• On 17–19 March next year, the Hanover Fairground will be buzzing with innovative digital companies looking for new business partners

• Twenty2x will be the first-ever SME-centred digital fair in Europe

• DIGITAL SME is proud to host a community stand for European SMEs who seek to internationalise their business

Hanover, Brussels. Focussing on SMEs is becoming more and more mainstream in politics. For the next Commission turn, President Von der Leyen explicitly endorsed an SME-focused industrial strategy. In addition, SMEs are also increasingly centred in private-sector initiatives. This coincides with the growing recognition that while the digital Business-to-Consumer (B2C) market is still dominated by international tech giants, the Business-to-Business (B2B) ICT market in Europe provides ample opportunity for innovation and digital transformation. This digital transformation—the digitalisation of “traditional” enterprises—is the core competence of digital small and mid-sized companies. And now there is a trade fair exclusively dedicated to them. 

The first-ever SME-centered Information Technology fair is taking place next year in Hanover, Germany

Titled “Twenty2x”, the fair will be somewhat of a successor to the famous CEBIT, which found its untimely end last year after its broad concept failed to attract businesses as exhibitors. Having once proudly carried the title of “largest IT fair in the world” and pulling almost a million visitors, the festival-like character of CEBIT’s relaunch in 2018 only attracted 120,000 people. Twenty2x is a completely new and independent event—with a much narrower focus: It’s all about SMEs and B2B! “We’ve conducted two independent market analyses and ultimately opted for a clear focus on SMEs, as this reflects the current market trends“, as Jutta Jakobi from Twenty2x-organiser Deutsche Messe AG explains.

A full focus on SME networking makes Twenty2x the definitive fair for #DigitalEnablers

We call SMEs who help other enterprises with their digital transformation “digital enablers”. Digital enablers focus on one or many aspects of a business like its customer relations, security, or usage of data, and offer integrated digital solutions for them. For a successful European digital revolution, these digital enablers are crucial, as they support or “enable” more traditional companies in industry or manufacturing to digitise and reinvent their business models. 

This is why we are excited to see Twenty2x as the first-ever IT fair with a clear focus on small and medium-sized businesses. While entertainment elements like “IT battles”, where different providers will compete for the quickest and best way to solve different tasks, will contribute to the fair’s high-energy atmosphere, the overall goal will be to bring together B2B partners. 

DIGITAL SME will host a community booth for European SMEs at Twenty2x

Exploiting Europe’s Digital Single Market is still a challenge for many companies. Twenty2x will be a fantastic opportunity for European SMEs to access the German-speaking IT market. In addition to our German member BITMi, who is a key partner of Twenty2x, DIGITAL SME is proud to be present with a European SME booth at the fair—and you can become part of it! Check out the exclusive options for DIGITAL SME members and join us at Twenty2x!