Three Mast Group Supports Launch of New European Association of Business Innovation Districts
Updated: Mar 30
Brussels, Belgium - Three Mast Group supported the launch of the new European Association of Business Innovation Districts (EABID) last week in a private event at the Microsoft Innovation Hub in Brussels, bringing together stakeholders from 14 countries to outline the association’s strategic direction and operational roadmap.
Keynote speakers included Irish Member of the European Parliament Regina Doherty, Portuguese Ambassador António Martins da Cruz, Catalonia's Brussels Delegation Director Ana Coelho, and Nina Begicevic Ređep, Member of the Supervisory Board of Erste Group in Croatia, the country's third largest bank.
About EABID
EABID was founded to connect and align business and innovation districts across Europe, with a focus on improving their competitiveness, facilitating the growth of pan-European companies, and attracting international investment.
The organization's creation comes amid the wider context of increasing pressure on Europe to enhance its ability to scale innovation and compete globally, particularly in the context of geopolitical fragmentation and evolving industrial policy.
Founding member organizations include:
Sandyford Business District in Greater Dublin, which hosts 27,000 employees across 1,000 companies, including the EMEA HQs of several American tech giants like Microsoft and Mastercard, represented by Ger Corbett
Oeiras Valley Innovation Lab in Greater Lisbon, whose commercial footprint accounts for almost 15% of Portugal's GDP, represented by Tiago Sousa Dias
CEDAES, the Spanish Association of Business Districts, which represents more than 6,000 districts across Spain, represented by Pablo García Vigón
Three Mast Group's Graham Colclough is also a founding member.
The Launch
The launch's program took place over two days. The first day was focused on setting the organization's strategic direction and operational roadmap, with a board of directors elected and a provisional budget approved. The second day dove into many of the wider themes that business districts and related stakeholders are facing as Europe continues to evolve amongst the wider global backdrop of geopolitical tensions. Early sessions focused on governance frameworks, competitiveness, and the role of business districts in advancing Europe’s strategic autonomy. Later discussions shifted toward investment dynamics, including investor appetite, risk calibration, and the role of blended finance in scaling innovation.
A central theme throughout the event was the need to translate policy frameworks into actionable investment opportunities. Speakers highlighted the importance of building clearer pipelines between public funding mechanisms, private capital, and market-ready projects, with particular attention to improving coordination across jurisdictions.
Three Mast Group's Ryan McHenry contributed to the investment-themed discussions and presented recent work carried out with the Sandyford Business District as a case study, sharing how business districts can serve as platforms for attracting both domestic and international capital while supporting cross-border business expansion.
With its formal launch now complete, the association is expected to begin advancing its implementation agenda in the coming months, including the development of collaborative initiatives and investment-oriented frameworks across participating districts.
