23. 3. 2017 | BIH - Entrepreneurs, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance, Youth
On Wednesday, March 22, CEP organized a workshop for young entrepreneurs from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). The event was organized in the entrepreneurial center Networks Sarajevo in order to promote our project that enables 20 youngsters to attend PODIM Conference. It is the leading regional start-up conference, where 800 people of various backgrounds convene – big corporations, start-ups, investors and others.
Over 100 people, interested into entrepreneurship, development of entrepreneurial ideas and PODIM Conference, attended the event, where Urban Lapajne, PODIM, presented the agenda of the conference, the speakers and the PODIM Challenge, entrepreneurial challenge where the participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina get a chance to be selected for participation free of charge in the framework of Slovenian development cooperation. Nina Čepon, CEP, presented our organization, the initial project idea, financial support of Slovenia and the 3-day package for the selected participants, to whom CEP will cover the transportation, accommodation in Slovenia and additional trip to Ljubljana. The trip, organized by CEP, aims to present Slovenian start-up environment. The participants get a chance to see the accelerator and a co-working hub, which is always the highlight of the trip for young entrepreneurs.
Three Bosnian start-ups presented their work at the workshop in Sarajevo. Two of them already took part in the program and were therefore able to present their inspiring story, advantages of the participants, possibilities for cooperation and other perks that PODIM Conference offers. The most successful among them, Koola start-up, described how their team change their initial idea in a matter of a few hours after their discussions with potential investors. They tested the idea next day immediately in their one-on-one meetings with their investors. Start-ups Coffee Time from Mostar and AntColony presented their stories as well.
The concluding part was devoted to the presentations of seven Bosnian start-ups that got the chance to get a direct feedback from the participants and experts present at the event – how to improve the presentation, how to better present the idea and how to attract the attention of potential investors. Young entrepreneurs presented: a platform for selection of the faculty in BiH (izaberifax.ba), platform for promotion, explanation and order of the solar cells (Solart), technologia solution for cars tracking and communication with the car repairs services (Koola), innovative UV protection for the toilet bolws (LooSeat), portal for excellent web developers (BlablaDev), platform for services and products exchange among businesses (BizBook) and system for the HR support in the selection processes (HRocket).
Similar workshop will be organized next week, on Wednesday, 29 March, in the entrepreneurial hub Innovation Centre Kosovo in Prishtina, Kosovo.
The project is part of our program activities, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation.
Mladi podjetniki iz BiH predstavili svoje start-up ideje
V sredo, 22. marca, se je v Sarajevu v podjetniškem centru Networks Sarajevo odvila delavnica za mlade podjetnike iz Bosne in Hercegovine (BiH), katere namen je promocija projekta preko katerega Center za evropsko prihodnost pomaga 20 mladim, da se udeležijo konference PODIM. Gre za vodilno regionalno konferenco za start-upe, kjer se sreča okoli 800 ljudi iz različnih okolij – velike korporacije, start-upi, investitorji in ostali zainteresirani.
Zbralo se je več kot 100 mladih, ki jih zanima podjetništvo, razvijanje podjetniških idej in konferenca PODIM. Urban Lapajne iz PODIMa je predstavil program konference, predvidene govorce ter Podim Challenge, podjetniški izziv, preko katerega se lahko mladi s pomočjo mednarodnega razvojnega sodelovanja Slovenije (MRSS) brezplačno udeležijo konference. Nina Čepon iz CEPa je predstavila CEP, izvor projektne ideje ter način financiranja ter obrazložila, da bo 20 udeležencem organiziran tudi prevoz iz BiH, namestitev v Sloveniji ter dodaten dan v Ljubljani, kjer bo predstavljeno celovito slovensko start-up podporno okolje. Udeleženci bodo obiskali pospeševalnik in sodelovalni (co-working) prostor, kar je mladim vedno še posebej zanimivo. Sledila je razprava s tremi bosanskimi start-upi, od katerih sta dva že bila na konferenci PODIM in sta tako predstavila prednosti, način sodelovanja in možnosti, ki jih PODIM nudi. Najbolj uspešen izmed njih je start-up Koola, ki je predstavil, kako je na PODIMu preko razgovorov s potencialnimi investitorji preko noči spremenil in prilagodil svojo idejo ter jo takoj naslednji dan testiral v novem krogu ena na ena sestankov z investitorji. Svoje izkušnje sta predstavila še start-upa Coffee time iz Mostarja in AntColony.
V zadnjem delu je sedem start-upov predstavilo svoje ideje in poslušalo komentarje udeležencev in strokovnjakov – kako izboljšati svojo predstavitev, bolje predstaviti svojo idejo in pridobiti pozornost primernih investitorjev. Podjetniške ideje, ki so se predstavile so: platforma za izbiro primerne fakultete v BiH (izaberifax.ba), platforma za promocijo, obrazložitev in naročilo solarnih celic (Solart), tehnološka rešitev za sledenje avtomobilom in komunikacija vseh podatkov serviserju (Koola), inovativna UV zaščita za straniščno školjko (LooSeat), portal odličnih spletnih razvijalcev (BlablaDev), platforma za izmenjavo storitev in blaga med podjetji (BizBook) ter sistem za podporo kadrovskim službam za izboljšanje svojih odločitev pri izbiri primernih kandidatov (HRocket).
Podobno delavnico bo CEP izvedel prihodnji teden, v sredo, 29. marca, v podjetniškem centru Innovation Centre Kosovo, v Prištini na Kosovu.
Projekt je del programskih aktivnosti CEP, ki jih financira Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve Republike Slovenije iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno sodelovanje.
23. 3. 2017 | Albania - Local Governments, BIH - Entrepreneurs, European Digital Diplomacy Exchange, Kosovo - Entrepreneurs, Macedonia - corruption, Macedonia - Finance, Macedonia - Resources, Montenegro - EU Accession, PR, Serbia - Migration, Slovenian Development Assistance
CEP and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia signed a two-year contract in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation for seven new projects that account for 430.400 EUR. Up until today, CEP successfully conducted over 100 development projects in the Western Balkans region.
The projects in 2017 and 2018:
Empowering Kosovo and BiH’s Young Entrepreneurs
The two projects show how Slovenia supports young entrepreneurs and start-ups and empowers young people from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo to cooperate among each other. By gaining such knowledge, young people will be able to trigger changes that are crucial for better use of the potential of their good ideas and knowledge – on the local, entity and national level. Entrepreneurial mindset and innovative thinking are core to the healthy economic growth, which ensures wellbeing and development for the population. In the framework of the two projects, 20 people from BiH and 20 people from Kosovo will get a chance to participate at the leading regional start-up conference, where they will meet investors, big corporations, listen to the most experienced start-up teams on the international scene and network with the young entrepreneurs with a similar mindset. Youngsters with the best ideas will be able to develop their entrepreneurial ideas and attract the attention of potential investors.
Assistance to Montenegro on EU Accession
The project aims to directly help the working groups from Montenegro in the EU accession negotiations and the relevant state institutions that contribute to the process. Slovenian experts will offer consulting in the framework of the opened negotiation chapters. The dynamics and content of the project will follow the dynamics of the negotiations of Montenegro and their preparation of negotiating strategies, opening and closing of the chapters and other conditions that Montenegro needs to fulfill before its accession to the EU.
Support to Albanian Local Governments on the Preparation of EU/International Projects
The project is focused on the transfer of good practices from Slovenia in the field of strategic programming on the national level and implementation of the projects on the local level. It is based on a number of workshops, through which Slovenian experts offer training in project management to the representatives of Albanian municipalities, regional development agencies and representatives of youth and other non-governmental organizations. They share their experiences when it comes to the implementation of the internationally (with a special emphasis on the EU) supported and financed projects on the regional and local level. At the end of the trainings, participants prepare their own draft application with an authentic project idea.
Support to Macedonia in the EU Accession in Chapter 24 – Financial Investigations
With the project, CEP continues to support Macedonia to strengthen their capacities in fight against organised and serious crime and corruption. Since financial gains are both the pre-condition and the main incentive for organised crime, effective implementation of financial investigations and freezing and confiscation of assets in the framework of the Chapter 24 represent the most successful type of measures in fight against organised and serious crime and corruption. The project includes three workshops, individual consultations and development of a study curriculum with selected cases from Slovenia. The project is conducted in cooperation with the Ministry of Internal Affairs/Police, Specialised State Prosecutor’s Office and Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia.
Capacity Building on Illegal Migration Information Exchange (Serbia)
In 2018, Serbia will receive assistance in order to improve the information exchange system in the field of illegal migrations. With increased migrations, the trafficking in human beings represents the most profitable business of the criminal organizations. The fight against such activities became the priority of all the EU states, and also Serbia, being part of the accession process. In the framework of the project we will exchange experiences and conduct an analysis of the gaps in the current cooperation and information exchange. The workshop that will follow will help develop a communication strategy proposal with practical directions for a more efficient system of operational information flow and effective response to the illegal migrations on the field.
Support to the Development of Efficient Use of Resources Policies (Montenegro)
The focal topic is development and implementation of environmentally responsible policies that support sustainable development and efficient use of natural resources. The objective of the project in 2018 is to assist the adoption of economic solutions that protect the natural resources, for instance the new development paradigm of circular economy that can prevent the negative trend of exploitation of the non-renewable sources and excessive pollution while boosting economy. The public sector has to be a role model that emits an important signal to the Montenegrin market, striving an increase of the supplies of environmentally friendly products and services. During the workshop, the role of the green public procurement and the circular and low-carbon economy will be presented as well.
20. 3. 2017 | BIH - Entrepreneurs, PR, Slovenian Development Assistance, Youth
For the third year in a row, Centre for European Perspective offers its support to the young entrepreneurs from Bosnia and Herzegovina and youngsters with entrepreneurial ideas, who want to develop and launch their projects. In order to do so, we organize a call for applications in cooperation with the leading regional start up conference PODIM, that takes place every May in Maribor, Slovenia.
The call helps us select the best entrepreneurial ideas and pitches and we offer 20 young entrepreneurs (the members of the teams and their mentors) the transportation to the conference, accommodation and the ticket to the PODIM Conference. We widen their knowledge about entrepreneurship and give them an insight into the process of development of the project from the initial idea to the launch, we offer them an opportunity to meet potential investors and last but not least, the entrepreneurs with the same mindset from the whole Alps-Adriatic region.
Following the PODIM Conference, the participants will visit Centre for European Perspective at Grad Jable, where a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will explain more about the Slovenian foreign policy efforts in the Balkan region and the EU-wide Positive Agenda for Youth that recognizes youth in the Balkan region as essential actors in regional cooperation, friendship and reconciliation. Their visit in Slovenia will conclude with a peek into the Slovenian start-up environment and co-working scene at the ABC Accelerator in Ljubljana. The good practices from Slovenia will help transmit one of the key messages of the project – cooperation leads first to small changes in the start-up environment, but not giving up and raising the voice of youth can lead to the system-wide reforms.
Youngsters have to present their entrepreneurial idea in the application, that is reviewed by the expert commission. Since we realized during the previous years that the presentations of the ideas and the pitches could be prepared even better, we decided to organize a startup workshop, where our participants get to know the call for applications and PODIM conference. The workshop, where the young entrepreneurs also get the opportunity to prepare a preliminary presentation and get the immediate feedback from their colleagues and our experts, will take placeon Wednesday, March 22, 2017, in Networks Sarajevo, Sarajevo, BiH. Apply here.
The project is part of our program activities, financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Republic of Slovenia in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation.
Spodbujanje podjetništva med mladimi v BiH
CEP že tretje leto nudi podporo mladim bosanskim podjetnikom in mladim s podjetniškimi idejami, ki bi radi svoje ideje razvijali, nadgrajevali. V ta namen v sodelovanju z vodilno regionalno start up konferenco PODIM, ki poteka vsako leto meseca maja v Mariboru, organiziramo natečaj, preko katerega izberemo najboljše podjetniške ideje in predstavitve. 20 mladim podjetnikom (članom ekip in njihovim mentorjem) bomo tako omogočili prevoz, namestitev in vstopnico za konferenco PODIM. Tako razširjamo njihovo znanje o podjetniških korakih, jim ponudimo možnost srečanja s potencialnimi investitorji in nenazadnje, z enako mislečimi iz celotne regije Alpe-Adria.
Po konferenci PODIM bodo udeleženci obiskali tudi Center za evropsko prihodnost na gradu Jable, kjer jim bo predstavnik Ministrstva za zunanje zadeve RS povedal več o slovenskih prizadevanjih na področju zunanje politike na Balkanu in o Pozitivni agendi za mlade, ki na nivoju Evropske unije prepoznava mlade na Balkanu kot ključne akterje pri regionalnem sodelovanju, prijateljstvu in spravi. Njihov obisk v Sloveniji se bo zaključil z vpogledom v slovensko start-up okolje in sodelo (co-working) v ABC pospeševalniku v Ljubljani. Dobre prakse iz Slovenije bodo pomagale prenašati eno izmed ključnih sporočil projekta – sodelovanje najprej vodi do majhnih sprememb znotraj start-up okolja, vztrajnost in angažiranost mladih pa lahko vodita do širših reform na sistemski ravni.
Mladi morajo za prijavo na natečaj oddati predstavitev svoje podjetniške ideje, ki jih nato pregleda strokovna komisija. Ker smo v preteklih letih zaznali, da bi lahko mladi predstavitve pripravili še bolje, organiziramo delavnico, kjer bodo mladi izvedeli vse o natečaju, konferenci in na svojo predstavitev dobili takojšen komentar strokovnjakov in kolegov. Delavnica bo potekala v sredo, 22. marca 2017, v Sarajevu v prostorih Networks Sarajevo, prijava je možna na povezavi tukaj.
Projekt je del programskih aktivnosti CEP, ki jih financira Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve Republike Slovenije iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno sodelovanje.
