The overall objective of the project is to develop the entrepreneurial skills of the unemployed, inactive people and employees in the South-East region and to set up 42 innovative enterprises in order to increase the employment rate in a sustainable way, in line with the sectors identified as competitive. The 42 developed businesses will provide sustainable jobs by contributing to the goal of the National Employment Strategy 2014-2020 to increase employment. The project proposes four major strands of action that ultimately aim to increase the employment rate by developing activities on its own: • Developing entrepreneurial knowledge and skills for 350 people who want to start an activity on their own through a training programme to acquire entrepreneurial skills, thus supporting the priorities of the Government Strategy for SME Sector Development and the Improvement of the Business Environment – Horizon 2020 and also the priorities of the National Strategy on Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction, creating employment opportunities for the unemployed (10 % of the number of participants in the project) and inactive people; • Providing a personalised counselling and mentoring program for the development of a new business, a programme that will complement the knowledge and skills acquired during training and internships, in order to make the activity in the developed business more efficient. These support services will also contribute to the achievement of the objectives of the National Strategy for Competitiveness, being considered essential for the development of the critical mass of SMEs. • Support 42 entrepreneurs by providing grants to develop a business, up to a maximum of EUR 32 000. These grants will create a minimum of 84 jobs in competitive areas, thereby contributing to the overall objective “Achieving a sustainable level of employment supported by economic competitiveness, social cohesion and sustainable development” of the National Employment Strategy. • Promoting the development of entrepreneurial culture through an information campaign on opportunities to develop an economic activity on its own and by promoting successful examples. At the same time, the promotion and information campaign aims to change the general attitude towards starting an economic activity on its own. The 42 grants will be awarded for the development of sectors identified as competitive in the National Competitiveness Strategy 2014-2020, namely: Tourism and ecotourism; Textiles and leather; Wood and furniture; Creative industries; Automotive and components industry; Information and communication technology; Health and pharmaceuticals; Energy and Management
