Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs is a European exchange programme aimed at helping new entrepreneurs to acquire relevant skills for managing a small or medium-sized enterprise by spending time (1 to 6 months) in an enterprise managed by an experienced entrepreneur in another European country.
COOPERATIVES EUROPE and the other 7 European partners of the consortium CoopErasmus (COOPERATIVES UK, CEPES-ANDALUCIA, UNCCUE, ELABORA-CONFCOOPERATIVE, INFORCOOP-LEGACOOP, CCU-BULGARIA, COOMPANION) have been selected to be Intermediary organisations. Intermediary organisations help new and host entrepreneurs in getting in contact and assist them during the relationship.
Francisco Javier Robredo Arana, New Entrepreneurs of UNCCUE travelled from Spain to the International School of Languages in Malta where he developed his marketing and managerial skills. “It has been a unique and thoroughly rewarding experience. It has enabled me to expand my managerial skills in areas of administration, finance and international relations”, he said. The school of languages also benefited from the exchange stating “Francisco has been an asset and a pleasure in our office, added cultural diversity to our staff, and provided valuable insight on the Spanish Market”.
To date, two relationships are ongoing and three are to be approved by the Commission very soon. About 45 entrepreneurs registered to the programme and chose one of the partners of our consortium as an Intermediary Organisation.
This is a great opportunity for the co-operative movement. Firstly, this project responds to a need which our businesses have been expressing several times in the past i.e. new entrepreneurs/co-operators, especially in the start-up phase, need to exchange experience with experienced entrepreneurs. Secondly, this is another official recognition of co-operatives as key actors in the European economy and lastly, it is a great chance to foster the creation of new co-operative businesses and to enable our co-operatives to gain an international dimension.
Further information can be found on the programme portal: www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu.
If you have contacts with any entrepreneurs who would like to participate in the programme either as a Host or as a New Entrepreneur, or if your organization would like to become an Intermediary Organization, please contact
