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News – Page 3 – Better Incubation
Better Incubation is a project by LIAISE
info@betterincubation.eu

Category: News

5.0 : Entrepreneurship Capacity Building Programme launched on 27 April, by IPN, Portugal

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

New Programme on Senior Entrepreneurs “5.0 : Entrepreneurship Capacity Building” Programme

Launched on 27 April, by IPN, Portugal

 

The member of the Better Incubation CoP for seniors : Instituto Pedro Nunes (IPN)  is a business incubator based in Coimbra Portugal, having a wealth of experience with supporting the senior entrepreneurs.

In their previous project Empreendedorismo 5.0: supporting seniors entrepreneurship in Portugal,IPN has provided support to the seniors’ entrepreneurial endeavors through an eight-week entrepreneurship capacity-building training and mentoring programme delivered in a mixed format.

On 27 April, IPN in partnership with  Fundação Bissaya Barreto (FBB Foundation) launched a new initiative 5.0 Cinco Ponto Zero – Programa de Capacitação para o Empreendedorismo (Five point zero – entrepreneurship capacity building programme) which will benefit from the methodology of the Empreendedorismo 5.0 project.

The new project targets seniors (50 years plus) and intends to expose up to 50 participants who have a business idea and need to be skilled on how to start a business, to the capacity building programme. The programme consists of an online training course combined with specialized online mentoring and 2 presence sessions.

The data from the 5.0 Cinco Ponto Zero will be also included into the results of the inclusive pilots of the Better Incubation project,  thus testing, validating and enriching the lessons learned and measurement and monitoring framework of the Better Incubation project.

Interested in the Social Economy Action Plan? Join us for the Webinar on 19 May

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

Webinar

‘Social Economy Action Plan : Opportunities for BSOs’

 

European Business Innovation Centre Network (EBN) on behalf of

 the Better Incubation programme  is hosting a webinar

on the European Commission’s recently released Social Economy Action Plan (SEAP)

on Thursday 19 May, 15:00 – 15:45 CET.

Our speakers will be:

  • Guy Lejeune, Senior Expert on Inclusive Entrepreneurship from DG Employment, European Commission.  
  • Karel Vanderpoorten, Policy officer – Proximity, Social Economy, Creative Industries from DG GROW, European Commission

 

Webinar Objectives:

 Besides providing the summary of the key aspects of the SEAP, the Webinar “Social Economy Action Plan : Opportunities for BSOs” will focus on how we can increase the impact of the BSOs in the implementation stage of the SEAP, looking at the following :

  • how to maximise the potential of the BSOs to translate some of the recommendations in the SEAP into practical initiatives on the local, national and EU level.
  • what are the existing and future synergies of the SEAP with other EU programmes/initiatives which will enable BSOs to foster social innovation, local development, and green and digital transition while reaching social impact.

There will be 15 minutes dedicated to Q&A from the audience.

Venue:

This is a virtual event. Participants will be able to connect via Zoom, after receiving detailed instructions on how to connect and the link to the webinar https://bit.ly/BetterSocEco

The webinar will be recorded.

Email michaela.lednova@ebn.eu for more information

 

 

Call for Interest : Better Incubation Regional Policy Workshops

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

Call for Interest : Better Incubation Regional Policy Workshops

Impact Hub and EBN networks are looking for interested business support organizations to join us in planning and hosting of the 15 regional workshops to harvest ideas and related policy recommendations on inclusive incubation ecosystems on the regional/local level.

The main objective of the regional policy workshops will be to bring out and amplify the role of business support organizations as catalysts of the entrepreneurial support ecosystem for the social and vulnerable entrepreneurs. The ecosystem change cannot be generated by the incubators alone and therefore through the workshops we intend to mobilise the local ecosystem players. The policy workshops should thus act as an enabling space for business intermediaries to connect and exchange with other stakeholders in the ecosystem.

Selection Criteria:

  • Part of IHUB network or EBN member
  • Be headquartered in one of the EaSI countries
  • Ideally participated in one of the five Liaise CoPs
  • Connections with organizations in the field of social entrepreneurship / underrepresented groups (URG) entrepreneurship
  • Connection with local / regional policymakers / alignment with local / regional policies in the field of social entrepreneurship / URG entrepreneurship
  • Connections to other business support organizations in order to expand the impact of the project findings by sharing their knowledge with peers
  • Capacity to report in English (workshops will be held in local languages)

You can find more information in Brief for hosting BSO, or contact us directly  : michaela.lednova@ebn.eu (EBN network) or Lucia.radu@impacthub.net (Impact Hub network)

If you have decided to get involved, please send an email with the Letter of Interest to info@betterincubation.eu  by 29 April 2022.

 

International Conference for Sharing Best Practices: Economic and Social Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers through Social Entrepreneurship

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

The work and experience gathered through the Better Incubation Community of Practice on migrants and refugees was featured on the International Conference for Sharing Best Practices: Economic and Social Integration of Refugees and Asylum Seekers through Social Entrepreneurship, held on 10 March – 11 March 2022.

The exchange event organised by University of Bologna under the Interreg-Adrion REInSER project, brought together scholars and practitioners across Europe to discuss inspiring initiatives of refugees integration through social entrepreneurship and to enrich the debate on some of the most relevant issues surrounding this topic.

The Better Incubation project consortium (EBN, Impact Hub and EVPA) was represented by Lucia Radu from Impact Hub who shared  the main findings from the project at the Policy and Practice roundtable “Experiencing Social Entrepreneurship by/for refugees”. She introduced best practices explored by the Better Incubation and its thematic Community of Practice on how to better integrate migrants and refugees into the society through the entrepreneurship and what are the key barriers these entrepreneurs face in the process.

The key challenges include competing priorities, diversity of participants considering their backgrounds and countries of origins, language barriers, difficulties to reach the target groups and recruit them in the incubation programmes. The diverse approaches how these challenges can be addressed by the business incubators through adjusted services and support were also discussed.

Empreendedorismo 5.0: supporting seniors entrepreneurship in Portugal

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

From December 2021 through April 2022, twenty business incubators from EBN and IHUB networks, working in the five thematic Communities of practice, have incubated more than 115 enterpreneurs  from under-represented communities  across 14 different European countries.

In  the upcoming weeks, the series of blogs created by Impact Hub will give you a closer look at stories of business incubators helping vulnerable entrepreneurs such as women, youth, migrants and refugees, seniors and people with disabilities to embark on their entrepreneurial journey. 

Empreendedorismo 5.0: supporting seniors entrepreneurship in Portugal

When facing retirement, around 10% of people dream of starting their own business and 73% need to continue working for financial reasons in Portugal. No wonder there is a growing number of people considering a second career and looking to create start-ups. In view of this panoram – and inspired by the successful pilots of the programme in other European countries -, the Instituto Pedro Nunes launched in 2020 the Portuguese version of Empreendedorismo 5.0. 

In the framework of Better Incubation, Impact Hub joined forces with European-wide partners to achieve systemic change towards a more inclusive social entrepreneurship environment in the region. For that end, thematic Communities of Practice (CoP) were developed as a means for participants to exchange their knowledge and share their experiences on how to best support entrepreneurs from under-represented groups. Empreendedorismo 5.0 was one of the CoP’s programmatic approaches appointed as an inspiring best practice devoted to supporting seniors’ entrepreneurship.

How are they supporting seniors’ entrepreneurship?

Developed within the scope of EIT Health,  a ‘knowledge and innovation community’ of 150 partner organisations created in 2015, Empreendedorismo 5.0 is aimed at people over 50 – employed, unemployed, retired or inactive – who have a business idea and want to develop entrepreneurial skills, as well as enhance their experience, strengthen their network of contacts, share and learn. Its overall goal is to support the creation of startups aimed at healthy living, reducing the risk of financial vulnerability and active aging, providing new perspectives, tools and knowledge through courses.

Empreendedorismo 5.0 is supporting seniors’ entrepreneurial endeavors through an eight-week entrepreneurship capacity-building training and mentoring programme delivered in a mixed format. The format provides a combination of 3 face-to-face sessions and remote online sessions.

In this way, regardless of their place of residence – and level of knowledge, as it does not require prior experience -, participants can engage in the most convenient way for them and adapt at their own pace, whilst maintaining permanent online access to content, trainers and mentors.

WHAT I APPRECIATE THE MOST IS THE SENSE OF COMMUNITY INVOLVED AND THE TRUST THAT THE GROUP HAS BEEN ABLE TO BUILD WHEN IT COMES TO PROGRAMMES. – Emprendedorismo 5.0’s participant

With a previously defined training trajectory including a vast array of topics, the progreamme’s participants learn to explore the market, and receive permanent personal specialized support in various subjects related to entrepreneurship and the world of business.

Despite the fact that Empreendedorismo 5.0 is a recent initiative and is still ongoing, the results achieved so far are worthy of recognition and reveal a promising future: among the more than 50 selected participants, over 40 seniors have been highly involved in the process together with 33 mentors. In addition, three start-up projects have already been created and supported within the programme’s framework.

Author of this post: Impact Hub 

Innovation for More Inclusive Urban Spaces: the Case of MiFriendly Cities

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

From December 2021 through April 2022, twenty business incubators from EBN and IHUB networks, working in the five thematic Communities of practice, have incubated more than 115 enterpreneurs  from under-represented communities  across 14 different European countries.

In  the upcoming weeks, the series of blogs created by Impact Hub will give you a closer look at stories of business incubators helping vulnerable entrepreneurs such as women, youth, migrants and refugees, seniors and people with disabilities to embark on their entrepreneurial journey. 

 

Innovation for More Inclusive Urban Spaces: the Case of MiFriendly Cities

With over 100 languages spoken daily within its borders, the West Midlands is considered to be the most diverse and heavily urbanised area in the United Kingdom, outside of London. For the same reason, it is also believed to be the second most diverse region in Europe. As one might imagine, all this diversity brings with it an untapped resource of skills and ideas.

Untapping the potential of diverse communities

In October 2017, the European Union’s Urban Innovative Actions fund awarded €4,2 million to Coventry, Birmingham and Wolverhampton for a 3-year initiative called MiFriendly Cities. The project looked to develop innovative, community-led and sustainable approaches to enhance the contribution of refugees and migrants across the region.

In a nutshell, the aim of MiFriendly Cities was to build stronger communities and promote innovation for more inclusive urban spaces. How? By encouraging employers, health services and the wider public to come together and drive change at both city and regional level. While some of the developed activities were tailored to specific groups, the overall programme involved a broad range of residents in the region, including the ones who define themselves as ‘migrants’.

In the context of the Better Incubation’s Communities of Practice targeted at understanding migrants’ challenges to entrepreneurship and leveraging learnings from successful inclusive experiences, MiFriendly Cities was appointed as an inspiring best practice that supports vulnerable entrepreneurs in the European region. Promoted by Impact Hub along with partners, Better Incubation is an Europe-based initiative dedicated to achieving systemic change through enhancing Business Support Organisations’ skills, methods and tools towards a more diverse entrepreneurship environment.

MiFriendly Cities: Approach and Methodology

To reach their goal, the innovative programme of activities delivered by MiFriendly Cities focused on five main themes. For the first one – jobs -, a network called ‘Migration Friendly Employers’ was created. The Network’s aim was mainly centered in strengthening the workforce of the West Midlands by creating a robust infrastructure which offers ongoing support and increases contact between communities in the workplace.

The second axis, skills, aimed at identifying skills gaps in the region and creating pathways towards further education and employment opportunities for refugees and migrants. They put together an innovative training programme that could benefit all communities and acknowledged the region’s aspirations to become the centre for advanced manufacturing in Europe.

Similarly, by supporting local and refugee and migrant entrepreneurs to start new businesses, MiFriendly Cities hoped to expand job opportunities and strengthen the wider economy. The region also faces many social challenges – in areas such as housing and healthcare – they wanted to meet these challenges by nurturing and funding creative grassroots projects, which are aimed at improving the quality of life for everyone.

MOST CRITICALLY TO OUR VISION, REFUGEES AND MIGRANTS WERE INVOLVED AT EVERY STEP OF PROJECT DEVELOPMENT. – MIFRIENDLY CITIES

By combining these three fields of action, the project envisioned to empower refugees and migrants to aid in driving the economic success of the region by creating new job and work placement opportunities, engaging with employers about hiring from within this community, and highlighting the skills and passion of everyone in our cities.

Additionally, MiFriendly Cities also focused on supporting refugees and migrants active participation in the civil society and encouraging them to use their voices – to spread a message, share a story, or simply to get to know other people in their city. To build the confidence to do so, the migrants’ comprehension of their legal, civil and political rights was considered an important factor for the program as well.

Finally, by promoting the values and knowledge of effective community building and encouraging innovation for more inclusive urban spaces, the project looked to invest in the future of the region, and inspire cities across Europe to also become the MiFriendly Cities of the future.

Highlights from the wrap up 

By the end of 2020, MiFriendly Cities had invested €80,000 in migrant social entrepreneurs, 28 projects were pitched for seed funding and 16 social enterprises were registered as businesses. If that was not good enough, with support of the programme, an initial of 45 jobs were created, more than 40 migrants and refugees were trained, and 2,361 beneficiaries were supported. To date, 44% of the involved social enterprises have been able to adapt and continue throughout the lockdown with many more planning for an uncertain future.

Author of this post: Impact Hub 

Advanced Programme on Impact Measurement and Management, EVPA

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

EVPA is launching 10-week advanced Programme on Impact Measurement and Management.

 

Gain actionable insights and the tools to measure and manage your social impact and ramp up your journey to drive meaningful impact for society.

Get empowered by a fresh and comprehensive learning experience.

Build a network of peers.

Investors for impact – from foundations to impact funds to business support organisations – will learn how to clarify their impact objectives and design a solid framework to measure and manage impact at different levels: on investees / grantees, on final beneficiaries / service users and on society.

During the 10-week hybrid programme, you will be part of a supportive peer-learning community to extend, improve and deepen your impact measurement and management practices. Our innovative hands-on learning experience will support you in your journey to make impact measurement and management a driver of decision-making throughout the investment or grant-making journey.

How You’ll Benefit?

  • Get up to speed on impact measurement and management by accessing key learning materials
  • Assess your current impact measurement and management approach with the support of your peers and EVPA experts, and test it against successful theoretical frameworks and inspiring best practices from the EVPA community
  • Engage in inspiring debates and conversations with experts on the most complex aspects of IMM design and implementation
  • Join a trusted space to identify opportunities for improvement and development of your IMM approach
  • Access a toolbox to take your IMM approach to the next level
  • Learn with your peers online and in-person in Brussels, explore the local impact space, and enjoy network opportunities

How to Apply?

For more information, check the programme website or download the brochure.

Click here to send your application.

Please note that the number of participants in this programme is limited!

 

Application deadline is 27 March 2022.

 

 

Better Incubation #4 Newsletter published

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

The fourth issue of the Better Incubation Newsletter describes the upcoming opportunities :

  • Inclusive Entrepreneurship Workshop Series
  • Reflections on the Interim assessment of pilot programmes
  • Future activities and events
  • Update on the video portrait of the inclusive incubation programmes

Find out more information about Better Incubation news by reading the newsletter here : Better Incubation Newsletter#4.

Better Incubation Inclusive Entrepreneurship Workshop Series

Posted on by Better Incubation

Discover how to make your incubation services more inclusive and supportive of entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups.

The transition to an inclusive and green economy is gaining momentum. To build a better future, one that’s good for people and the planet, we need better business. Now is the time to bring your services closer to the whole of society.

If you have responsibility for designing and implementing entrepreneur incubation services or support programs, this curated series of online events will help you identify ways to modify your offerings for people from groups underrepresented in the enterprise sector.

Come together with practitioners, social entrepreneurs, subject matter experts and leading impact sector organisations to be:

  • Inspired by a range of best practices and insights related to specific underrepresented groups
  • Connected with like-minded peers, with whom you can learn from and collaborate with
  • Enabled to modify your services with knowledge and methodologies you can implement your teams

We start the workshop series with an exploration of common cultural and structural barriers facing groups underrepresented in the enterprise sector, taking a more intersectional perspective before moving on to deep dives on specific groups, offering inspiration and guidance based on actions and methodologies already successfully implemented on the ground across Europe, to support implementation of inclusive practice.

Introduction to Inclusive Entrepreneurship Inclusive Entrepreneurship Deep Dives 
Migrants and refugees Women Youth Seniors People with disabilities
29 March 20 April 10 May 31 May 22 June 12 July
10am-12pm CET 10am-12.30pm CET 10am-12.30pm CET 10am-12.30pm CET 10am-12.30pm CET 10am-12.30pm CET

 

Who should you expect?

Introduction to Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Join a panel of impact sector leaders to explore cross-cutting barriers to underrepresented groups in the enterprise sector, and participate in a discussion about what has been and can be done to change things for the better and to create a just and inclusive economy. You will also connect with and learn from peers from other business support organisations.

Panel: Max Bulakovskiy, Policy Analyst, OECD; Tatiana Glad, Executive Director, Impact Hub Network; Shannon Pfohman, Policy & Advocacy Director, Caritas Europa.

Inclusive Entrepreneurship Deep Dives

The next five workshops will each focus on a specific underrepresented group – Migrants & refugees; Women; Youth; Seniors; People with disabilities. Each workshop will create a safe and supportive space to offer inspiration and guidance for business support organisations, based on actions and methodologies already successfully implemented on the ground across Europe, to support implementation of inclusive practice.

You will learn from subject matter experts, social entrepreneurs with lived experiences of the challenges being explored, and business support organisations leading the way in developing and delivering inclusive incubation services. Line-ups for each workshop will be announced soon.

 

Who is this workshop series for?

These workshops are designed to support people with responsibility for designing and implementing entrepreneur incubation services or support programs, for example program or service managers.  If you work for an organisation that provides business support to entrepreneurs, and you are interested in how you can develop new or modify existing services to make them more inclusive, then these workshops are for you!

There will be a range of experience in the room, from people with years of experience supporting people from underrepresented groups to grow their businesses, to people who are only just starting to think about how they can make their offerings more inclusive of social entrepreneurs and people from underrepresented groups. Some may be building a service from scratch while others will be modifying existing programmes. 

Please note that the workshop content is based on European practice, perspectives and knowledge. However, if you work for a business support organisation operating outside of Europe, you are still very much welcome to participate and hopefully find value in the space created.

 

What is Better Incubation?

Better Incubation is a 2-year programme (2021 – 2023) funded by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation, and is led by three network organisations: The European Business and Innovation Centre Network, Impact Hub and the European Venture Philanthropy Association.

The aim of Better Incubation is to foster inclusive and social entrepreneurship in Europe by mobilising and empowering Business Support Organisations (BSOs) with capacities to effectively help the social enterprises and potential entrepreneurs from underrepresented groups to grow their businesses. Read more here.

 

How can you participate?

Please sign up here for as many sessions as you wish!

After completing the sign up for, you will receive joining details enabling you to register for the workshops that are of interest to you. 

If you have any questions about this workshop series please reach out to: info@betterincubation.eu. 

New Impact Deal for European enterprises with social and environmental impact

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

Fondazione CRT, together with OGR Torino and Microsoft launched Impact Deal, the new data-driven acceleration program for European enterprises aimed to generate societal and environmental impact.

The first call for impact enterprises will be open from February 3 to April 3, 2022.

The project, designed and developed in collaboration with TOP-IX, The Data Science for Social Good Center, Ashoka, Impact Hub and The Data Appeal Company, will be based in OGR Tech, the OGR Turin’s hub for innovation and applied research.

If interested in Info session to be held on 9th March, please register  here

The first phase of the project, lasting approximately two months, will deliver targeted training to provide specific Data Science, Artificial Intelligence and entrepreneurial skills. A subset of the participating enterprises will then go on to the second phase, which will last approximately three months and focus in particular on business acceleration through the development of actual projects and solutions enabled by data.

A group of companies, organizations, and public and private bodies brought together under the name Data Club will play a key role in the program, effectively making business acceleration possible for the selected impact enterprises, by offering their datasets in a collaborative perspective, with the goal of generating social and environmental impact. The founding core of the Data Club includes Banca Sella, TIM, Fondazione Snam and Città di Torino.

The second phase of the program will end with a Demo Day, during which accelerated enterprises will present their progress to an audience of potential investors with a particular interest in impact investing.

More information about the initiative can be found at : https://impactdeal.eu

You can also check the launch Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/RKtxEqvtmcU

European Action Plan for the Social Economy launched

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

December 16th 2021, the European Action Plan “Building an economy that works for people: an action plan for the social economy “ (2021-2030) was launched by the European Commission. Built through the contribution of more than 130 organisations and experts, the document can be seen as a key tool to systematically incorporate the social economy into the different socio-economic policies of the EU, including industrial, innovation and cohesion policies.

The Commission proposes 38 concrete measures to be implemented in the coming nine years, in different core areas, including :

  • promoting social economy at local, regional, and international levels,
  • business support, skills, youth entrepreneurship,
  • access to funding and finance,
  • social impact measurement,
  • social economy contribution to the green and digital transitions,
  • social ​innovation.

The implementing phase of the Action plan thus offers new opportunities for the members of EBN, Impact Hub and EVPA, with the Better Incubation project referred to in the document as a good practice and inspiration.

In the Action plan, the European Commission also recognises, an importance that the mainstream business incubators have in the support of social economy entities (p.14) :

The Commission calls on Member States to encourage mainstream business incubators to extend their support to social economy entities, to improve business investment readiness support opportunities. The ‘Better Incubator’ pilot launched by the European Commission can serve as inspiration’. 

The partnership and cooperation of the three networks through the Better Incubation project should contribute the Action plan through development of social economy and social innovation ecosystems on local and regional levels. Throughout 2022, the project will continue supporting the  business incubators as catalysts of the entrepreneurial support ecosystem, experimenting with the inclusive incubation practices across Europe.

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