We are excited to announce the publication of the new study “Identification of Lighthouse Projects in the Danube Region”, commissioned by EUSDR Priority Area 8 – Competitiveness of Enterprises and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg. It was implemented by Steinbeis Europa Zentrum 2i GmbH together with its partners, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia and the Pannon Business Network (Hungary).
🔍 The study identifies 30 lighthouse initiatives, best practices and projects in three key sectors:
1️ Green tech, circular economy & bioeconomy
2️ Digitalisation, AI, metaverse & virtual worlds
3️ Supply chains & finance
📄 Download the full study here:
👉 EUSDR PA8 Lighthouse Projects Study (PDF)
The brand new study and three lighthouses in the fields of Supply Chains and Finance were presented at the workshop Lighthouses in the Danube Region on 5 November 2025 in as part of the EU Danube Region Strategy Annual Forum in Sarajevo:
RETHINK-GSC, presented by Dr. Birgit Meyer, WIFO, Austria
The RETHINK-GSC project tackles the focus point of EUSDR PA 8 at its very core: It focuses on analyzing not only the structure of supply chains in general in the Danube Region and the European Union, but it actively engages and works with enterprises in order to identify their potentials with regard to supply chains.
Presentation: RETHINK-GSC
global verantwortlich BW, presented by Jannik Struss, Baden-Württemberg
“global verantwortlich BW” is an initiative that is directed at mostly SME enterprises specifically in the Baden-Württemberg region that shows them ways to manage their supply chains with a stronger focus on taking responsibility for the consequences of their management.
GLOBAL1.pdf
Supply Chain Intelligence Institute, presented by Dr. Klaus Friesenbichler, ASCII, Austria
The Supply Chain Intelligence Institute Austria (ASCII) is an institution funded by the Austrian national government and marks a new path in proposing an offer to companies with regard to the topic of Supply Chains
Presentation: Supply Chain Intelligence Institute Austria – ASCII
The further lighthouses in the fields of Supply Chains and Finance are: EMBRACE, Croatia, Kristina Šetka; KMU.Digital & Green, Austria, Bernd Zimmer; VINNOVATE – Vanguard Initiative Funding Call, Austria, Romania and other regions outside the Danube Region, Jean- François Romainville; Western Balkans Green Growth Alliance, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Anna Runkel; Slovene Enterprise Fund Vouchers, Jana Lorger, Rok Huber; ONEX DIH Bosnia and Herzegovina / Nectgen ERP, DejanRadmanovic; Bojan Cudic; Master Study Programme Supply Chain Management, Logistics, Production – DIHK, Baden-Württemberg, Prof. Julia Hansch
Priority Area 8 would like to thank all the ‘Lighthouses’ for their cooperation and contributions to the study and presentations.
Thank you to Steinbeis Europa Zentrum 2i GmbH (Robin Schenk, Daniela Chiran, Sebastian Große-Puppendahl) and its partners — the Slovenian Chamber of Industry and Commerce (Grit Ackermann), and the Pannon Business Network (Renáta Csabai, Balázs Barta) — for their excellent work.
Priority Area 8 is confident that the study and communication measures will bring benefits and enhance the competitiveness of enterprises in the Danube Region.
The study and the PA 8 website LIGHTHOUSES – PA 08 feature all 30 outstanding initiatives in the three different fields. All the information about the lighthouses is available here, and each initiative is described in a text with an additional presentation.
