Enhancing Coordination and Promotion of the COSME Programme and Capacity Building for SME Support Infrastructure Project

COSME (Competitiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises) is the programme of European Union which aims to improve the competitiveness of enterprises with special emphasis on SMEs. Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of Turkey (KOSGEB) has been assigned for national coordination of COSME Programme.

COSME forms the basis of an ideal platform for interaction of Turkish and European SMEs, by contributing to development of a common language and understanding among SMEs and SME policy making.

Although Turkey is an important and active actor at COSME process, there are still some areas highlighted in the assessments that need more effort to improve. Therefore, this project aims to inmprove the effective use of the COSME Program to increase the competitiveness of Turkish SMEs within a business environment.

The activities of the project are designed to increase the knowledge and awareness of intermediary organisations and SMEs about the COSME Programme and to enhance the coordination capacity in the country for more effective participation in the Programme. The project activities include training on various topics of COSME program for potential program beneficiaries, general information and project writing workshops, networking sessions, promotional activities, assistance services for establishing connections and collaborations abroad etc.

As well as strengthening the capacity of KOSGEB, the project also aims to enhance the capacity of the intermediary organisations and SMEs, and training and consultancy services will be provided in this context.