Maribor Development Agency, the lead partner of project INTRA (programme Interreg Europe) proposed changes to the OP for implementation of the EU Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 in East Slovenia. As the result, the Ministry for Economic Development and Technology of the Republic of Slovenia prepared the Internationalisation vouchers.
LXNAV, is a company producing and developing navigation technology. Their primary field of expertise is aerial navigation, but they are making a breakthrough in the field of nautical navigation as well.
The international AERO fair in Friedrichshafen, Germany, is THE fair they need to attend, to stay in touch with their business contacts and up to date with new developments in their branch of business. Even without the voucher, they would still attend this fair.
However, there are new fairs they are attending, where they are promoting their nautical products. There, the vouchers are of great help, as they would not attend those events so often without the opportunity to use the vouchers. That is especially true for events in North America, as that is only the next international market they are still trying to reach.
As Mr. Šibanc, head of sales and marketing at LXNAV explained:
“Vouchers help us attend the key fairs to reach our future markets, where we still cannot expect to do business, but are trying to make a breakthrough. Without the vouchers we could not be as present and that would prolong the time it will take, before we start selling there.”
LXNAV noticed improvements in the application process for obtaining vouchers in the recent times. There are simplifications, especially since the process can be concluded online.
This year the Covid-19 pandemic caused great disturbances in all international business, especially in keeping up with business partners abroad. SMEs, without a doubt, need better digital marketing and this will most likely be their short-term focus.
