To encourage companies in the dairy chain to innovate, develop their business and improve the
quality of their production, the EU-funded project LACTIMED, implemented under the
Cross-Border Programme in the Mediterranean (CBCMed), will be organising a regional
competition of innovative projects for the enhancement of Mediterranean typical dairy products.
The Sicilian edition of the contest was launched on 24 May 2014 in Palermo on the occasion of
the Week of traditional Sicilian cheeses, officially opening the call for proposals phase. The next
launch conferences will be held in June 2014 in the regions of the Bekaa and Baalbeck-Hermel
(Lebanon), Thessaly (Greece), Alexandria and El-Beheira (Egypt), Bizerte and Beja (Tunisia).
These will include educating potential participants in the implementation of effective methods,
traditional and sustainable production, needs for improvement of the quality and management
of the customer relationship.
Following the conference, interested persons will be invited to submit an application form presenting their business, the objectives of their project and a draft business plan. The competition will also be available via the project website.
Candidates pre-selected by a jury of international experts and local partners will then participate in a local training and coaching workshop to develop their business plan. They will benefit from the technical assistance of an executive of local organisation supporting the dairy sector, and from the economic and financial expertise of the manager of a bank or another financial institution.
Each candidate will present their business plan at the end of the training. In each territory, the jury will select the two best projects of dairy product enhancement based on a technological, organisational or social innovation while using local resources and traditional know-how. The winners will receive a seed grant to finance the filing or acquisition of patents, the services of inspection or certification bodies, the purchase of machinery, etc. They will also be liaised with local and national organisations that could boost the development of their project by a financial, technological or commercial contribution.
The competition is open to micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), companies, associations or professional associations, students, laboratories or research centre.
The LACTIMED project aims to strengthen the production and distribution of typical dairy products in the Mediterranean region through the coordination of local industries, the support to dairy producers and the promotion of their products on local and international markets. In order to reach these goals, a Mediterranean network will be created to increase the commercial value of these products, to foster the integration of local value chains as well as to strengthen the production and promotion on national and international markets...(link)