- This visit is part of a trip organised by a Spanish-Portuguese business delegation to strengthen ties with the Asian country
- Finnova will represent the ONE-BLUE and RES4CITY projects, among others, which are funded by the Horizon programme
The Finnova Foundation will travel to Lahore (Pakistan) from April 16th to 20th as part of a visit by Spanish and Portuguese business representatives to the region. Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Foundation, and Juan Viesca, Director of European Funds, will represent the organisation on a trip that marks a significant step forward in Finnova’s internationalisation strategy. The mission, led by Gohar Rehman, CEO and founder of Ensmile Aligners and nominated President of the Pakistan-Portugal Business Council, is being carried out in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce of Pakistan, TDAP (Trade Development Authority of Pakistan), and the embassies of Spain and Portugal.
This expedition is part of a strategy to internationalize innovation and technological development services for Spanish companies in the fields of renewable energy, construction, sustainable fashion, and innovation-oriented training. Throughout the week, our representatives will visit several universities and local entities, as well as attend the Health Engineering and Minerals Show 2025 (HEMS 2025), an exhibition of engineering and healthcare products and technologies in Pakistan, where more than 300 companies will present their products to representatives from over 60 countries.
In addition, this is a key moment for attracting businesses and investment due to the current international context, tariff instability, and the beginning of the 2024–2029 European Commission mandate a Commission that is more demanding regarding exports to third countries in order to reduce environmental dumping. This is precisely the main line of action that Finnova aims to develop during this trip: to create a softlanding strategy that identifies Pakistani and third-country companies with the potential to be attracted to Spanish regions such as the Valencian Community or the Canary Islands (Canary Islands Special Zone).
Finnova: Committed to Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The tour of our representatives will begin with a meeting at the University of Management and Technology (UMT) in Lahore with its president, Ibrahim Hasan Murad, on Wednesday, June 16. In the afternoon, they will visit the Punjab Assembly and meet its president, Kultar Singh Sandhwan.
On April 17th, the Finnova Foundation will attend HEMS 2025 and, in the afternoon, will participate in a session with the country’s Federation of Industries and Commerce. Additionally, the official inauguration of the Pakistan-Portugal Business Council will take place on this day. On April 18th, our representatives will give a lecture at the University of Management Sciences in Lahore and visit factories in the footwear, meat, medical products, and packaging sectors.
Finally, on Saturday, April 19th, Finnova will attend a conference at the University of Central Punjab and deliver a lecture at the National University of Emerging Sciences and Computing, as part of the 1st International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Computer-Assisted Language Learning: Reshaping Applied Linguistics 2025. Juan Viesca will give a presentation on the Horizon programme, the ONE-BLUE and RES4CITY projects of which the Foundation is a partner the innovation opportunities these initiatives create for the region, and the importance of capacity building in higher education.
Meanwhile, Juanma Revuelta will showcase several projects in which Finnova is involved, including those related to entrepreneurship (FU-TOURISM and AL-INVEST VERDE Sustainable Coffee), water (LIFE COSTAdapta and LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0), construction (LIFE RESSKILL), and textiles (TEXTIL4ALL). The remainder of the day and Sunday, April 20, will be dedicated to meetings with various stakeholders identified during the visit.
Our presence in Pakistan reflects the Finnova Foundation’s commitment to entrepreneurship, the fight against climate change, innovation, and the scalability of our initiatives. We are grateful to the Embassy of Spain in Pakistan for this opportunity to internationalize our activities and to connect with local stakeholders interested in our work.
About RESSKILL
RESSKILL is a three-year project aimed at training professionals with a specific focus on integrating energy systems and the digitalisation of buildings and districts. The project will develop micro-credentials that offer learners tangible skills validation, ensuring that the courses align with industry standards. The consortium comprises 10 partners from 6 European Union countries. Led by the University of Genoa and supported by a budget of €1.5 million, the project includes the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli and Artemat (Italy), Maynooth University and IKIM (Ireland), the Technical University of Crete and the European Institute of Education and Teaching (Greece), the Polytechnic University of Valencia (Spain), Three O’Clock (France), and Finnovaregio (Belgium).
About LIFE ECOdigestion 2.0
This pilot demonstration project, funded by the LIFE Programme with a budget of over €970,000, generates biogas in wastewater treatment plant digesters by mixing putrescible organic waste (such as manure, poultry waste, organic fractions, MSW, HORECA waste, etc.), thus transforming sewage sludge into green energy through advanced technology. The initiative, led by Global Omnium (Spain) in collaboration with the Finnova Foundation (Belgium) and Águas do Centro Litoral (Portugal), aims to become the most versatile digestion control tool on the market delivering both environmental and economic benefits by optimizing waste reuse for biogas production. This technology contributes to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and promotes the recovery of sewage sludge generated during wastewater treatment processes, thereby having a positive environmental impact. The project is easily scalable and can be expanded with additional funding sources such as ERDF (FEDER), NextGenerationEU, orREPowerEU.
About RES4CITY
RES4CITY is a project funded by the European Commission through the Horizon Europe Programme, with a duration of 36 months and a total budget of €2.5 million. Its main objective is to promote the development of renewable energy and sustainable fuel technologies in urban environments, through close collaboration with stakeholders and by fostering sustainability and the circular economy.
About LIFE COSTADAPTA
LIFE COSTAdapta aims to enhance the natural protection of the coastline without compromising its traditional local use deeply rooted in the Canary Islands and at the same time seeks to contribute to the preservation of the region’s tourism-based economy. The enjoyment and conservation of the reef–rock pool system promote local economic sustainability, offering not only a nature-based solution to potential flooding but also maintaining the social use of the area and supporting coastal stability. With a duration of seven years and a total budget of €3,409,864 (of which €2,045,818 is funded by the EU through the LIFE Programme), COSTAdapta is coordinated by the Island Energy Council of Gran Canaria (CIEGC) of the Gran Canaria Island Council, with the support of seven partners: University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC); University of Cantabria (UC); INGECID, Research and Development of Projects; Raley Estudios Costeros S.C.P.; ECOncrete AQUA; Fundación Canaria para el Reciclaje y Desarrollo Sostenible (FCR) and Finnova Foundation.
About FU-TOURISM
With a €4 million grant from the European Commission under the Single Market Programme, the FU-TOURISM project stands out as the highest-funded among the six projects selected in the SMP-COSME-2022-TOURSME call. It is supported by a consortium of key institutions from seven European countries. Core members of the consortium include Finnova (Belgium),Envolve (Greece),SYNYO (Austria),Vestbee (Poland), and Open Impact (Italy), with coordination provided by Eupolis Grupa (Croatia)and València Innovation Capital of the City Council of València (Spain).
About FINNOVA
FINNOVA is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation based in Brussels and Spain, dedicated to promoting and developing innovation and entrepreneurship across the European Union. FINNOVA brings extensive experience in leading communication and dissemination activities for EU-funded projects, combined with a strong track record in business creation and entrepreneurship support through accelerators, incubators, and dedicated events. The foundation is also firmly committed to youth training and employability, contributing to the development of future talent in Europe.