Ro2AzTex project, real support for companies wishing to expand cooperation

On 26 January 2022, the Covasna Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and the Azerbaijan Women Entrepreneurs Development Association (AWEDA) organized the kick-off meeting, an online event attended by 8 companies from Romania and 8 companies from Azerbaijan, as well as 4 SBOs. On this occasion, the companies established first contacts, understood the objectives of the project, and participated in 3 presentations. During the event, it was mentioned that the textile markets were affected by the Covid pandemic, so the way of selling, and promotion was changed, but also innovative raw materials were introduced on the market. These short presentations were on topics of interest to participating companies and beyond: sustainable textiles, circular economy, and marketing plans.

After this first meeting, the companies participated in a second Zoom meeting on 18 February 2022, when we talked about the possibilities of cooperation between these companies, inviting customs specialists from Romania and Azerbaijan, representatives of customs brokers and international transport companies. Thus, the companies obtained the basic parameters of cargo transportation between the two countries.

Following the online meetings, Azerbaijani companies participated in a study visit to Romania, organised within the project from 23-26 February 2022. On this occasion they participated in two business meetings, one organized at CCI Covasna (24.02.2022) in Sfântu Gheorghe and the other at CCI Brasov (25.02.2022) in Brasov, where the companies could present their products live and through PPT presentations, they could discuss the details of cooperation among themselves, but also with other companies participating in the meeting, including hypermarket networks. The meetings were fruitful and the companies continued their visits to the headquarters of Romanian companies. On 24 February 2022, the companies were able to visit the Secuiana SA factory in Târgu Secuiesc, getting to know the long local tradition in the production of trousers, the county being also called the Valley of Trousers for the millions of pairs of trousers made annually by medium and large companies in Covasna county. Both sides exchanged business perspectives on the garment factory business and discussed opportunities for joint production or presentation of common materials. On 25 February 2022, the companies visited a wedding exhibition in Bacău, where they could see the beautiful wedding dresses and had direct talks with the exhibitors.

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Being well aligned with the project timetable, the next project activity is expected to be the visit of the Romanian project beneficiaries - textile SMEs in Azerbaijan, to extend the cooperation between companies and OSB, to organize Zoom meetings for fine-tuning. The project partners are also going to produce a video testimonial of the visits, as well as a study on the development of cooperation between Romania and Azerbaijan, between the European Union and the Eastern Partnership countries.

The project entitled "Ro2AzTex - RO2AZTEX - Study visits for SBOs and SMEs from Romania and Azerbaijan in the textile sector" is funded through EUROCHAMBRES by the EU4 BUSINESS: Connecting Companies Grant.