The Chambers of Commerce of Ireland (CCI) today signed a technology-transfer deal that will see it become the European anchor for a major transnational network of small business clusters aimed at assisting early-stage technology firms to go global.
The programme, which aims to assist early-stage high-tech businesses to internationalise, includes a series of business services in areas such as internet protocol security, trust technologies and capital and skill sourcing. It is an initiative of the World Chambers Network operated by the Global Enterprise Innovations and Commerce Centre (GEICC) based in Vancouver.
Speaking from Vancouver where the tech transfer deal was signed, CCI chief executive John Dunne, said: “The potential significance of the GEICC to Irish businesses is hard to overstate.
“The need to create small companies that can tackle international markets effectively from a standing start is a key challenge for Irish industrial policy. This initiative has the potential to connect small Irish companies to a global community of 25 million businesses, assisting them with marketing, sales and identification of possible joint venture partners and well as greatly facilitating the implementation of such deals.”
One module, ChamberTrust, is a business-to-business online verification seal and international registry system that allows participating companies to check the status of businesses they are dealing with over the internet as well as promoting themselves as a trustworthy partner in a comprehensive online business opportunities directory.
The initiative also incorporates a significant research strand. Among the research projects currently under way are multi-year transnational studies on how smaller companies hire for their organisations and how regulatory issues impact on small business.
As well as anchoring the European side of the network, the deal will also see the CCI becoming a hub for legal and financial support functions worldwide.
By John Kennedy
