Networks and cities' news

Catch up on the latest updates from cities working together in URBACT Networks. The articles and news that are showcased below are published directly by URBACT’s beneficiaries and do not necessarily reflect the programme’s position.

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    Reaching out into communities to find fledgling entrepreneurs

    Business Plan Competitions are essentially a contest where business plans, submitted by aspiring entrepreneurs, are compared, and judged, according to a set of criteria published prior to the launch of the competition. Winners go on to receive incubation and business support to help them set down strong roots in a particular locality, grow and employ more people.

    Angelos Ploumis

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  • Online entrepreneurship programmes offer a solution in the face of Covid-19

    Necessity has been the mother of invention for a number of European cities, who, faced with Covid-19 restrictions, have had to adopt a range of innovative approaches to delivering online entrepreneurship programmes. 

    Angelos Ploumis

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  • Incubation and Mentoring comes in different shapes and sizes

    Business Plan competitions are just one way of generating new business ideas within a city and supporting the entrepreneurs to start-up in business. For port cities, or cities with a strong heritage in the marine and maritime economy, the opportunity exists to organise a Blue Growth Entrepreneurship Competition - a specialised Business Plan Competition which seeks to generate new business ideas linked to the Marine and Maritime economy.

    Angelos Ploumis

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  • How participatory design can help build a strong partnership

    Galati used processes and methodologies advocated by URBACT to establish a Local Group to steer their work on creating an effective start-up community and used a process of participatory design, to ensure their partners could help to shape the solution.

    Angelos Ploumis

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  • How piggybacking on larger players became a route to success for two cities

    Faced with the challenge of needing to organise a Blue Growth Entrepreneurship Programme, the city of Salerno, in Italy, cleverly opted to piggyback off the back of an existing entrepreneurship competitions that operated in their city, rather than go it alone.

    Angelos Ploumis

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  • Cities secure sponsorship to offer prizes to aspiring entrepreneurs

    Two European cities that are part of a network that aims to stimulate Blue Growth Entrepreneurship (growth linked to the Marine & Maritime Economy) have secured commercial sponsorship to offer prizes to aspiring entrepreneurs that are in the early stages of developing their business ideas. This sponsorship money, combined with the offer of a professionally delivered incubation and mentoring programme, helped them to publicise their competitions and attract more high-quality applications.

    Angelos Ploumis

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