Stateside with Stephanie of both pavilions are striking on brand ( the orange ) and purposefully designed .
Ms . Sandra Brandenburg , project coordinator NL Mission CES 2023 and Ms . Wytske Kist , communications and partnerships coordinator NL Mission CES 2023 , said selected companies were judged by a team of experts who decided on viability to be successful in the US , i . e . be a good market fit , viable , ready to do business , and financially healthy .
Companies are start-ups or scale-ups . Pre-show training begins with an intake call to assess each company ’ s needs . Some may need help with business proposals , others with pitches , media training or figuring out KPIs and goals . With CES Unveiled being held in Amsterdam , all CES pavilion participants are required to exhibit at that event , a mini-CES if you will , and it creates a sense of community with the exhibitors .
Switzerland . The SwissTech Pavilion was hot pink and black – quite a stand out , housing 25 companies . This was their fourth time exhibiting at CES . The pool for exhibitors consists of a large network of Swiss start-ups and agencies who support them , including the Swiss Innovation Agency , Innosuisse . Both Ms . Karine Wittmer , trade commissioner of Export and Investment Promotion Switzerland , Swiss Business Hub USA and Ms . Bettina Thomas , head of trade fairs for Switzerland Global Enterprise , shared information about the pavilion .
Exhibitors pay a portion of their expenses to participate . Plenty of preparation is provided to exhibiting companies well ahead of the show , including a US-based coach for Pitch Training . Marketing materials are reviewed by others , along with proposed company responses . If exhibitors fit the Eureka Park criteria , they may also participate in the pavilion for a second year .
Pavilion companies included VR tech , sustainability , and human impact ( how tech can help humans / medical ). Fem-Tech : Six ( 25 %) of the companies were womanowned , and two panels focused on supporting the growth of women in tech and building that community were held .
One of the exhibitors had a completely enclosed room within the pavilion set up as an A / R experience with each visitor earning a Swiss chocolate ( what else ?!) at the end of their quest . I liked the onbrand tie-in with the pavilion itself .
Ukraine . Co-sponsored by the ministry of digital transformation of Ukraine , USF , USAID , Western NIS Enterprise Fund , GIST , and UVCA ( Ukrainian Venture Capital & Private Equity Association ), this was the fifth edition for the pavilion , and the first during a war . Mr Adrity Koldyuk , chairman of the UVCA Supervisory Board , told me about the pavilion and state of technology innovation in the country . Surprisingly ( to me !), he said , “ No one has stopped investing in Ukrainian tech companies . We have seven Unicorns , two of which happened this past summer .”
The country ’ s number one export is IT services . Pre-war it was number two after agriculture .
Over 100 companies competed for 12 spots in the Ukraine Pavilion . Ultimately , only 11 exhibited due to US visa issues ( sound familiar ?). Normally they work closely before CES to train exhibiting companies , but this year were unable to . However , Koldyuk said , “ Most are pretty sophisticated at this point .”
Many of the exhibiting companies focused on SDG – sustainable products and new solutions such as recycling leaves to make paper . He called them ‘ dual-use technologies ’ – innovative products to address problems now to help 25 + million people survive the war , like processes to make clean drinking water , and later to help the environment .
Conclusion . Numerous studies have determined the number one reason people visit an exhibition is to see what ’ s new . The energy in CES ’ s Eureka Park was palpable and the aisles jam-packed . As Zinger of Israel summed up : “ The essence and soul of CES is Eureka Park – if you want to see trends and what ’ s new .”
www . exhibitionworld . co . uk Issue 1 2023 19