With entrepreneurship becoming a widely discussed topic, more and more young people are interested in learning more about how to get acquainted with basic concepts of entrepreneurship and how to get started with a business idea in mind. For this reason, Center for Intercultural Dialogue developed a two-day training course for young people from Macedonia and Bulgaria which happened on the 5th and 6th of March in Kumanovo, Macedonia. The Training on Entrepreneurship for Young People is part of the ”E-Region: Development Opportunity” project, in the framework of the IPA CBC Programme.
The training course offered space for 40 participants from Macedonia and Bulgaria to share, discuss and develop business ideas and good practices. During the training sessions, they learned about basic steps before starting a business, key-elements in building up a successful business, as well as useful advice for the development of a business plan and asking for support. When working in groups, participants discovered new ways to enforce and develop their ideas, which led to successful presentations of business-plans at the end of the training course.
The group had a great dynamic, which is a fundamental requirement for developing successful business plans. The participants shared with us some of their reflections:
Dushica Micevska: ”This seminar made us understand that social entrepreneurs are individuals with innovative solutions to society’s most pressing social problems. They are ambitious and persistent, tackling major social issues and offering new ideas for wide-scale change. I liked the way in which the material was presented and the information provided. The fact that everyone participated and took each exercise seriously was important.
Kostadinka Vasileva: ”This training gave me the possibility to discover that anyone who is in the right environment, surrounded by the right people, can give birth to brilliant business ideas.Every young student hides some kind of potential and freshness that needs to come out.”
Jane Mamucevski: ”During the seminar I learned how to start my own business, how to prepare a business plan and how to adapt to the business environment. Knowing that nowadays is very difficult to survive in the labor market, with the help of this training I will have an additional opportunity to face the market, despite tough competition. I also learned that the preparation of a business plan needs to be skilled and careful, without any mistake in the preparation.”
Tamara Petreska: ”I would like to thank CID for giving us the chance to be part of this wonderful event. This is sort of experience that I will always remember and use in my everyday environment.The presentation was excellent. I appreciate the knowledge and skillful approach of the trainer, as well as the excellent examples. Also working in groups was great because I met wonderful people with a lot of impressive and creative ideas from whom I got valuable input.”
This training is part of the project ‘E-Region: Development Opportunity’, which CID is implementing in partnership with the European Institute-branch Blagoevgrad from Bulgaria, aiming at improved social cohesion in the cross border area of Macedonia and Bulgaria, under the framework of IPA CBC Programme, CCI Number 2007CB16IPO007.
More information about the upcoming events can be found on the official E-Region webpage.
