International Breakfast Meeting and BlueInvest Workshop to be held online

Brussels, January 2022 - The cancellation of boot Düsseldorf means that the Blue Innovation Dock will be postponed until January 2023, but two key events will still take place at the end of January to support the industry and ensure a successful start to 2022. The International Breakfast Meeting will discuss supply chain challenges in the boating industry and the EU's future approach to trade. At the BlueInvest workshop on sustainable nautical technologies, investors and entrepreneurs will discuss innovation and public and private investment.

The Blue Innovation Dock will launch at the next edition of boot Düsseldorf 2023 (21 - 29 January). Co-organizers boot Düsseldorf and European Boating Industry (EBI) will continue to focus on putting sustainability at the heart of the boating and water sports industry and encouraging innovation. Exciting events are planned for the coming year in line with these goals.

To continue to support the recreational boating industry with business information, contacts with EU institutions and practical support, two key events of the cooperation will come online in the last week of January.

The BlueInvest workshop on green nautical technologies will take place on 24 January from 10:30 to 13:00 CET. For the first time in the shipping industry, the thematic workshop will provide an opportunity to network and engage with investors, entrepreneurs and market experts.

This event is co-organized by the European Commission's BlueInvest initiative, which promotes blue growth. It is made possible by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund and aims to facilitate access to finance and investment readiness for start-ups, SMEs and scale-ups in the blue economy. The event will feature blue economy investors, industry experts, panel discussions and pitch sessions from promising start-ups. Registration, livestreaming, live chat and B2B matchmaking are available at https://bit.ly/blueinvestworkshop. 

The International Breakfast Meeting, now in its 7th year, will open its digital doors on 25 January from 10:00 - 11:30 CET. It will focus on "International Trade Opportunities and Supply Chain Challenges". The aim is to help businesses implement the EU's future approach to trade, discuss solutions to supply chain challenges and identify new opportunities for the boating sector. The event will be attended by Cristina Rueda-Catry (Cabinet Expert to European Commission Executive Vice-President and Valdis Dombrovskis Commissioner for Trade), Marc Diening (CEO, Bavaria Yachts), Alessandro Gianneschi (CEO, Gianneschi Pumps and Blowers & Vice-President Confindustria Nautica) and Michael Heinemann (CEO, Phoenix Contact).