Following the first, highly successful women’s entrepreneurship laboratory held in Rome in 2014, the ETF is launching its second laboratory on 21-23 March 2017.
Funded by the EU’s Eastern Partnership Platform II, the event takes place in Kiev and brings together policy makers, business associations, young and experienced women entrepreneurs, local partners and EU experts.
The objective of the laboratory is to determine progress of the countries in the EU‘s Eastern Partnership region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine) in meeting the demands of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) where women’s entrepreneurship is a priority area.
Helping women achieve their full potential is an important part of the ETF’s work. Supporting women develop and grow business ideas is an important way for women to contribute to economic growth and social development. Through Small Business Act for Europe assessments, the ETF supports partner countries to promote women’s entrepreneurship, improve access to training, finance, and develop policy support tools. The Women’s Entrepreneurship Laboratory is one example of how the ETF supports partner countries to improve the policy environment so that women entrepreneurs can thrive.
The next SBA assessment is scheduled for 2018. Local partners in Kiev have established a dedicated webpage and intelligence platform to support the assessment. The platform interfaces with a wider on-line area to support women’s entrepreneurship in the European Union.
Hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, the laboratory will bring new energy to the women’s entrepreneurship drive in the EU Eastern Partnership region. ‘The laboratory first and foremost is a place to learn,’ says the ETF’s Olena Bekh who put the programme together. ‘Secondly, we will be road-testing new ideas and means to improve the SBA support environment, with a particular focus on digital tracking systems,’ says Bekh. The event also provides for know-how exchange, networking and sharing of good practice.
The laboratory is supported by the European Commission and is organised in close collaboration with the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, European Business Association and EUROCHAMBRES.
Follow developments at the laboratory here for daily updates or on twitter using the hashtag #ETFinspire.
Find out more about the ETF’s SBA work and how the ETF supports women’s entrepreneurship.
