Start UP Smart

Funding: SOP HRD, Priority Axis 3, Key Area of ​​Intervention 3.1 “Promoting Entrepreneurial Culture”

Dates: 6 February – 5 December 2015

Project cost: 8.582.300 lei.

Project applicant: SMART Development Center Association

SMART DEVELOPMENT CENTER

Partners: Asociatia Patronatul Tinerilor Intreprinzatori din Romania, regiunea Sud-Est, Grupul de Consultanță pentru Dezvoltare DCG

General Objective: To develop entrepreneurial skills and support entrepreneurial initiatives to stimulate the self-employment of people over 18 who want to start a self-employed activity in the South-East and South-Muntenia development regions.

Target group: 400 people over 18 years of age from South-East and South-Muntenia regions wishing to work independently

Project activities:

• Organizing an information and awareness caravan on the opportunities offered by the project and encouraging entrepreneurship in each county in the South-East and South-Muntenia regions;
• Conducting a campaign to promote the project and entrepreneurial culture in the online environment
• Organizing 20 entrepreneurial skills courses for 400 participants from the target group
• Organizing a business ideas contest. By competition, 42 business ideas will be selected for funding, of which at least 40 among those who have participated in entrepreneurial skills training. Minimum 2 business ideas will be selected for each of the 13 counties of the South-East and South-Muntenia development regions and at least 50% of the winning business ideas will be developed by eligible target age group 18- 25 years old, enrolled in higher education.
• Financing business plans selected following the Business Ideas Contest. Through this activity, 42 startup firms will be set up and funded under the de minimis aid scheme “Support for Entrepreneurs”. Each selected business plan will be funded by a subsidy of 86.500 lei. Each newly created enterprise will ensure the creation of at least 2 jobs and their maintenance for a minimum of 6 months after the completion of the project.
• Set up and coordination of Start UP Smart Business Incubator as a support center for initiating and developing 42 businesses. In the business incubator they will receive assistance and mentoring services to be successful in the startup business they will start, but will also be able to carry out administrative activities as well as promotion activities for the products and services they sell.
• The organization of a Business School that will last for 5 days with the 42 participants who have been selected following the business ideas contest to receive grants under de minimis aid.
• Establishment of the Regional Entrepreneurs Network. This network will be initially formed from the 42 entrepreneurs receiving a grant under the de minimis aid. The network will be an example of good practice that will provide entrepreneurial success stories to encourage other people in the target group to initiate independent activities.
• Organizing 8 mentoring sessions within the Start UP Smart Incubator where both the grant winners and the participants of the entrepreneurial skills courses
• Providing integrated support to start-ups created through the project, consisting of counseling, business start-up support, new funding sources, assistance and post-assistance to support business start-ups and self-employment, tax news, networking, sales training.
• Develop and implement a campaign to promote the importance of the principles of social inclusion and equal opportunities in the labor market.
• Selection and development of two business start-up support centers that are already in the South-East and South-Muntenia development regions.