ICT Cluster Foundation To Fund Young Entrepreneurs and People with Business Ideas Under “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs”
If you have a business idea or have already started your own business in the last 3 years, the “Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs” program gives you the opportunity to spend from 1 to 6 months in one of the EU Member States and 10 other associated countries where you can gain experience from successful entrepreneurs and learn how to develop your business.
“Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs” is a cross-border exchange program that provides new or future entrepreneurs with the opportunity to learn from experienced entrepreneurs who run small businesses in other participating countries. The exchange of experience happens with a stay in the respective country and company. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced entrepreneur, the program can offer exchange of knowledge and experience, contacts and cooperation, new business relationships or finding international markets across Europe.
ICT Cluster Foundation has a budget of EUR 100,000 to fund the exchange of experience of the participants in the program and provides applicants with support throughout the entire pre-selection process at the Erasmus website.
Who can apply for the program and how
The program encourages the participation of two groups of entrepreneurs. New entrepreneurs, planning to set up their own business or have already started one within the last three years, can apply. The candidates have to demonstrate readiness to contribute to the business development of the host entrepreneur and to provide their own skills and knowledge as part of the requirements for this group. The program may also include experienced entrepreneurs who own or manage a small or medium-sized Enterprise in one of the Participating Countries.
The so called “host entrepreneur” must be an owner/manager of a small or medium-sized enterprise or a person who has been directly involved in their entrepreneurial activity for several years, as well as someone with readiness to share knowledge and experience with new entrepreneurs by being their mentor in the process. There is no business field or age restriction for both groups.
ICT Cluster Foundation states that the online application process is not complicated, but requires prior training in which they are ready to provide expert assistance to anyone interested in the program. It is necessary to prepare a CV as all formats and languages are acceptable, but CVs of the so called Europass CV format and in English are preferred in order to make their content available to participants from all countries in the Erasmus platform. A well-defined business idea and a detailed business plan are also required. Its short presentation should extend to up to 2000 characters, and the detailed business plan should describe in details the product or service, should have market analysis, competition analysis, description of target groups or markets, as well as a financial plan for the expected costs and revenue projected for 2 years ahead. The information that candidates provide during the application process is completely confidential.
The online application process also includes a motivational part of 4 specific questions, which are the same for all candidates, as the answers should not exceed 2000 characters for each question. Candidates should also indicate the languages they speak in order to be able to identify the appropriate location options. A duration period within 2017 and 2018 should also be indicated when the entrepreneur is ready to join the program and how long would their stay be in the respective country from the specified period from 1 to 6 months. Each candidate can also designate a particular country as a top destination, as 4 other preferred countries can be selected as following options.
The procedure for experienced entrepreneurs who want to be hosts and mentors of startup businesses is quite similar.
The application is available on the website of Erasmus: www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu, where you can specify ICT Cluster as an intermediary organization. The Foundation team will contact you and help you find the right host entrepreneur or guest entrepreneur.
More information and assistance can be provided on the ICT Cluster website www.ictcluster.bg or you can contact the team at: ++ 359 887 92 22 05 and email: Todor_Mitov@ictcluster.
Information and Communication Technologies Cluster Foundation was established in 2005 by representatives of the Bulgarian ICT business in order to unite the organizations of the ICT industry in Bulgaria. The Foundation includes 10 organizations (ICT Associations and ICT Clusters), which have members from more than 280 small and medium enterprises from different segments of the ICT industry and 6 Bulgarian universities. ICT Cluster is a strategic cluster initiative of the Bulgarian ICT business. The mission of the organization is to work to improve the competitiveness of the Bulgarian ICT industry by supporting the ICT SMEs, encouraging the development of clusters and creating new business opportunities through cross-border, cross-sectoral and inter-cluster cooperation.
