CERES project officially launched with Kick-off Meeting: Driving Resilience and Innovation for Mediterranean MSMEs

The CERES project held its kick-off meeting in Greece, bringing together partners to building a Stronger, More Competitive MSME Ecosystem in the Mediterranean

Publication Date
09/12/2025
Reading Time
2 minutes

The CERES project – Centers of Excellence for Resilient Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Solutions—officially started with its two-day Kick-off Meeting hosted by the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas (CERTH) in Ptolemaida, Greece. Representatives from all six partners across Greece, Spain, Lebanon and Palestine gathered to coordinate the first implementation steps and align on the project’s strategy and pilot activities.

The meeting combined plenary discussions, technical workshops and field visits, including PPC Renewables’ installations and CERTH’s Hydrogen Hub under construction in AEVAL, offering partners a direct look into the region’s energy transition context.

Empowering MSMEs through innovation

CERES runs for 36 months with a total budget of €2,497,800, of which €2,223,042 (89%) is co-funded by the European Union. Its mission is to enhance the resilience, competitiveness and innovation capacity of Mediterranean micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).

The project will establish three Centers of Excellence (CoEs) in Greece, Palestine and Lebanon, acting as hubs for technical training, entrepreneurship support and co-creation of sustainable solutions. The CoEs will deliver interdisciplinary training, mentoring and Living Labs to support the green and digital transition of MSMEs.

Pilot projects across the Mediterranean

CERES will implement 10 pilot projects demonstrating scalable solar-based solutions for energy access, water management and productive uses:

  • Greece: solar shadow stations for e-mobility, lighting and equipment powering
  • Lebanon: solar stations for potable water, ice storage, aesthetic kiosks and public lighting
  • Palestine: solar PV systems for EV charging and wastewater treatment for agriculture and SMEs

All pilots integrate open-source digital supervision and control systems enabling real-time monitoring and predictive maintenance.

A transnational partnership for resilient entrepreneurship

CERES brings together a balanced consortium of research, academic, industrial and non-profit partners:

By connecting these organizations through a shared collaborative platform, the project strengthens cross-border cooperation and supports MSMEs in adopting sustainable and competitive business models.

 

 

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Last Update

09/12/2025