Dear Readers,
After 180+ monthly editorials, I would like to use this one to answer some of the questions I was asked in recent times by a number of peers, clients and business contacts.
The first question regards the technical areas tackled by EPN Consulting in its professional journey.
As many may remember, EPN Consulting was established in 2009 to provide assistance in two main areas: Sustainable Transport & ITS and EU-funded projects. We have been working on those areas for a decade while in the meantime technical, technological and political circumstances changed. That’s why we had to adapt to these changes and, while keeping Sustainable Transport & ITS the core of our professional offer, we have integrated it with new areas such as Climate Change and Artificial intelligence. As a matter of fact, both of these areas have started shaping and influencing how transport is going to be designed, operated, used and felt.
The other area, EU-funded projects, was no longer of interest in the UK after the implementation of Brexit in 2020. However, we had such a deep knowledge of EU projects, affairs and strategies that was a pity to abandon these exciting topics. That’s why in 2022 I decided to set up a new company, EPN Consulting Research and Innovation, in Dublin, to handover all the experience and know-how in this sector as well as dedicate more time to research activities.
When in January 2024 the UK joined Horizon Europe, the largest EU funding programme, I immediately allocated some resources to help UK companies take part in this programme. Unfortunately, I found some scepticism across businesses about this opportunity, but I still believe that sooner or later companies will understand the huge benefits that would receive by taking this chance of funding their innovations and knowing there are not alone as EPN Consulting would assist them in each and every step of this journey both before and after their projects submission.
The second question regards my editorials. Many commented editorials don’t have a title and this would make understanding the topic somehow difficult.
The communication strategy I had chosen was intentionally not to assign a title, which would some times restrict the topic discussed, and put a relevant picture instead. For instance, for one editorial that was discussing the introduction of robotaxis in London, I chose a photo representing a typical London black taxi with a woman looking to the opposite direction as she was waiting for something different. I thought this would embody a wider concept than a pure wordy title.
The third question regards our service of international business expansion. Why and how do we offer this service. Just to be clear we are not one of those agencies that help individuals to set up a company abroad: this is not our service nor our scope.
Thanks to the wide international experiences we have gained in decades of work, we are in the invaluable position to help companies, in particular SMEs (Small-Medium Enterprises), understand their preparedness in expanding their business abroad depending on their kind of business and markets wished.
Personally, I have worked with hundreds of SMEs which were working in several different sectors: ITS, ICT, Agri-Food, Agri-Tech, Oil&Gas, etc. in virtually every European country. Besides, I very well know the pros and cons of being an SME, the needed balance between exciting theoretical aspirations and concrete results from markets and competitors that sometimes may consume money and enthusiasm. That’s why I guess this service is important, in particular because it is provided by a private entity with real experience of several markets.
The usual definition of an SME has headcount between 1 to 249 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) employees (plus other caps on annual turnover and else), but I can assure that SMEs in major need of help are those with up to 50 FTE employees. If you are one of them, feel free to get in touch and I will be happy to discuss your plans of expansion.
Hope these answers helped clarify somehow the three most frequent questions. If not, send us an email and will continue in private.
Thank you for your continuous interest and support!
Stefano Mainero
EPN Consulting and EPN Consulting Research and Innovation Founder & CEO
Article written by human beings without any use of AI. EPN Consulting Ltd. copyright 2026
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