Entrepreneurship of women – multiplication of experience and results from NOW-projects

Documentation of the final colloquium of the LEONARDO da Vinci - project

Recommendations for decision makers

The organisations which co-operated in the LEONARDO da Vinci – project

„Entrepreneurship of women – multiplication of experience from NOW projects (MULTIPLY NOW)"

have got long-term experience from working with female business starters and entrepreneurs. Within the scope of the passed 2 periods of the Community Initiative "Employment" they realised different pilot projects for these target groups. On 2^nd March 2001 the final conference of the above mentioned LEONARDO da Vinci project was held. The experience was discussed there with competent partners. Resulting from the projects and the final conference the above mentioned project partners found out needed actions to support women. These needed actions should be taken into consideration for future promotion and rules and for new projects, too.

The following things are needed

in the field of upbringing, further education and in the scope of the whole society:

• A further education of multipliers in the field of gender sensitive training methods. Those multipliers are for example trainers, employees of support structures and administration and employees of consulting offices who work with female business starters and entrepreneurs.
• Further education courses for educationists and persons in charge of children in the field of gender sensitive upbringing to break up gender differences in upbringing and education and to encourage girls to choose professional education in technical or IT-fields and to build up own enterprises.
• Gender sensitive, girl-friendly IT-training courses.
• An education aimed at self employment beginning from an early age (school, studies, profession).
• Changes in the way of thinking of the society, especially in gender questions and the acceptance of female entrepreneurs.

in the field of promoting business foundations and small and medium enterprises:

• An central agency for female business starters and entrepreneurs. There the women should get information, consulting and services. The agency has to be mobile. That means there are branch offices or office hours needed in rural areas, too. The agency shall women motivate to co-operate. It shall support the common development of products and services as well as the common development of offers.
• A women´s specific counselling for female business starters and entrepreneurs. The counselling should enclose the whole process from business preparation up to counselling the existing enterprise. The counselling should be done by women and it should include the counselling planning of women´s own life.
• The involvement of business world into the process of giving financial and personnel funds for women´s enterprises. That will improve the acceptance of women´s enterprises in the society.
• The mentoring for female business starters and entrepreneurs by employees of enterprises.
• More chances of financing for women´s enterprises. That means especially securities, the financial volume of the Small Credits Programme and financial funds to develop business plans.

in the field of EU-financed further education:

• Information how to built up and to work in networks shall be a part of further education courses for business starters and entrepreneurs.
• The combination of further education and individual consulting.
• The possibility for bodies responsible of projects to fit the themes of further education more sophisticated to the needs of the participants after getting the granting of funds.
• A larger room for manoeuvres for the body responsible of EU-financed projects.