1. Entrepreneurial networking with “Erasmus for young
entrepreneurs” in Brussels
„This is a fantastic opportunity; Brussels offers us a great market niche for our web
development services“ describes Marcell Kiss-Toth from Budapest his experience abroad
with his host entrepreneur Niels Bramsen in Brussels. Marcell and Niels both participate in
the new European Programme “Erasmus for young entrepreneurs”. According to Thomas
Berger and Monika Aliz Meszaros, who represent intermediate and support organisations of the
programme, both entrepreneurs are among the first applicants and successful business
relationships facilitated by the EU exchange programme. Both project coordinators are impressed
by the energy and creativity of applicants of the programme.
Marcello Mereu from Brussels is another young entrepreneur who applied successfully with his
business plan for the EU-Programme. He is still looking for the right business partner in Europe
and used the networking meeting in Brussels as an opportunity to get in touch personally with
successful programme participants and contact persons of the European partnership of
intermediate organisations OPEN-EYE (www.open-eye.net).
“We want that more small and medium companies in Europe develop their potential to grow and to
benefit from the European internal market” explained Marko Curavić, Head of Unit
Entrepreneurship of the European Commission the rationale of the programme.
The example of Niels and Marcell seems to confirm this approach. While Marcell’s host
entrepreneur outsourced most of the development work so far to India the entrepreneurs have now
started to recruit web developers in Hungary to provide quality services to their growing client base
in Brussels and Belgium. When Marcell was asked how he found his host entrepreneur he had to
admit: “Actually it was the opposite way round; he found me, as originally I wanted to go to
London”. Marcell confirmed that both entrepreneurs soon discovered lots of common ground and
the good relationship on a personal level in the end decided about spending 5 months together in
Brussels on common project work.
This finding is confirmed by the experience of more than 20 partnerships of intermediate
organisations, whose representatives met in Brussels to evaluate the start of the programme. “The
Internet based matchmaking database of the programme can be a helpful tool to establish
contacts, as in the example of Marcell and Niels, but at the end of the day the personal contact and
human element matters” so Thomas Berger, OPEN-EYE project manager. For this reason more
than 100 intermediate organisations in Europe provide individual support to entrepreneurs, who are
going to establish European business relationships.
If you want to follow the example of Niels or Marcell ore one of the other more than 1000
entrepreneurs in Europe, who applied for the programme so far, do not hesitate to register at the
Programme Website www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu
The website www.open-eye.net offers more information about the European Partnership OPEN-
EYE coordinated by the University of Applied Sciences Fulda and the Institute inter.research e.V.
in Germany.
For any questions or if you want to get in touch with Niels or Marcello contact the OPEN-EYE
project manager Thomas Berger, berger@inter-research.de. If you would like to get in touch with
Marcell, contact the EXE-PRIZE project partner Monika Aliz Meszaros, mmonika@itd.hu.
First quarterly report

2. Graphic 1 f.l.t.r. Marcell Kiss-Toth (NE), Michela Salizzoni, Rosa Solanes, Thomas Berger
(OPEN-EYE), Marcello Mereu (NE) and Sophie Franceschini, Andrea Rossi (OPEN-EYE)
Graphic 2 f.l.t.r. Michela Salizzoni, Thomas Berger (OPEN-EYE), Marcell Kiss-Toth (NE),
Marko Curavić (EU), Monika Meszaros (EXE-PRIZE