‘Market entry camps’ have been set up in San Francisco, Boston, New York, Bangalore and Shanghai, to help Swiss startups to expand internationally. The support offered depends on the stage of the company, and potentially includes not only workspace but also legal and business advice, access to expert coaching and mentoring, introductions to potential customers, investors and partners through tailored events or meetings, plus a stipend to travel.
According to its stage and the general set-up of the market, the start-up gets support in following fields:
- Fact finding
- Market validation
- Market entry
The CTI Market entry camps is a joint initiative between Commission for Technology and Innovation and several swissnex nodes in the world’s most innovative hubs.
About Overseas Expansion Policy Tools:
To make overseas expansion less daunting and help startups find their feet in a new country, several governments provide overseas ‘springboards’ – bases from which they can connect with the local ecosystem and explore the market, often in the company of compatriots facing the same challenges. Although these are usually funded by national bodies, they could potentially be replicated without national support, via bilateral agreements between cities.
Read more about this type of policy instrument in Nesta's Idea Bank for Policymakers.
