VIENNA, 12 September 2022 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to expand their partnership beyond the existing technical assistance project portfolio to contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

UNIDO and ECE aim to develop a long-term relationship to advance sustainable and inclusive economic development by fostering innovative ecosystems to support start ups and scale-ups in developing countries and economies in transition.

Yasunaga, Managing Director of UNIDO said, “This UNIDO-ECE MoU will motivate stakeholders to come together to foster entrepreneurial skills and help establish feasible innovation ecosystems, particularly for young people.  I am confident that ECE’s accumulated knowledge and network will add value to this partnership”.

UNIDO and ECE enjoy a successful track record of cooperation nurturing ICT-related entrepreneurial ecosystems by providing entrepreneurs with access to international expertise and technology. In their previous initiatives, UNIDO and ECE joined efforts to promote knowledge-driven economic transition by reinforcing the capacities of innovation ecosystem to support start-ups and the scale-up of SMEs.

ECE of Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands, is a leading educational centre for entrepreneurship in Europe. As a valorization centre, ECE translates academic insights and research into practical approaches to enhance entrepreneurial competencies. In a quest to encourage entrepreneurship both locally and internationally, ECE develops, implements and executes programmes to train entrepreneurial skills. All of their activities aim to strengthen entrepreneurship ecosystems by bringing together different local and international organizations.

“We believe this MoU is a great opportunity foster a culture for knowledge exchange and the integration of more entrepreneurial thinking and spirit in projects related to digitalization and AI”, noted Farshida Zafar, Director of the ECE.

UNIDO and ECE operate on the shared vision that innovation does not take place in isolation but rather, is the result of interactions between different service providers and support organizations. A well-functioning innovation ecosystem provides start-ups and scale-ups with the necessary access to talent, capital and markets. This cooperation will help facilitate these processes and reinforce linkages to increase effective support for developing innovation-intensive and knowledge-driven economies.

For further information, please contact:

Farrukh Alimdjanov

Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO TCS/DAS

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