EMPOWER

EMPOWER - Social Enterprises' Sustainability Tools

Source of funding:
Erasmus+

Social entrepreneurship will have an increasingly significant role in the economies of EU countries, and an increasing number of governments are encouraging young people (18 – 35 years old) to establish social enterprises. The problem is that around 50% of social enterprises survive less than three years from their creation and many jobs disappear across Europe. The challenges facing social entrepreneurs are related to the implementation of their business ideas, cross-sector cooperation, financing opportunities, quality maintenance.

About the project:

The EMPOWER project aims to encourage young entrepreneurs to develop new and existing social enterprises by offering them various tools and training.

Customised training packages based on non-formal education and simulations of real-life situations will lay the foundation for the development of skills and competences of young entrepreneurs. Through games based on real-life scenarios participants will learn to make decisions and implement strategies for their businesses. In addition to learning and exchanging experience with their peers, young people will be encouraged to take initiative and create healthy social enterprises.

The results from the implementation of the EMPOWER project will have a positive impact on the development of young people’s capacity in the partner countries (Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal). In the long term, participants are expected to actively engage in the development of social enterprise strategies using modern and empirically validated tools and methods to ensure that the services/products they offer meet the needs of the local and regional market.

The Bulgarian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the leading partner in the international consortium working on the project’s implementation.

Implementation period: 01.2022 – 01.2024