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Seniors – Page 2 – Better Incubation
Better Incubation is a project by LIAISE
info@betterincubation.eu

Category: Seniors

EU Award for Gender Equality Champions | First Edition

Posted on by Better Incubation

This new award is the European Commission’s initiative to recognise and celebrate the outstanding results achieved in the implementation of gender equality by academic and research organisations.

The application process to this first edition of the EU Award for Gender Equality Champions is now open. Deadline for applications is 13 October 2022 at 17.00 (CET).

The EU Award for (Academic) Gender Equality Champions aims to

The prize also intends to raise public awareness of the importance of addressing gender equality in academic and research organisations through institutional change and incentivise a high degree of commitment to implementing inclusive gender equality plans.

The prize will create a community of champions which can inspire other academic and research organisations to become gender equality champions themselves.

The European Research Executive Agency (REA) manages the prize and its winners are selected by an independent expert jury for each prize category.

There are 3 prize categories:

Sustainable Gender Equality Champions | Organisations that can demonstrate a significant and sustained record of activity and a high level of achievement through the implementation of their Gender Equality Plan. Apply now

Newcomer Gender Equality Champions | Organisations that have recently started implementing a Gender Equality Plan and can demonstrate the most progress in its implementation and achieved results. Apply now

Inclusive Gender Equality Champions | Organisations that have developed the most innovative inclusive Gender Equality Plan addressing intersections with other social categories such as ethnicity, social origin, sexual orientation and gender identity (LGBTI+) or disability. Apply now

Applicants (universities, higher education institutions, and research performing organisations -public or private – established in an EU country or a Horizon Europe Associated Country) can only apply to 1 of these 3 categories.

Each prize winner will receive €100,000.

There will be 2 winners in the prize category Sustainable Gender Equality Champions, 1 winner in the prize category Newcomer Gender Equality Champions, and 1 winner in the prize category Inclusive Gender Equality Champions.

Check out all the information about the call, the eligibility and award criteria here 

Source: https://ec.europa.eu/info/research-and-innovation/funding/funding-opportunities/prizes/eu-award-gender-equality-champions_en 

BETTER INCUBATION CONTEST 2022 | SCALING IMPACT

Posted on by Better Incubation

If you are an entrepreneur with an innovative solution to a social or environmental challenge and you are ready to scale it nationally or internationally, join the Better Incubation Contest to grow your impact with a wide community of business intermediaries, investors and other entrepreneurs.

About the contest

Organised by the European Business and Innovation Centre Network (EBN), Impact Hub and the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA), the Better Incubation Contest 2022 | Scaling Impact aims at selecting the 3 most scalable solutions to social and environmental challenges developed by impact ventures led or founded by entrepreneurs belonging to one of the Better Incubation target groups: women, seniors, people with disabilities, migrants and refugees, youth. 

Better Incubation is a 2-year programme (2021 – 2022) funded by the European Union Programme for Employment and Social Innovation. The aim of Better Incubation is to foster inclusive and social entrepreneurship in Europe by mobilising and empowering Business Support Organisations (BSOs) to effectively help the social enterprises and potential entrepreneurs from the so called underrepresented groups to grow their businesses. Read more here.

Objectives

We are looking for innovative ventures with a clear social and/or environmental mission founded/co-founded and/or led /co-led by entrepreneurs representing one (or more) of the target groups Better Incubation programme is focussing on:  women, migrants or refugees, youth, seniors and people with disabilities.

We are looking for entrepreneurs addressing one or more Sustainable Development Goals and who are willing to explore growing and scaling their innovative solution either nationally or internationally with the support of Better Incubation network of networks: a unique community of EU|BICs (quality-certified business innovation centres), Impact Hubs and Investors for Impact committed to support innovative impact ventures in Europe and beyond. 

Three selected entrepreneurs will be matched with incubation experts that will accompany their scaling trajectory through remote coaching and mentoring sessions; will benefit from a full immersion week at an EU|BIC located in the targeted destination area; and will pitch their solution to an investors panel during the Better Incubation final event that will be held in Brussels on December 2nd, 2022 within the EVPA Impact Week. This event represents the premier event for the investing for impact community in Europe with more than 700+ social investors expected to join. The contest winners will be awarded with a free ticket to join the Impact Week and will have the unique chance to pitch on stage in front of social investors to bring their venture forward. Also travel expenses to Brussels for the contest winners will be covered.

The Better Incubation scaling support has a value of approximately 7000 €, this includes 15 hours of coaching in total from all three networks EBN, Impact Hub and EVPA experts, 1 week incubation programme, travel and accommodation costs to attend the Better Incubation events and the incubation programme in the targeted destination.

Why join the contest? 

The Better Incubation scaling support is aimed at helping the three finalists:

  • Articulate the social value proposition, identifying why and how the proposed solution addresses unmet needs in the chosen location.
  • Access to appropriate sector and local experts.
  • Assess the team competencies and consider how their business model will adapt to the new environment.
  • Understand investors’ perspective so they can develop a pitch for the Better Incubation final conference in Brussels and for potential partners in the targeted destination.

The Better Incubation Contest 2022 | Scaling Impact offers to the winners:

  • Networking: Three best finalists will be exposed to a wide network of BSOs (EBN, IHUB) and investors (EVPA) interested in supporting impact driven ventures during the Better Incubation events that will take place in Slovenia, 19-20 October 2022 and Better Incubation Final Conference on 2 December 2022. 
  • Mentoring & Coaching: Three best finalists will have access to a virtual 1:1 coaching programme provided by EVPA and Impact Hub experts (15 hours in total). 
  • Scaling – full immersion week: Three best finalists will be also eligible for one-week physical incubation provided by an EBN member – business support organisation in the target country. If interested, the winners can join the 2022 EBN Techcamp powered by Better Incubation (19-20 October 2022 – Sežana, Slovenia), where they can meet the incubators that will host them in the targeted country.
  • Pitching: The three finalists will be given an opportunity to present their business ideas at the Final Conference of the Better Incubation Project to be held in Brussels, 2 December 2022 within the EVPA Impact Week. 
  • Publicity: The three finalists will receive mentions in the Better Incubation and partner networks, including press releases, posts and social media. 

Call application

Better Incubation will offer scaling up services to three selected entrepreneurs willing to grow and scale their solutions to a wider national or international level. 

The call opens on June 21st, 2022, and closes on September 1st, 2022 (23.59 CET). 

APPLY NOW

The following information is requested:

  1. General information 
  2. Applicant Information (entrepreneur and venture)
  3. Solution description 
  4. Scalability
  5. Innovation
  6. Impact
  7. Motivation and Expectations

Check this document to see how the application form is structured and the required information for each section. 

Proposal Evaluation and Selection

All proposals submitted before the deadline will pass an eligibility check (see eligibility criteria). Proposals passing the eligibility check will be assessed through a transparent evaluation process that will be managed by EBN and led by internal and external experts.

If a solution scores high enough in the assessment criteria, reaching the minimum threshold, it is eligible for the scaling programme. 

This means that:

  1. Each entry meeting the eligibility criteria will be assessed by a minimum of 2 jury members.
  2. Based on the average of Jury members’ scores, we shortlist only the solutions that reach the threshold
  3. We rank them based on the scores they received and we invite the top 5 for an online interview with the jury panel during the week commencing the 12th September 2022. 
  4. Final rank will be elaborated and we will award the best three ones.

Communication between the Better Incubation team and applicants during the application assessment process will be carried out primarily via email. It is therefore recommended that applicants notify Better Incubation if they change the email address they apply with during the application process.  

Eligibility criteria

In order to be eligible to apply and participate, applicants must meet the following criteria:

  • Their companies must be founded by entrepreneurs from one of the following groups: women, people with disabilities, migrants or refugees, youth (18-29) or seniors (over 50).
  • Must have a clearly established social and/or environmental mission.
  • Must be an SME, startup company or a foundation that is a legal entity (legal person) such as a private law company, association or foundation, that is fully registered under the laws of a European Union Member State, or an EaSI Progress Axis associated country.
  • The venture must be already in existence for more than 1 year.

Assessment Criteria

One the eligibility check is performed, the Jury will review and evaluate the nominations using the following criteria and scoring:

  • Solution description > This criterion will assess the proposed solution in terms of how it will address the proposed challenge, on how it will implement the proposed solution, its feasibility and the involvement of stakeholders.  (15 points)
  1. Scalability >  This criterion assesses the scalability of the proposed solution, considering both the scaling up trajectory of an already existing product/service, and the future scalability of the solution. (15 points)
  2. Innovation dimension > This criterion assesses the innovative capacity of the proposed solution. (10 points)
  3. Impact > This criterion assesses how the solution is going to generate social impact (15 points)
  4. Motivation > This criterion assesses the elevator pitch submitted by the applicant -120 seconds. (10 points)

65/65 is the max scoring. The minimum threshold for accessing the programme is 35/65.

Competition timeline 

Timetable and deadlines
Contest launch  21 June 2022 
Applications due 1 September 2022 23:59 CET
Evaluation  2 September –  23 September2022
3 Finalists announced week commencing 26 September 2022
Mentoring and Coaching  September- November 2022
Incubation (1 week)  September – November 2022

Winners can also join the “Techcamp 2022 |Better Incubation” taking place in Sezana, Slovenia the 19-20 October 2022 where they will connect with the EU|BIC that will host them in the targeted destination
Pitching session(s) 1-2 December 2022 (Better Incubation Final Event at EVPA Impact Week)

Useful information

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 

First Silver Economy Conference in Spain

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

Better Incubation Project presented at the 1st Silver Economy Conference in Spain

The member of the Better Incubation Community of Practice – Seniors, Centre of Business and Innovation CEEIAragon is a business support organisation and the member of the EBN network based in Zaragoza, Spain.

On 6th April CEEIARAGON will participate in the Conference ‘Silver Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ organised by the Ibercaja Foundation and the San Jorge University in collaboration with the organization Seniors Leading.   CEEIARAGON will share its experience with two initiatives on the silver economy it has been implementing, one of them being the pilot programme for senior entrepreneurs in the Better Incubation project.

 

 

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. 

Better Incubation Communities of Practice for Seniors / Monica Moldovan: Supporting Seniors’ Entrepreneurship

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

Monica Moldovan is an expert and entrepreneur  participating in one of the five Communities of Practice created under the Better Incubation programme.

Seniors are one of the most vulnerable groups in our societies, who face various obstacles if they wish to return on the job market. A self-employment is one of the feasible options for many of them to stay active after retirement, therefore the practical solutions available to them are important to overcome existing barriers. Monica founded The care Hub, a platform envisioned to connect families in need of trustworthy caregivers with independent, older caregivers.

In The Care Hub, they choose to actively recruit and support older caregivers to work independently, thus strengthening their entrepreneurial initiatives and assisting with market reintegration. From legal to accounting to training to sales and marketing – the platform provides all types of support necessary for senior entrepreneurs to succeed.

So far, Monica and the Care Hub have enabled more than fifty people to work independently and supplied 11,500 hours of care to the community. In this process, they are tackling two issues at the same time: building caring communities for all ages and supporting seniors’ entrepreneurship.

Impact Hub had invited Monica to discuss her work in supporting seniors’ entrepreneurship.


Q: Monica, how would you describe yourself in a few words?

A: I am a dreamer, a humanitarian and a pioneer

 

 Q: What is your purpose, professionally and personally?

A:  My purpose is to make the world around us fairer for everyone.

Professionally, I do it by building more caring communities for all ages, through The Care Hub – a platform that connects families who need help caring for a loved one with older, already vetted and experienced caregivers and nurses. We provide dignified, paid work opportunities for older people and nurses who have experience in caring for others because we believe their wisdom and life experiences are valuable and can be shared with the wider community.

Personally, I enjoy supporting community projects that improve livelihoods. One of my dearest projects is ROVINHUD Wine Show, which is a unique event organized by a group of disability self-advocates from Ceva de Spus Association. They gather world-renowned Masters of Wine, wineries and wine connoisseurs for a weekend of tasting exquisite local and international wines while donating the proceeds to support the advocacy efforts of people with disabilities. We’re looking forward to organizing a safe 2021 edition between Nov 5-7 2021, in Timișoara – and would love to welcome new guests!

 

Q: Please, keep up the beautiful work! Now, let’s dive into your mission. Can you tell us more about The Care Hub? What’s its story?

A: The Care Hub is a tribute to my grandmother, with whom I was very close.

She lived by herself in her old age, in a small village in Romania, tending to her garden well into her 70s. She taught me that old people are not only wise but also active for many years after retirement. She enjoyed her independence and having to move to my aunt’s place during the last years of her life was difficult for her. For the following 15 years, I wondered how I could help people to grow old in the comfort of their own homes. I was also working abroad at that time and started worrying about my parents’ old age and how I could be there for them, even from abroad or when I’m busy with work. Finally, 5 years ago I connected the dots – why not help families support ageing parents to live independently by connecting them with nurses, older caregivers, or retirees from the community, who could help the elderly with their day-to-day life? That’s how The Care Hub was born.

 

 

Q: Your story shows the importance of paying attention to the people around us and their needs to better understand how we can strengthen our communities. Considering your whole journey with the Care Hub, what are the milestones you are most proud of?

A: The most touching achievement of The Care Hub and the best compliment to what we do was when one of our first caregiver partners, a retired lady of 67, told us cheekily that she likes working with us because we will never ask her to retire!

We are very proud of each of the 11,500+ hours of care delivered to 180 families in Timișoara, and are extremely grateful to the community of 55+ caregivers – many of them retired -, who invest time, effort and love in caring for older people.

In addition, most recently, we joined the #activeageing research community under the Active Assisted Living Programme as coordinators of the HEROES Project. The project aims to make recruitment of caregivers fast, reliable and cost-efficient to meet the care needs in local communities. To reach this objective, we combine the experience of retirees and nurses with the advantages of digital technology to create an age-inclusive recruitment platform. We are working alongside brilliant research partners from Austria and Switzerland – academic research centres on ageing, self-advocacy groups for older adults, user-testing organizations, etc. – and are grateful for the collaborative learning environment we share.

 

Q: Thank you for sharing your achievements with us! When you think of all the steps The Care Hub has taken to get to where it is now and all the adversities the elderly face in their journey to remain professionally and independently active, what do you consider to be the biggest challenges for seniors’ entrepreneurship? How can businesses and the community as a whole support them in this journey? 

A: Having spoken to many seniors in the past years, we see the collective mindset as the biggest challenge to senior entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, few (if any) associate the words ‘entrepreneurship’ with ‘seniors’. The world of entrepreneurship would be fairer (and perhaps more successful) if we chose to be inclusive of people of all ages. I believe that incubators can promote age-inclusive entrepreneurship by supporting older people in the areas they might find difficult – with legal matters, taxes, and technology. Businesses can promote senior entrepreneurship by developing age-inclusive products, co-created with seniors. As a society, we can work on improving the labour frameworks to allow for working arrangements that suit the preferences of older adults – did you know, for example, that many retirees prefer infrequent work arrangements that allow them to prioritize family commitments? Finally, each one of us can support seniors’ entrepreneurship by consciously choosing an empowering narrative regarding old age – one that speaks of wisdom, experience and active choices in life.

 

Q: Reflecting on the future, what are The Care Hub plans for the upcoming year?

A: Our dream is to build caring communities for all ages, city by city. In 2022, we hope to do so in 5 other Romanian cities and, hopefully, to find like-minded partners in the CEE that could replicate our model in their communities.

 

Q: At this point, you are certainly aware that entrepreneurship requires, among other things, a good deal of courage. What does the word ‘courage’ mean to you?

A: Courage is when you are afraid, but yet you keep going. Entrepreneurship is about exploring the unknown and this comes with accepting that, at times, we will be afraid of what we don’t know.     

 

Q: Last but not least, what was your key takeaway from the first Community of Practice (CoP) session?

A: As the founder of a social enterprise that is supporting seniors’ entrepreneurship and active ageing, I struggle at times to find the right support. I’ve been reaching out to friends, professional contacts and the local community to ensure that we’re getting the right advice. I joined the CoP intending to belong to a community of like-minded individuals working towards a shared goal and building on each others’ strengths, hoping that the journey ahead will feel less lonely. My key takeaway from the first CoP session was inspiration: I felt inspired by how each story of the participants was different, yet they were all united by a common belief that change is possible.

 

Follow Monica and her relevant work with The Care Hub.

 

Author of this post: Impact Hub 

Collection of Best Practices in Inclusive Entrepreneurship Support Programmes published

Posted on by Michaela Lednova

Better Incubation: Collection of Best Practices in Inclusive Entrepreneurship Support Programmes features 10 case studies from Impact Hub, EBN and other partner organisations to showcase different programmatic approaches on how to support vulnerable entrepreneurs.

The document took inspiration from the work carried out by the Better Incubation Communities of practice through the process of collecting the best practices, tools and resources related to each of the five target groups – women, migrants and refugees, youth, seniors and people with disabilities.

Our aspiration is to offer some practical insights for business support organisations, NGOs, local/national policymakers, funders and other stakeholders, to be applied in the design and implementation of inclusive incubation and support programmes, strategies and policies.

Collection of Best Practices in Inclusive Entrepreneurship

 

 

 

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