Empowering BiH’s and Kosovo’s Young Entrepreneurs is a region-wide project that supports the young entrepreneurs and youngsters with a promising start-up idea on their way to the development of the idea and launch of their own start-up company. Watch the video about the project!
Centre for European Perspective hosted a group of young entrepreneurs for a three-day training in the field of entrepreneurship and transfer of good practices from Slovenia. The participants visited Maribor, Jable Castle and Ljubljana and had a chance to get to know Slovenian entrepreneurial ecosystem and existing start-up initiatives.
The project is part of the CEP program activities financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the scope of international development cooperation.
Centre for European Perspective hosted a group of young entrepreneurs for a three-day training in the field of entrepreneurship and transfer of good practices from Slovenia. The participants visited Maribor, Jable Castle and Ljubljana and had a chance to get to know Slovenian entrepreneurial ecosystem and existing start-up initiatives.
We hosted 40 young entrepreneurs from the Western Balkans, 10 start-up teams from Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and 10 from Kosovo at the PODIM Conference, one of the leading start-up meetings in the region. They were selected on the basis of the PODIM Challenge call that initially received more than 70 entrepreneurial ideas, 48 from Kosovo and 27 from BiH. Young entrepreneurs had to present their idea, team and business plan. Among over 200 start-ups from Slovenia and the region, two teams from BiH, AOX Earth and Koola, got into the semi-finals where 20 best start-up ideas pitched in front of the experts and investors.
Participants had a chance to listen to the inspiring and content-rich speeches and workshops, delivered by serial start-upers, investors, initiators from all four corners of the world. They met with the investors through one-on-one meetings, they widened their horizons at the consulting and coaching sessions and discussed their ideas with the young people with a similar entrepreneurial mindset.
The last day of the training was devoted to the wrap-up session at Jable castle. Participants discussed their experience at the conference and addressed the potentials of cooperation inside their home countries and among the countries of the Western Balkans. Urban Lapajne from Start:up Slovenija initiative talked about the Slovenian experience of the country-wide cooperation and coordination between the incubators, universities, technological parks. In BiH and Kosovo, there is no such coordination platform, which is why the idea was discussed with our young participants. The need for such cooperation was supported also by Ana Anžej from SAŠA Inkubator and Start:up Slovenia. The representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Peter Grk and Alenka Košir discussed Slovenian and EU efforts in the Balkans and the Positive Agenda for Youth in the Western Balkans. In conclusion, the participants visited the ABC Accelerator where they got a chance to present their idea in 1 minute and got a professional pitching feedback from the experienced ABC Team.
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.
For the third year in a row, Centre for European Perspective (CEP) is enablingouth from the region to attend the leading start-up meeting in the region with an international dimension, PODIM Conference. The project started three years ago in the framework of Slovenia’s development cooperation in Bosnia and Herzegovina and spread its scope to Kosovo last year.
During the project, young entrepreneurs from BiH and Kosovo prepare their entrepreneurial idea, improve it during the preparation phase in which a workshop takes place in Sarajevo and Prishtina, and then present it in their application through which we choose the best ten proposals per country.
Our experience show that the workshops that are organized in the recipient countries in the spring, contribute to the quality and quantity of the applications. The workshops proved to be useful as the entrepreneurial applications tend to be better year by year, which can also be seen in the ratio of the start-ups that are presented in the Start-up catalogue of PODIM Conference. The catalogue is prepared for the investors that attend the conference and raises awareness about the quality of the start-ups that are present throughout the conference. Among the participants of the conference, one third consists of investors, one third of start-ups and one third of bigger corporations from the region, seeking for corporate partnerships. PODIM Conference will take place on 10 and 11 May in Maribor, Slovenia. Our selected participants will participate at the conference, take part in the PODIM Challenge, present their ideas in the PODIM Start-up catalogue and be able to meet investors and potential partners at the one-on-one meetings.
This year, we received 27 applications from BiH and a record number, 48 from Kosovo. The commission, consisting of the experts in the field of start-up sector, assessed the ideas and invited the best 10 teams from BiH and the best 10 from Kosovo. CEP’s role is to enable the teams to select two team members who get the transportation, accommodation, ticket to the PODIM Conference, transfer around Slovenia and an additional day of training at the Jable Castle free of charge.
At the Jable Castle, young participants get to hear more about Slovenian start-up environment. This year they will listen to the representatives of the Start:up Slovenija team, that represents an association on the national level – a concept of start-up cooperation that is yet unknown in BiH and Kosovo. Positive Agenda for Youth in the Western Balkans will be presented by the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and a broader discussion will be established on the topic of their experiences, needs, expectations and challenges that they face in their home countries in the field of youth entrepreneurship. The 3-day project will conclude in Ljubljana, where the participants will visit the ABC Accelerator, get to know their vision and work and get information about their projects in the Balkans.
We widen participants’ knowledge about entrepreneurship and give them an insight into the process of development of the project from the initial idea to the launch and potential founding of their own company, which is one of potential approaches to addressing the issue of unemployment and underemployment in the wider region. Youngsters get an opportunity to meet potential investors and corporate partners and last but not least, the entrepreneurs with the same mindset and entrepreneurial enthusiasm, which is the key to the further cooperation that can transcend the state borders in the region of Western Balkans.
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.
On Wednesday, March 29, CEP organized a workshop for young entrepreneurs from Kosovo. The event was organized in the Innovation Centre Kosovo 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.
The workshop attracted a number of young entrepreneurs, who want to launch their own start-up and embrace their entrepreneurial idea. The executive director of CEP dr. Gorazd Justinek presented the source of financing for the project and explained the framework of Slovenia’s Development Cooperation funds, devoted also to job creation and youth development in the region.
Representative of PODIM Conference Matej Rus introduced the leading start-up event in Slovenia and in the region and presented the speakers, moderators, investors and mentors that participated in the previous years and mentioned a couple of names from this year’s itineration. He briefed young Kosovo entrepreneurs about the PODIM Challenge, through which 10 best entrepreneurial ideas will be selected and 20 participants from Kosovo will be awarded with transportation, accommodation and participation at the conference free of charge as a result of cooperation between CEP and PODIM.
ABC Accelerator representative Milan Lazarevič presented the accelerator that supports the start-ups in Slovenia from the very first phase of development through an intermediary phase in Germany and then the latter stages in Silicon Valley. Young entrepreneurs had numerous questions about the conference and the challenge and the speakers were able to give them advise about the application process, presentation of the ideas and pitching in front of the investors.
The workshop followed a similar workshop that we organized in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina on 22 March.
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.
Kosovski podjetniki v pripravah na iskanje investicij v Sloveniji
V sredo, 29. marca, se je v Prištini v Innovation Centre Kosovo odvila delavnica za mlade podjetnike s Kosova, 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.
Na dogodku se je zbralo veliko število mladih bodočih podjetnikov, ki želijo ustvariti svoj start-up in se podati na pot podjetništva. Direktor CEP dr. Gorazd Justinek je izpostavil, da se celoten projekt izvaja v okviru Razvojnega sodelovanje Republike Slovenije, kjer so mladi in ustvarjanje novih delovnih mest ključna dejavnika.
Predstavnik konference Podim Matej Rus je predstavil osrednji start-up dogodek v Sloveniji in regiji ter izpostavil govorce, moderatorje, investitorje ter mentorje, ki so se v preteklih letih konference udeležili ter nekatere, ki so že potrdili sodelovanje v letu 2017. Kosovske mlade podjetnike so seznanili s prijavo na PODIM Challenge, preko katerega se mladi lahko potegujejo za tridnevni paket, ki vključuje kritje stroškov prevoza, nastanitve in participacije na konferenci PODIM. Udeleženci morajo prijavo podati do konca meseca marca, izbranih pa bo 10 najboljših projektnih predlogov oziroma mladih start-up podjetij.
Predstavnik ABC pospeševalnika Milan Lazarevič je predstavil delo njihove organizacije, ki podpira start-upe vse od začetne faze v Sloveniji, preko napredne v Nemčiji do zrele faze v Silicijevi dolini.
V razpravi so mladi predstavnike iz Slovenije s številnimi konkretnimi vprašanji, predstavniki pa so podali odgovore in napotke glede prijave na izziv, predstavitve ideje ter predstavitve podjetniške zasnove pred investitorji.
Delavnica je sledila podobnemu dogodku, ki ga je CEP izvajal 22. marca v Sarajevu v Bosni in Hercegovini.
Projekt je del programskih aktivnosti CEP, ki jih financira Ministrstvo za zunanje zadeve Republike Slovenije iz sredstev za mednarodno razvojno sodelovanje.
The initiative that started as CEP’s program activity in the framework of the official development cooperation of the Republic of Slovenia in 2014, has grown into a region-wide project that supports the young entrepreneurs and youngsters with a promising entrepreneurial idea on their way to the development of the idea and launch of their own start-up company.
Empowering entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Starting with the young entrepreneurs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) three years ago, the project named Empowering BiH’s Young Entrepreneurs continues to expand its scope of activities. This year’s itineration included a preparation workshop in Networks Sarajevo, Sarajevo, BiH, (Wednesday, 22 March 2017 – learn more about it here) where young entrepreneurs got a chance to present their ideas, learn how to improve their pitch in front of an expert commission and got a direct feedback from their colleagues. Through the preparation process youngsters finalize their ideas and respond to the call for applications, where we select the best entrepreneurial ideas and offer 20 young entrepreneurs from BiH a 3-day all-inclusive package – visit to Slovenia, transportation, accommodation and participation at the PODIM Conference, free of charge.
Encouraging the start-up environment in Kosovo
Having received very positive feedbacks from the participants in BiH, CEP developed a similar project in Kosovo in 2016. A preparation workshop, titled “Investment and growth opportunities for Kosovo start-ups in Slovenia and the Alps-Adriatic region” will take place in the Innovaton Centre Kosovo (ICK) on Wednesday, 29 March 2017 (learn more about it here), followed by the call for applications for the young entrepreneurs from Kosovo and a 3-day visit to Slovenia.
Reaching out to the Danube region
Having focused predominantly on the countries of the Western Balkans in the previous years, we are now turning to the Danube region as well. As the coordinator of the Priority Area 10 of the Danube Strategy (Institutional Capacity and Cooperation), we have launched a special offer for the Danube region start-ups (selected Danube countries include: Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, Montenegro, Serbia, Moldova and Ukraine). 20 participants from the eligible countries will be selected for the 3-day all-inclusive package trip to Slovenia (read more about it here).
Partnership with PODIM Conference and visit to Ljubljana
Selected participants will attend PODIM Conference in Maribor, Slovenia on 10 and 11 May 2017, participate in the biggest networking event for start-ups in the Alps-Adriatic Region, take part in the PODIM Challenge pitching competition and be presented in the PODIM Start-up Catalogue for the one-on-one meetings with PODIM investors and blue-chip partners.
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.
By joining forces, PODIM Conference and CEP offer young entrepreneurs an additional learning dimension in the creative process and empowers them to step ahead and present themselves in front of the investors that can help them transform their ideas into a promising start-up company.
CEP in konferenca PODIM združila moči za opolnomočenje mladih podjetnikov
Pobuda, ki jo je CEP začel v okviru mednarodnega razvojnega sodelovanja Slovenije leta 2014, je prerasla v regionalni projekt, ki podpira mlade podjetnike in mlade z obetavnimi podjetniškimi idejami na njihovi poti od razvoja ideje do zagona njihovega lastnega start-up podjetja.
Opolnomočenje podjetnikov v Bosni in Hercegovini
Projekt, ki se je pod imenom Spodbujanje podjetništva medm mladimi v BiH začel pred tremi leti, sedaj razširja svoje aktivnosti. V letošnjo izvedbo smo vključili pripravljalno delavnico v Networks Sarajevo v Bosni in Hercegovini (sreda, 22. marec 2017 – več o tem na tej povezavi), kjer so imeli mladi podjetniki možnost predstaviti svoje ideje, se naučiti, kako izboljšati svoje predstavitve pred strokovno komisijo ter dobiti neposreden komentar in nasvet s strani ostalih udeležencev. Tekom pripravljalnega procesa mladi izdelajo svoje ideje in se tako bolje odzovejo na razpis, preko katerega izberemo najboljše ideje in 20 mladim podjetnikom iz BiH ponudimo brezplačen tridnevni paket – obisk Slovenije, prevoz, nastanitev in obisk konference Podim.
Spodbujanje start-up okolja na Kosovu
Po zelo pozitivnem odzivu udeležencev v BiH, je CEP podoben projekt razvil tudi na Kosovu leta 2016. Pripravljalna delavnica z naslovom “Priložnosti za rast investicije in rast za kosovske start-upe v Sloveniji in v alpsko-jadranski regiji” se odvija v Innovation Centre Kosovo (ICK) v sredo, 29. marca 2017 (preberite več tukaj), sledi pa ji natečaj za mlade podjetnike s Kosova in tridnevni obisk v Sloveniji.
Širitev na Podonavje
Medtem ko smo se v preteklih letih osredotočali predvsem na države Zahodnega Balkana, se projekt letos razširja tudi na Podonavsko regijo. Kot koordinatorji PA10 Podonavske strategije (institucionalna krepitev in sodelovanje), smo poseben natečaj uvedli tudi za start-upe iz Podonavja (izbrane države v regiji zajemajo Bolgarijo, Hrvaško, Češko, Madžarsko, Romunijo, Slovaško, Črno goro, Srbijo, Moldavijo in Ukrajino). 20 udeležencev iz izbranih držav bo sodelovalo na tridnevni ekskurziji v Slovenijo (več preberite tukaj).
Partnerstvo s konferenco Podim in obisk v Ljubljani
Izbrani udeleženci se bodo udeležili konference Podim 10. in 11. maja 2017 v Mariboru v Sloveniji, sodelovali na največjem dogodku za start-upe v alpsko-jadranski regiji, se preizkusili na izzivu PODIM Challenge ter bili predstavljeni v PODIM Start-up katalogu, namenjenem ena-na-ena srečanjem z investitorji in partnerji.
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.
Z združitvijo moči PODIM in CEP mladim podjetnikom ponujata dodatno učno dimenzijo v kreativnem procesu in prispevata k opolnomočenju mladih, da stopijo v ospredje, se predstavijo pred investitorji in s tem spremenijo svoje ideje v obetavna start-up podjetja.
For the second year in a row, Centre for European Perspective offers its support to the young entrepreneurs from Kosovo 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 here more from PODIM organizers and Kosovo startup that have already been at PODIM, pitch tips and tricks will take place on Wednesday, March 29, 2017, in Innovation Centre Kosovo, Pristina, Kosovo. 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 na Kosovu
CEP že drugo leto zapored nudi podporo mladim kosovskim 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, izkušnji start-upa, ki je na konferenci že bil ter nekaj uporabnih nasvetov za boljšo predstavitev lastne ideje. Delavnica bo potekala v sredo, 29. marca 2017, v Prištini v prostorih Innovation Centre Kosovo (ICK), 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.
The initiative that started as CEP’s program activity in the framework of the official development cooperation of the Republic of Slovenia in 2014, has grown into a region-wide project that supports the young entrepreneurs and youngsters with a promising entrepreneurial idea on their way to the development of the idea and launch of their own start-up company.
Pobuda, ki jo je CEP začel v okviru mednarodnega razvojnega sodelovanja Slovenije leta 2014, je prerasla v regionalni projekt, ki podpira mlade podjetnike in mlade z obetavnimi podjetniškimi idejami na njihovi poti od razvoja ideje do zagona njihovega lastnega start-up podjetja.
For the second year in a row, Centre for European Perspective offers its support to the young entrepreneurs from Kosovo 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.
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.