25 ways of boosting female entrepreneurship
New companies, IT training, female business networks… These are some results of the 25 projects developed to promote women’s entrepreneurship within the Gender Equality Programme funded by the EEA Grants.
30.03.2016
Setting up a business requires a good idea but also attitudes and skills. In order to foster them among women, 25 projects have been developed throughout Spain within the Gender Equality Programme, which have included more than 250 activities and have benefited directly more than 4,000 women. To this type of projects, EEA Grants have allocated 2.54 million euros, out of a total of 10 million to the programme, managed by the Spanish Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality with the general objective of closing the gap between men and women.
Activities funded to promote female entrepreneurship include women’ training to improve their skills and abilities to create and consolidate business, particularly in rural areas or groups at risk of social exclusion; creation of cooperatives and business networks; development of personalized pathways for business consolidation. And all of this supported in many cases by the exchange of best practices with Norwegian entities.
One example of these projects is the one developed by the Union of Women Farmers that trained 250 women from rural areas in new technology and management. Or the Open Door project, promoted by the International Federation of Business Women BPW Spain, to help women in enterprise internalization through workshops and seminars, with more than 100 participants. Or “Threading” project to foster female entrepreneurship in traditional handicrafts and trades in rural areas.
Although the projects have just ended, the results are already visible. Such as the 13 companies in their early stages created by women after taking part in a project in Teruel, a province with high level of depopulation and also of unemployment. Or the 33 business projects in Gandía (Valencia) and the improvement of digital skills for 182 women participants in a training project. Or the creation of the first business women association in Arganda del Rey (Madrid) for mutual support and experiences sharing, which guarantees the sustainability of the project beyond the EEA Grants.
These projects were selected under the general Open Call within the Gender Equality and Work-Life Balance Programme, and were managed by NGOs, organizations and City Councils, which allowed spreading the benefits across Spain.