Building communities of knowledge for competitive MSEs (Q4302682)
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Project Q4302682 in Albania, Greece, Bulgaria
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Building communities of knowledge for competitive MSEs |
Project Q4302682 in Albania, Greece, Bulgaria |
Statements
428,636.3 Euro
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504,278.0 Euro
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85.0 percent
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20 February 2019
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19 February 2021
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Business and Cultural Development Centre
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41°19'55.13"N, 19°49'36.52"E
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40°32'54.67"N, 23°1'10.74"E
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41°19'18.88"N, 19°48'54.40"E
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42°41'51.76"N, 23°19'18.73"E
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40°37'41.52"N, 22°57'26.53"E
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The Balkan – Mediterranean area is characterized by high unemployment rates, exacerbated by the crisis in certain regions. Moreover, long term and youth unemployment are far above the EU average indicating that there is a profound and urgent need to enhance these categories and implement measures that will improve their entrepreneurial skills and promote their integration to the labor market. Bearing also in mind that the Balkan-Mediterranean area suffers by labor skills shortcomings and brain drain especially of skilled people, it is important to foresee knowledge transfer and skills’ development, linking the overall business’ support to vocational training. The SWOT analysis of the programme area highlights that there are strong economic regional disparities & areas with low competitiveness’ performances. These areas are mainly isolated and economically deprived because they are away from the big economic centres and lack in competiveness and existence of capable workforce. The economic recession and the low growth levels that characterize the area is another drawback factor that hampers its economic development. However, despite the negative economic climate of the area, there are also strengths and opportunities that can be exploited and lead to economic development. Specifically, the strong entrepreneurial spirit that exists in combination with the present EU initiatives that promote employment creation (including self‐employment) create great potential for economic recovery as long as proper and efficient development measures are put in practice. At the same time there is an increasing recognition of vocational education and training as well as relatively high skill levels in some regions able to contribute to competitiveness and innovation. The Skills4MSEs project aims to develop an integrated cross border learning structure for the provision of Business Development Services and other business support tools for existing and potential MSEs (micro and small enterprises) in both electronic and physical form. The aim of the Skills4MSEs project is to reach a maximum territorial impact on competitiveness, through internal spill over and leverage effects on knowledge transfer. Free Education and training will enable existing and potential entrepreneurs to acquire the necessary skills/tools and thus enhance their capacity, boost their competitiveness, grow towards other markets and introduce innovation in all phases of their business cycle.The delivery of business development services (BDS) for micro and small enterprises (MSEs)has received much attention during the past years.This attention results from the growing recognition by microfinance institutions and others involved in MSE development that the poor, in order to establish, operate and eventually grow their businesses, need more than access to loans and credit. While financing continues to play a critical role in enterprise development, the delivery of non-financial services,also called BDS, has become an increasingly important component of MSE development initiatives and interventions. Actions supported under the Skills4MSEs project will enable existing and potential MSEs to acquire the necessary skills/tools and bridge the gap between academic education and practical entrepreneurial learning through the exploitation of new technologies. By linking education and businesses, the Skills4MSEs project also embeds the “Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan” of the EU, stating that “investing in entrepreneurship education is one of the highest return investments Europe can make”. Moreover, in relation to the “Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan”, special attention is granted to special groups of people that require immediate business support. Migrants in specific, represent an important pool of potential entrepreneurs. As they are often more likely to start businesses than natives, they can substantially contribute to growth and job creation in the EU. The European Commission aims to create policy that helps attract talented would-be entrepreneurs from non-EU countries and ensure that business support services reach all potential entrepreneurs. Formerly bankrupt entrepreneurs and those at risk of bankruptcy is another group targeted by the project while the EC highlights the importance of the second chance for honest entrepreneurs as one of the key elements for the improvement of the entrepreneurial culture in the EU. (English)
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