spain that brings together more than 180 organisations that promote technological innovation through deep tech in all sectors of our economy. They contribute to the assessment and advisory services for SME’s, including due diligence assessments, matchmaking non-tech SMEs with tech SMEs, co-creation labs, and tailored, value-added advisory services.

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Rina-C is a global network specializing in energy transition, ESG, and digitalisation, based in Italy. They are responsible for providing assessment and advisory services to the selected SMEs undergoing digital and technological transformation. This includes due diligence assessments, matchmaking tech-savvy and traditional SMEs, share best practices in co-creation labs, and offering tailored solutions and recommendations for practical implementation as part of the advisory services.

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Babele is a social enterprise based in Romania, that acts as a catalyst for systemic innovation, uniting a global network of universities, corporations, NGOs, and social entrepreneurs to co-create impactful solutions to address global issues such as climate change and poverty, while fostering resilience in the face of its effects. They are responsible for developing, building, and managing the digital platform for SME recruitment, overseeing the capacity-building and support program, and connecting innovation communities, EU networks, and SME support initiatives. The platform will function as a hub for knowledge exchange and a community of practice.

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Greenovate! Europe is a not-for-profit network of organisations dedicated to sustainable innovation. It develops sustainability projects and provides innovation support to researchers, companies and policymakers. The project partner based in Belgium, is responsible for the communication and dissemination activities of the MANTRA project. Their goal is to maximize the project’s impact by raising awareness, building a stakeholder community, and sharing open project results in a way that ensures they are actionable and exploitable by stakeholders.

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INES TEC is a research & development institute located on the campus of the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, located in Portugal. They oversee the role of identifying the needs and barriers of SMEs to create the most favorable capacity-building support services. They will connect European specialised business support structures, networks, and organizations to build-up an innovative value-added support ecosystem for SMEs.

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EIT Manufacturing is a public-private partnership located in Italy, co-funded by the European Union and established in 2019 that connects manufacturing players by promoting talent and entrepreneurship to accelerate sustainable innovation in Europe. They provide coaching programs and capacity-building support to enhance the competitiveness and innovation of SMEs. Building on the SME Alliance projects and EITM initiatives, they oversee the SME ecosystem, facilitating the exchange of best practices, and enable that traditional SMEs gain from dedicated peer-learning activities, learning directly from leaders in their sector.

EIT Manufacturing is a public-private partnership located in Italy, co-funded by the European Union and established in 2019 that connects manufacturing players by promoting talent and entrepreneurship to accelerate sustainable innovation in Europe.
They provide coaching programs and capacity-building support to enhance the competitiveness and innovation of SMEs. Building on the SME Alliance projects and EITM initiatives, they oversee the SME ecosystem, facilitating the exchange of best practices, and enable that traditional SMEs gain from dedicated peer-learning activities, learning directly from leaders in their sector.

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Cetim is a technological accelerator dedicated to industrial transformation. It brings the best of research to French industries and offers a comprehensive solution combining consulting and engineering services. They contribute to the assessment and advisory services for SME’s, including due diligence assessments, matchmaking non-tech SMEs with tech SMEs, co-creation labs, and tailored, value-added advisory services.

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Zabala Innovation is an international consultancy firm specialising in consultancy services for both R&D and Innovation management, based in Spain. As project coordinators for MANTRA, Zabala ensures smooth project management and defines the criteria to select and prioritise the manufacturing SME projects that will be funded through the project to unlock their digital and technological potential and build sustainable business models.

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