Região de Coimbra, Empreende +
COIMBRA EMPREENDE - Network for the Promotion of Qualified and Creative Entrepreneurship in the Region of Coimbra

Challenge

The "Região de Coimbra, Empreende +" is a co-promoted project, uniting the Intermunicipal Community of the Region of Coimbra and IPN Incubator on the promoting consortium. The project aims to promote creative and innovative entrepreneurship in the Coimbra Region, in a transversal way, through the operationalization of a set of initiatives that enhance the appearance of new business initiatives based on technology for the commercialization of products, technologies and/or services.

Solution

Empower a network of local interface agents and implement a set of interlinked and phased actions, aiming, in the biennium 2021-2022, to stimulate the entrepreneurial potential and local innovation in the Region of Coimbra, by supporting new business initiatives or start-ups (Start-ups up to 2 years old) to enhance their chances of success in the market.

Objectives, Activities and Results expected / achieved

Operational objectives

1) Identify, promote awareness and training of a network of 40 local technicians of interface and prospection in the supporting field of intensive entrepreneurship in knowledge and creativity, covering the 19 counties belonging to the Region of Coimbra;
2) To diagnose and characterize the entrepreneurial potential of the territory and concrete opportunities/needs for investment and innovation, producing structured knowledge of free and shared access;
3) To raise awareness of 200 potential entrepreneurs on the subject of entrepreneurship and self-employment as a means of personal and professional fulfillment in the Region of Coimbra (awareness and creativity workshops in each county);
4) Identification of 80 new business ideas/initiatives (for participation in the B-Learning course, selected through workshops and prospectors network and by general communication actions of the project);
5) Develop 2 cycles of capacity building/training actions, coaching/mentoring and specialized and individualized technical consultancy aiming at assessing the feasibility of implementing 40 new companies (20 + 20 per cycle) (B-Learning Course, Entrepreneurship Scholarships, specialized and tailor-made consultancy for each project);
6) Support to the creation of 30 new enterprises in intensive activities of knowledge/technology and cultural and creative industries, up to 6 months after the conclusion of the project.

Activities

• Activity 1 - Final design of the action model for the Sub-Regional network of Local Entrepreneurial Support Agents (ALEs)
• Activity 2 - Selection and capacity building of the Intermunicipal Prospecting Network
• Activity 3 - Identification of the potencial territory's entrepreneurial
• Activity 4 - Awareness and acceleration program
• Activity 5 - Financial Support Grants Competition
• Activity 6 - Awards Competition
• Activity 7 - Communication and Dissemination
• Activity 8 - Dinamization, follow-up and evaluation