From idea to reality: Project that inspires woman

While the proportion of women entrepreneurs in Europe is increasing, there is still a significant gender gap in entrepreneurship. Addressing this gap requires a joint effort to provide greater access to funding, mentorship, and networking opportunities for women entrepreneurs, address systemic biases, and promote diversity and inclusivity in entrepreneurship. With the Promoting Women Environment Entrepreneurship project, we aim to close this gap and support young women's entrepreneurship in Europe.

The number of women and men owning businesses varies depending on the country and region. However, the most minor gender gaps are found in low- and middle-income countries, according to data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) 2020/2021 report. When we take a closer look at Europe, according to a report by the European Parliament, women account for about 34% of self-employed individuals and 30% of start-up entrepreneurs in the European Union. When addressing these disproportions, we need to consider several indicators describing the gap between male and female entrepreneurs. First is access to funding, as women entrepreneurs tend to receive less funding than their male counterparts, and this gap is particularly pronounced at the seed stage. Another indicator is the representation of women in leadership roles – women are often underrepresented in senior management positions and on corporate boards. Women entrepreneurs may also face challenges in building networks and accessing mentorship opportunities, which are critical for business success. The last but not least important indicator is work-life balance. Women entrepreneurs may face more significant challenges in balancing their personal and professional lives, as they often bear a greater burden of caregiving responsibilities.

The need to close these gaps and support young women entrepreneurship in Europe inspired three organizations: Youthpreneur Stichting from the Netherlands, Volunteers Centre Skopje from Macedonia, and Eprojectconsult from Italy to create the project that delivers digital means such as training curricula, webinars, and mentoring sessions to all ambitious young people who plan to start their enterprise.

Within Promoting Women Environment Entrepreneurship project, we organized 15 webinars in three languages and reached the number of almost 400 participants. During the webinars, we covered topics from three e-courses available on the dedicated online platform. We discussed business technology, social and environmental entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial finance.

The webinars were the starting point for e-courses and mentoring sessions. The mentoring sessions that never became popular in our network connected experienced mentors and mentees who received a massive dose of practical knowledge and tips on starting a new enterprise or how to be an exceptional entrepreneur. We organized a total of 105 mentoring sessions. We didn't stop there and organized events in Italy and Macedonia and two events online where we gathered participants eager to learn more about gender equality and entrepreneurship.

Throughout webinars, mentoring sessions, and events, we engaged over 16 experts, from business coaches, successful business owners, psychologists, and youth workers to sales managers who gave their insights as webinar trainers and mentors.

We feel happy to see the project inspired so many people and that so many young women are considering starting their enterprises.

Women entrepreneurship has power!

Jolanta Ciopcińska

Ewelina Chańska

Sources:Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, Women's Entrepreneurship 2020/21: Thriving Through Class, London, 2021European Parliament, Report on reaching women's economic independence through entrepreneurship and self-employment, (2021/2080(INI)), Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality, 2022

This article was created as a part of the project "Promoting Women Environment Entrepreneurship," funded with the support of the Erasmus+ program of the European Union through Key Action 2 – KA210-YOU - Small-scale partnerships in youth. The opinions expressed in this material belong to its authors and do not reflect the position of the European Commission.Project No. KA210-YOU-227D5AAC