The challenge

Wallonia seeks to accelerate its reindustrialisation and strengthen its position within Europe’s advanced manufacturing landscape. Yet many Walloon companies still face barriers in integrating European value chains, accessing major industrial platforms, and securing participation in EU research and innovation programmes. At the same time, international visibility, involvement in global industrial fairs and engagement in technological standardisation are becoming essential for competitiveness. The MadeInWal initiative addresses these gaps by helping Wallon actors connect to leading European ecosystems, increase their exposure to new markets, and create concrete opportunities for collaboration and innovation

Approach & results

MadeInWal à l’international builds a structured pathway to support the international development of Wallonia’s manufacturing ecosystem. Its actions combine targeted networking with European platforms (such as EFFRA, EurA AG), participation in major fairs like Hannover Messe and Formnext, and technological missions to reference industrial regions including Grand-Est and Northern Europe. The programme also actively supports the involvement of Walloon research centres and companies in standardisation activities and EU-funded projects, encouraging stronger integration into Horizon Europe and other initiatives.

Within this framework, IDEA Consult provides direct support to Sirris and the broader MadeInWal partnership to strengthen their participation in EU calls, particularly through the preparation of Horizon Europe proposals. IDEA contributes to refining project concepts, coordinating partners, structuring proposal activities, and managing the workflow required for high-quality submissions. This includes identifying relevant topics and partners, guiding the development of Part B, and organising the meetings and processes needed for smooth consortium collaboration.