Province of Overijssel gives impetus to export SME’s with GO4Export

‘SME’s in Overijssel that want to export to a, for them, new foreign market of want to increase their existing international sales, experience a lot of bottlenecks in doing international business. The program GO4Export offers specific support to these entrepreneurs. This strengthens the international competitive position of Overijssel and stimulates employment, both quantitively as well as qualitative’, according to Van Hijum.

The approach consists of 2 action lines:

• Informing and binding: realisation of an interactive web portal GO4Export.nl, organisation of regional trade tables, Annual GO4Export event, Follow up on international Hanseatic days.
• Facilitating: organisation of international trade mission, e-commerce & export, collaboration SME’s & education, branding HTSM Overijssel in predominantly Germany, strengthening of the relation with China, province of Lyaoning.

In 2016, the States-Provincial of Overijssel approved the policy framework ‘Overijssel innovates and globalizes’. Based on this framework, Oost NV was given the assignment to develop a three-year implementation program together with a group of representatives of SME’s and knowledge institutions in Overijssel.

GO4Export and its activities closely reflect the current basic infrastructure for support of SME’s (Netherlands Enterprise Agency and Chamber of Commerce).

Alongside Oost NV, the following regional parties have also committed to the program:

• VNO-NCW Midden (in agreement with MKB Midden, Metaalunie, FME)
• Saxion Hogeschool (together with Windesheim and the University of Twente)
• MKB Deventer 
• Verenigde Maakindustrie Oost  (VMO) 
• World Trade Center Twente 
• Kennispoort regio Zwolle (Trade Office Zwolle) 
• Novel-T

Fons de Zeeuw: “In the organisation and the execution of a range of activities, we will make us of these organisations and others and will coordinate with parties that have added value either because of the subject or from the region. Think, for example, of open innovation centers in the region, Stedendriehoek Innoveert and organisations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Metaalunie, FME, city councils and provinces. Nationally there is close coordination with the Netherlands Enterprise Agency and the top sectors.