Memolikeentrepreneurship2013 gb

Like – Lille international knowledge exchange – 16 September 2013

16 September 2013 – Lille Grand Palais

Fact sheet

1

Like – Lille international knowledge exchange – 16 September 2013

Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais, an enterprising region In 2013, the Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais region is demonstrating more than ever its entrepreneurial spirit. The joint effort of all the region's stakeholders over several years to promote the initiative spirit has been rewarded with the EU accolade European Entrepreneurial Region (EER), making it the first region in France to receive this award.

According to Pierre de Saintignon, First Vice-­‐President of the Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais Regional Council, this award is at once an honour and "a responsibility" because, as the President of the “Entreprendre en Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais” Chamber of Commerce (CCI) Commission, Laurent Degroote adds, "not only must we live up to the challenge for the duration o f t he a ward ( two y ears), b ut w e m ust a lso c ontinue t o d o s o g oing f orward."

A collective momentum supported by the Regional Strategy for Initiatives and Entrepreneurship (SRIE) A long-­‐standing collective effort

Promoting the initiative spirit is not a new objective in Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais. For over ten years, a wide-­‐ranging partnership (including regional and local authorities, national and higher education establishments, regional delegations f or w omen's r ights, C hambers o f C ommerce a nd I ndustry ( CCIs), e tc.) h as b een s triving t owards t his g oal.

Another advantage the region has to offer is that it implemented this collective approach to developing business initiatives and entrepreneurship as early as 2012, as part of its Regional Strategy for Initiatives and Entrepreneurship (SRIE). The SRIE also ensures that a vigorous and sustainable policy is pursued. Its objectives are as follows: -­‐ e ncourage the population to gain an understanding of the economic environment so they are able to make informed choices a bout t heir o wn s ituation a nd p articipate i n e conomic i nitiatives.

-­‐ D riving and supporting a cultural change in a region characterised by a deeply-­‐ingrained tradition of salaried employment.

Example: the "Entreprenarium" Initial results are very pleasing scheme Primary a nd secondary education

Higher education

Women

Compared t o 2 011-­‐2012, t here h as b een a 4 2% increase i n 2 012-­‐2013 i n t he n umber o f p upils participating i n s chemes t o p romote t he initiative s pirit 130 a ctivities o f a ll k inds ( awareness-­‐raising, training, e tc.), c onducted b y i nstitutions w ith an i nterest i n p romoting e ntrepreneurship, a nd attended b y a t otal o f 1 4,400 s tudents.

Creation o f s even " hubhouses" a cross t he region ( including t wo a bout t o o pen) More t han 1 ,500 w omen i nvolved i n r aising awareness a nd e ducating p eople a bout entrepreneurship

The EER award in brief

The objective? To demystify the image of business l eaders i n t he e yes o f t he p ublic How? By enlisting and training entrepreneurs who wish to put their experience to good use by promoting the initiative spirit in primary and secondary schools (20,000 pupils have already benefited f rom t he s cheme) The ambition? 500 business leaders from across the region to be enlisted between now a nd 2 020 Methods? A pilot project run by Regional Chamber of Commerce for Nord de France and a dedicated team of facilitators spread across t he r egion

Since 2011, the EER award has recognised regions in the European Union that have distinguished themselves by their exceptional entrepreneurial vision. This initiative aims to foster the emergence of dynamic and enterprising regions.

To d ate, 1 2 E uropean r egions h ave r eceived t he E ER a ward: -­‐ i n 2 011, L and B randenburg ( Germany), C ounty K erry ( Ireland) a nd M urcia ( Spain) -­‐ i n 2 012, C atalonia ( Spain), t he r egions o f H elsinki-­‐Uusimaa ( Finland) a nd T rnava ( Slovak R epublic) -­‐ i n 2 013, N ord -­‐ P as d e C alais ( France), t he r egions o f S outhern D enmark a nd S tyria ( Austria).

Finally, the three regions awarded the EER accolade for 2014 are Belgian Flanders, Marche (Italy) and Brabant (Netherlands).

2

Like – Lille international knowledge exchange – 16 September 2013

Like Challenges for 2014 To ensure that like entrepreneurship's impact extends beyond one day a year, participants in each workshop chose the Like Challenges for 2014, selecting the initiatives they believed would prove the most useful in this region and elsewhere.

3

Like – Lille international knowledge exchange – 16 September 2013

Workshop 1: Opening the doors to the Initiative Spirit! (under 12s) Promoting entrepreneurship among children (aged between 3 and 12) may seem a surprising move. However, without in any way wishing to turn young children into future business leaders, making them the target of such projects helps them develop the essential attributes for success from a very young age, including independence, self-­‐confidence, interpersonal skills and creativity. All these assets will prove useful in their future careers, whether or not they choose t o s tart t heir o wn " business" i n t he s trict s ense o f t he w ord.

Promoting the initiative spirit among young children: Challenges and philosophy "Children, natural entrepreneurs." A variety of different schemes exist aimed at promoting the initiative spirit among young children, but these schemes are based on a common belief shared by all project leaders: children are natural entrepreneurs. Taking part in a project to create a new business represents for children an opportunity to discover their o wn a bilities -­‐ i magination, p erseverance, d rive, e tc. -­‐ a nd t o d evelop t hem.

From start to end of a project. An effective way to promote the initiative spirit among children is to let them develop their own ideas. By allowing them to give free rein to their imagination in implementing a project that they themselves have defined, children become more motivated and committed in the long term. This has a positive impact, not only on the benefits that they draw from the project itself, but also on their academic performance in general, a nd o n g roup c ohesion i n t he c lassroom.

Stakeholders. For a project to successfully promote the initiative spirit among young children, it needs the support of various stakeholders. The first of these are teachers and the authorities responsible for education policy. They will have reservations or concerns that need to be addressed, particularly regarding the appropriateness of promoting entrepreneurship among children. The participation of governments and local entrepreneurs, not to mention the parents t hemselves, i s a lso n ecessary i f w e w ish t o c reate a n " ecosystem" i n w hich e ntrepreneurial s pirit c an f lourish.

Overview of European projects -­‐ T arget: 1 0-­‐12 y ears -­‐ A two-­‐stage programme (invitation and introduction; project implementation), using educational ICHEC Management tools p rovided t o t eachers f ree o f c harge b y I CHEC School, -­‐ S ince 2 004, b etween 1 0,000 a nd 1 5,000 y oung p eople h ave t aken p art e ach y ear Brussels -­‐ P rogramme a vailable i n F rench a nd F lemish

"Cap'ten"

"C MA VILLE"

-­‐ T arget : 8 -­‐10 y ears *Winner of the Like Challenge 2014 -­‐ C hildren are asked to identify a need in their environment and design a business solution to meet Apprendre" (EPA), that need (using drawings, models, collages, and so on). At the end of the programme, the projects "Learning through are p ut o n p ublic d isplay Entrepreneurship", -­‐ I n 2 012-­‐2013, 5 00 c hildren i n t he r egion t ook p art, d eveloping a t otal o f 9 5 p rojects.

"Enterprendre pour

Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais

"Emprender mi -­‐ Target: 10-­‐13 years -­‐ In a 6-­‐stage programme forming part of the normal teaching curriculum (management skills in maths escuela"

lessons, designing logos in art classes, etc.), children form their own cooperatives and carry out all administrative tasks themselves (applying for a bank loan, for example). At the end of the year, their Asturias (Spain) products are put on sale at a local market.

-­‐ Target: primary school children "Junior entrepreneur -­‐ 10 different stages (coming up with ideas, visiting an existing business, conducting market research, etc.) allowing children to discover and develop a variety of skills (problem solving, storytelling, management, programme" writing, and so on).

County Kerry -­‐ Organisation of an event at which the children can present their projects to family members so they too (Ireland) can be caught up in the momentum created by the project.

Valnalon,

4

Like – Lille international knowledge exchange – 16 September 2013

Workshop 2: Fostering the entrepreneurial mindset! (under 18s) Instilling the desire to become an entrepreneur is a long process. In addition to awareness-­‐raising programmes aimed at children, there are also a number of schemes aimed at teenagers. As working life beckons, secondary-­‐school students also need the keys to unlock their future potential. Whether learning by example or via a project-­‐based methodology, the techniques used to promote an entrepreneurial mindset will broaden their horizons and teach them more a bout t hemselves.

Raising awareness: learning by example -­‐ the 100,000 Entrepreneurs Association What could be a simpler or more effective way of instilling the initiative spirit in young people than arranging for them to meet with real-­‐life entrepreneurs? The 100,000 Entrepreneurs Association is attempting to address this challenge by arranging for nearly 50,000 young people a year, aged between 13 and 25 years and from nine different regions, to discover the world of business. Head teachers and teachers on the one hand, and entrepreneurs on the other, can apply to take part in the programme. The association is responsible for training the entrepreneurs and other professional volunteers -­‐ 3,500 since 2007 -­‐ and for organising their in-­‐school activities. Since 2007, 3,000 teachers h ave w elcomed e ntrepreneurs i nto t heir c lassrooms.

Discover your life goals and start working towards them -­‐ Project "DREAM" Developed in Belgium by the management school ICHEC, "DREAM" is a methodology that helps young people aged 16 and over to pursue their life goals. Since 1998, between 10,000 and 12,000 Belgian teenagers have embarked upon a journey o f d iscovery t o i dentify t heir m otivations a nd s kills a nd b uild t heir c areer p lans. T he f irst s tep i s t o understand what m otivates t hem a nd w hich o ccupations m ight t herefore s uit t hem b est. D uring t he s econd s tage o f t he p rocess, the teenager researches and eventually meets a professional person who is passionate about his or her job -­‐ whether o r n ot t hey o wn t heir o wn b usiness. *Winner of the Like Challenge 2014

Finding a business idea together -­‐ "The Innovation Camp" Over the course of the 2012-­‐2013 school year, nearly 1,200 young people aged 13-­‐22 took part in one of 16 different innovation camps. Organised by Entreprendre pour Apprendre (EPA) (Learning through Entrepreneurship) in Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais, innovation camps bring together young people from different schools. During the day, groups are mixed up so participants can learn to work with other young people they have never met before. They then pool their skills to work on a given topic linked to the region where the camp is located. The purpose of the innovation camps is to develop teenagers' interpersonal skills, make them aware that all business ideas require a clear definition of the target market for a proposed A study carried out in Lille to gain a better understanding of the effects product or service, and finally, to allow them to benefit from of m ini-­‐enterprises the creativity of the event. The Researchers a t t he U niversity o f L ille 3 a re c arrying o ut a s tudy o n t he s ubject o f ideas that emerge from these mini-­‐enterprises (businesses run by young people), which are a key element in camps may even be picked up promoting young entrepreneurship. What are the intended and unintended and trialled by entrepreneurs in effects of these mini-­‐enterprises? How can they be more effective? The study the business world, subject to addresses these different questions in order to achieve a better understanding the intellectual property rights of the scheme, and to help teachers, participants, and partner associations and of t he p articipants. institutions g ain t he m aximum b enefit.

Three programmes aimed at creating new entrepreneurs -­‐ Valnalon

In the Spanish region of Asturias, public company Valnalon set up three innovative programmes aimed at promoting

entrepreneurship among teenagers: establishment of an international cooperative exchanging goods with other

cooperatives based abroad; creation and management of an international non-­‐governmental organisation (NGO);

design, development and marketing of an innovative new product. They provided the perfect opportunity for

participating students to enhance their skills (languages, ICT -­‐ information & communication technologies, etc.) and to

develop t heir o utlook o n t he w orld.

5

Like – Lille international knowledge exchange – 16 September 2013

Workshop 3: Developing young entrepreneurship (18 and over) Becoming an entrepreneur is seldom the o bvious career option in the eyes of young people. Salaried employment is usually their first choice. Hence the need to demystify the image of entrepreneurship and offer support to those who e ventually w ant t o s tart t heir o wn b usiness.

Generation Y: a mixed attitude towards entrepreneurship The young people of generation Y (aged 18-­‐34) demonstrate a mixed attitude towards an entrepreneurial career. Not only have they been subject to constant advice throughout their studies about the benefits of salaried employment, they also place more emphasis on leisure activities and family than on professional and financial success.

Consequently, those who do decide to embark on an entrepreneurial career are primarily looking to have fun as part of the adventure, and regard this aspect as far more important than the possible financial rewards. Finally, young people tend to lack self-­‐esteem, although this -­‐ together with resourcefulness, in particular -­‐ is one of the defining characteristics o f a n e ntrepreneur.

Three worldwide initiatives to inspire the initiative spirit in the young Principle

Results

Success stories

Youth B usiness I nternational ( United K ingdom) * Winner of the Like Challenge 2014 Established i n 2 000, Y outh B usiness International ( YBI) r egards entrepreneurship a s a m eans o f t ackling youth u nemployment. T he o rganisation promotes t he i nitiative s pirit b y r aising awareness, b ut a bove a ll b y p roviding financial a nd h uman s upport ( mentoring) to y oung e ntrepreneurs.

In 2 012, Y BI s upported t he creation o f 1 2,000 businesses w orldwide.

The g oal f or 2 020: r eaching a t arget o f 1 00,000 n ew jobs c reated.

Thanks t o a l oan o f 1 ,500 d ollars, R achel Renie o pened M arket M overs, t he f irst online g rocery s tore i n T rinidad a nd Tobago. T oday, h er c ompany g enerates annual s ales o f m ore t han 5 0,000 dollars.

The I nstitute o f E ntrepreneurship a t t he C atholic U niversity o f L ille ( France) Established i n 2 005, t he I nstitute o f Entrepreneurship ( IES) a t t he C atholic University o f L ille h as a d ual m ission: promoting t he i nitiative s pirit, a nd encouraging t he c reation o f n ew businesses. I n p articular, t he I ES s upports students a nd y oung g raduates w ith t heir business s tart-­‐up p rojects.

In 2 012-­‐2013, 4 ,300 students t ook p art i n entrepreneurship programmes r un b y t he I ES. Since t he s tart o f t he scheme, t he I ES h as provided s upport t o 1 07 students a nd g raduates, resulting i n t he c reation o f 38 c ompanies.

With t he s upport o f t he I ES / -­‐ In 2011, Aurélien Chiquet and Charles-­‐ Henri Carton created Pimp My Team, a company selling promotional items. It became a limited company in 2012, and now has four employees in addition to the b usiness o wners.

-­‐ Damien Abgrall created Wid'op, a web agency specialising in agile development p rojects u nder S ymfony.

The 2 012 p rogramme f or t he p romotion o f e ntrepreneurship i n t he H elsinki-­‐Uusimaa r egion ( Finland) Recipient o f t he E ER a ward, t he r egion o f Helsinki-­‐Uusimaa d ecided t o p romote young e ntrepreneurship t hroughout 2 012.

In t otal, m ore t han 8 0 e vents w ere s taged during t he y ear ( workshops, s haring o f personal e xperiences, e tc.). T he g oal w as to i nspire a m ore p ositive i mage o f entrepreneurship a nd m ake i t a v iable career o ption.

Thousands o f s tudents a nd pupils t ook p art i n s chemes designed t o p romote t he initiative s pirit, a nd several h undred y oung entrepreneurs a nd t eachers were e nlisted.

At t he e nd o f 2 012, a s urvey o f secondary-­‐education s tudents w as conducted t o a ssess t he i mpact o f t he programme. T he r esults w ere p ositive as r espondents h ad a g enerally favourable v iew o f e ntrepreneurship and m ore p eople s aid t hey w ould l ike to u ndertake s ome f orm o f entrepreneurial a ctivity.

6

Like – Lille international knowledge exchange – 16 September 2013

Workshop 4: The Lifelong Entrepreneur, making it happen Entrepreneurship: above all a state of mind Why d o w e n eed e ntrepreneurs?

Focus: the female entrepreneur According to the Gallup World Poll, there are 3 billion people worldwide who are either in work or want to work. Most of The Nord -­‐ Pas de Calais Research Consortium them wish to be in full-­‐time employment, but globally, there conducted a study of 41 female entrepreneurs in are only 1.2 billion jobs available! Therefore, becoming an the r egion. H ere a re s ome o f t he k ey f indings: entrepreneur and creating your own employment -­‐Of those surveyed, the average age for starting a opportunity m ight j ust b e t he a nswer. business was 37. The women interviewed all had

previous e xperience i n s alaried r oles Is e ntrepreneurship r ight f or y ou?

There is no specific path to becoming an entrepreneur. It is -­‐ Among the women studied, 6 had taken over an option that is open to everyone, regardless of age, existing companies and 35 had created new education, professional experience, etc. But, take note, it is businesses. Of those 35, 18 decided to open a not simply a case of waking up one day with a sudden urge business based on their previous career experience, to become an entrepreneur. First you must take time out to with 17 starting up in a completely different area reflect, to dare to think differently, so that creating your (including, in some cases, highly male-­‐dominated own business seems the obvious way forward. A positive and sectors) confident attitude, combined with the right skills and know-­‐ -­‐ Various factors led them to create a start-­‐up: a how, i s t he w inning f ormula f or a n e ntrepreneur. perceived business opportunity, major changes in

their employer's company, an unsatisfactory How t o k eep g oing w hen t imes g et t ough?

Starting a business is not a bed of roses. It is a path fraught working e nvironment ( glass c eiling), e tc.) with risk and an entrepreneur is often out on his own. Here are some tips to help smooth your way: take the advice of experts on board; do not overlook the administrative aspects o f r unning a b usiness; m onitor y our r esults a nd, a bove a ll, m ake t ime t o r eview p rogress o n a w eekly b asis.

Two initiatives aimed at inspiring a lifelong entrepreneurial attitude The Learning by Doing (LBD) model

The CitésLab network *Winner of the Like Challenge 2014

In F inland, L aurea U niversity o ffers a n i nnovative educational m odel o riented t owards t he a cquisition of p rofessional s kills t hat a re d irectly t ransferable into t he w orld o f w ork. T his m odel e nlists t he support o f t eachers, b ut a lso o ther p rofessionals w ho share t heir e xperiences w ith s tudents.

The C itésLab n etwork h as 1 2 b ranches i n N ord -­‐ P as de C alais. T he s cheme a ims t o s timulate entrepreneurship i n t he c ommunity u sing a f leet o f CitésLab b uses t hat t our c ities a nd r each o ut d irectly to t he p opulation. A fter t his i nitial c ontact, a f irst appointment i s m ade t o t ake p art i n a n a wareness-­‐ raising s cheme.

Entrepreneurship without borders: the benefit of continuing education and training Developing a business internationally can be a great opportunity in several ways. First and foremost, it allows the business to expand its activities, making it easier to establish itself in a cross-­‐border market. It can also provide an opportunity to exploit differences that may exist between border regions in terms of administration and finance (duties a nd t axes).

In this context, lifelong training is critical because it helps business owners to recognise cultural and legal differences compared to their country of origin, to identify key markets, and so on. More widely, chambers of commerce are always a u seful s ource o f s upport f or e ntrepreneurs w ho w ish t o d evelop c ross-­‐border a ctivities.

7