Global Business Innovation Programme in Switzerland & Germany - Semiconductors

A GBIP has three stages:

Prepare for the market

Preparing for the market includes the cohort being briefed by sector and market experts on, for example, cultural aspects of conducting business in that country. Delegates receive help to find business partners and arrange meetings and are advised on best practice including the management and protection of their intellectual property.

Visiting the market

Visiting the market provides opportunities to attend pre-arranged meetings and activities in order to better understand and maximise the opportunities that the visit presents.

Exploiting the opportunity

Exploiting the opportunity is arguably the most important aspect of the programme. To maximise the opportunity, participating companies are given bespoke one-to-one support from an Innovate UK EDGE innovation and growth specialist to help develop and implement an action plan.

The Global Business Innovation Programme operates on a competitive basis and businesses selected are required to participate in all three stages (some or all of which may be online).

To participate in this GBIP you must be:

• A UK-based innovation-led company with ambitions to grow and scale globally
• A company with fewer than 250 employees
• A CEO, founder, or senior decision maker able to attend and complete all activities

Semiconductors are an essential component of the electronic devices that are ubiquitous in the world around us, enabling communications, computing, healthcare, military systems, transportation, clean energy, and countless other applications.

The global semiconductor industry is set to become a trillion dollar industry by 2030, with around 70% of growth predicted to be driven by the automotive, data storage, and wireless industries.

Switzerland has for the last 13 years consistently ranked as the world’s most innovative economy according to the Global Innovation Index. The country excels in niche high-value semiconductor segments, including sensors, power management, and analogue chips, thanks to its highly educated workforce and exceptional infrastructure for research, design, and manufacturing. This strong ecosystem is well-placed to promote major international collaborations.

Germany aims to gain a 20% global share of semiconductor production for Europe by 2030 as part of the larger “European Chips Act”. Industry clusters such as Silicon Saxony offer, an environment attracting world-leading device manufacturers and suppliers for materials, components, and equipment from across the entire value chain and are home to international companies, renowned research institutions and SMEs.

With established UK-German and UK-Swiss bilateral funding programmes, the opportunities for UK companies to collaborate with German and Swiss counterparts are significant.

• Semiconductor design / IP
• Compound semiconductors
• Advanced packaging
• Emerging materials

Successful applicants will benefit from an intensive 9 to 12 months three phased programme with bespoke support from an innovation and growth specialist throughout.

Innovate UK will fund and organise flights, accommodation, in-market travel, and conference fees for successful applicants. Innovate UK will also pay for any reasonable adjustments throughout the initiative. Only one representative from each company will be funded and the same person will be expected to participant in all parts of the programme. On acceptance to the programme a commitment fee of £1000 will be obtained from each delegate, which will be refunded on completion of the full activities and agreed action plan. Non-completion after formal acceptance may result in forfeiting some or all the commitment fee.

Watch the recording of the applicant briefing here.

• Applications close: 12th July 2024
• Get ready workshop: 24th – 25th September 2024
• Visit the market: 10th – 16th November 2024
• Exploit the opportunity workshop: 21st January 2025