7-episode training programme by Woman/Business/Angels
Women/Business/Angels Association has organised a 7-episode training programme for 2022, to test its Wingate training materials and to involve more and more women into innovation financing. The programme started in March and ended in December, with several trainers and speakers involved. In the first semester, Imre Hild, MD of Global Traction and Training Lead of WBA shared his expertise and understanding related to the operation of Central and Eastern European innovation ecosystems, startups and business angel investments. Our special guests included Péter Csillag, President of HUNBAN, Matt Wohlmuth – Managing Director at Coding Sans, Tivadar Limbacher – Founder & CEO at Ma Este Színház Kft and Gábor Patkó – Co-Founder and CEO of SkillCert.io.
The second part of the training series presented several women’s experiences in business angel investment, mentoring, networking and portfolio building. We talked to LUMUS Investment members Zuzana Zamborska and Vladimíra Činčurová, Nóra Szeles, the woman behind the Tőkeportál crowdfunding platform and Viktória Sőregi, Project Coordinator of the Incorpora Program.
Participants had the opportunity to learn about the details and specifics, the unique solutions and individual cases of angel investments that are not in any textbook and had the chance to network among each other and also to get to know the speakers and trainers of the programme. While encouraging women to become business investors, the organisers also emphasized the importance of risk management, portfolio building and syndicated investments.
The training series serves as a the basis for training materials developed in the framework of the Wingate project. Wingate is funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation.
300 committed participants gathered at the Romania Venture Forum on 6 December 2022
Article by Lotte Frost
This is the very first venture forum in Romania and expectations were high. The participants were entrepreneurs, investors, various networks and several representatives from the government and central authorities. A total of 300 participants gathered in the beautiful Opera Nationala Bucharest. KiB and Wingate were represented by communication manager Lotte Frost.
The theme of the gathering was "Tech green companies", and therefore it was only natural that today's presenter opened the conference assisted by the robot Esko. The official opening was made by the State Secretary to Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel CIUCĂ, who delivered the Prime Minister's greetings to the assembly. Two other key presenters were Ramona Chiriac, head of the EU representation in Bucharest and Sebastian Burduja, who is the Minister of Research, Innovation and Digitization in Romania.
Chiriac focused on the three C's - covid, conflict and climate change - as important factors for the future development of businesses, digitization and upscaling. She was clear that if we are to succeed with the digital and green transaction, SMEs must be part of this change.
Burduja wanted to thank everyone in the room for their participation and contribution to building new exciting businesses. He believed that start-ups and SMEs are like children, they need TLC (tender loving care), which he believes there has been too little of in Romania. But now there is an opening that must be seized, something the government is focusing on with better framework conditions and the establishment of a national fund to support businesses in an early growth phase. Burduja's message was very well received in the hall.
Throughout the day, there were five panel debates on various topics, with representatives from Wingate taking part in the last one. Here the Wingate project was presented and it was discussed how such projects can pave the way for improving the framework conditions for female entrepreneurs.
There were also two pitching rounds, where respectively five tech companies and five green companies presented their companies and ideas. A panel of investors evaluated the projects and asked questions. These were very interesting pitches, and a concept you could consider introducing in Kvinner in Business. In conclusion, two winners in each of the categories were named to great cheers from the hall.
The day was both exciting, engaging and interesting. Romania is developing rapidly, and we should all get engaged by the courage of entrepreneurs and developers in this region. The program ended with an informal gathering and, last but not least, an unforgettable dinner at a traditional Romanian restaurant that is over 100 years old.
Thanks to ANAA (The National Association of Entrepreneurs) in Romania for a very professional execution and thanks for the invitation.
Bukarest 1: The representatives from Wingate were very satisfied with the event. From the left, Viorica Puscas, Lotte Frost, Nicoleta Munteanu, Agnes Puscas, Orsolya Szlahotka-Gödri, Cristina Chiriac and Aleksander Bijelic
Credited – ANAA
Bukarest 2: Journalist Adrian Cojocaru and the robot Esko guided us safely through the day.
Credited to Lotte Frost
About the Wingate Project
The Wingate project is a collaboration between partners from Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Moldova and Norway. The goal is to create a green, competitive and inclusive entrepreneurial community in central and eastern Europe with guidance and networking for women who want to establish their own business or become investors. The project is financially supported via an EEA grant of €1,824,320 from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the "EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation". From Kvinner in Business, Toril Flåskjer, Marit Silseth and Lotte Frost are associated with the project. - For more information about the project, click here.
Belgrade Venture Forum 28-30 November 2022
Article by Marit Silseth
In connection with KiB's representation in the Wingate project, two representatives from the board Charlotte Borge-Andersen and chairman Toril Flåskjer and the project manager for Wingate Norway, Marit Silseth, attended the Belgrade Venture Forum in Belgrade, Serbia. In addition, KiB brought three guests, Cecilie Hoxmark from KiB and Rita Anson and Angela Holter from Women Investment Network (WIN), Norway.
The purpose of the participation was to build international networks, in addition to obtaining knowledge about what investors look for when they invest in companies. Exciting investment objects from participants all over the world were also presented. I have appointed professional and large investors who have shown interest in several of the presented projects.
During the conference, KiB was to take part in a panel debate on investments, and with a particular focus on the low proportion of investments allocated to companies run by women. In Norway, only 0.1% of all investments are allocated to female business owners. The representatives from WIN Network are both experts in this field, and Angela appeared on the panel at short notice. She made a very solid effort in the debate, thank you very much, Angela!
In addition to participation in the conference, the Wingate project had brought together all those involved for an update and planning meeting for the project. The project will soon enter its last six months and will end in June 2023 after a project period of three years.
As part of the visit, KiB also hosted a reception at the castle for Crown Prince Aleksandar and his wife Katarina, who are concerned with economic development in Serbia and receive the participants from this congress every year. Serbia is a republic, but Crown Prince Aleksandar was heir to the crown of Yugoslavia, and it was said that most citizens of Serbia want a monarchy. So that's why the republic has a crown prince-in-waiting.
This was a successful participation with Norwegian representatives who made a very good impression during the conference.
Belgrade 1: KiB's delegation in Belgrade. From left Rita Anson and Angela Holter from Win. Charlotte Borge-Andersen, Cecilie Hoxmark, Toril Flåskjer and Marit H. Silseth from KiB.
Belgrade 2: Great to have the opportunity to visit Serbia's crown prince couple at the castle.
Pictures are credited to KiB.
Press release - The WINGATE project helps Hungarian entrepreneurs with a free e-learning program
Only a fifth of domestic companies are managed by women in Hungary
24.11.2022 – The weight of businesses with purely female owners is becoming more and more significant even in Hungary: while in 2021 14% of all registered domestic companies were managed by women, within a year this proportion climbed to 17%. However, there is plenty of room for improvement, as the number of businesses run by men is still twice as many, and according to last year's survey by the WINGATE project, women would most likely would like to expand their specific financial knowledge and business relationships in order to develop. The WINGATE project, an international business support program with a budget of around 2 million euros, uses research results to support women in the realization of their business goals with training and networking events, have launched their educational platform in November, which helps beginning and advanced entrepreneurs, as well as angel investors, with free thematic learning materials.
In our constantly changing, uncertain and crisis-filled world, the abilities and skills in which women generally excel are increasingly coming to the fore in business life: such as empathy, self-awareness or social skills. Moreover, according to many, female leaders can help humanity in the most effective way to overcome the climate crisis. According to the newly adopted directive of the European Parliament, by 2026, 33% of all management positions in companies must be occupied by women, although this does not yet apply to companies employing fewer than 250 people. There is definitely progress, however, few people are still concerned with how to effectively support women in starting a company and then in sustainable growth, or even in helping these entrepreneurs to become business angels themselves - although it is clear from the above, it would be in our common interest.
Tangible knowledge and networking - this is what women need to get started
The WINGATE project was launched in 2020 under the leadership of the Hungarian SKC-Consulting Kft. with the aim of supporting novice and more experienced female entrepreneurs with knowledge transfer, training and networking opportunities. The project, realized with a contribution of 2 million euros from the European Economic Area (EEA) and the Norwegian Regional Cooperation Fund, helps women in Moldova, Norway, Romania and Serbia to realize their business ambitions, in the areas where they need it most. As a first step in this, a comprehensive international survey was prepared in 2021 with the participation of nearly 1,500 respondents, which accurately assessed which skills and knowledge could be developed to enable more women to enter the challenging world of entrepreneurship. The WINGATE project started compiling target-specific knowledge materials and training based on the answers received.
„The female entrepreneurs unanimously reported that the administrative obligations and the legal environment are/were the biggest challenge for them when starting a company, and this is definitely an area in which we can provide them with effective help with proper education, the collection of available and understandable transfer of information. They are also uncertain about how their idea can be translated into a successful business in practice and how they can present it to an investor or a business angel. Acquiring financial knowledge is therefore still a key issue, but at the same time it has become clear that development is also necessary in relation to soft skills: communication, self-awareness or even negotiation techniques are more important when building a successful business than we think.” - shared by Ágnes Puskás, head of the WINGATE project.
The key issue is education: digital knowledge awaits beginners, experienced enterpeneurs and business angels
One of the main objectives of the WINGATE project was the creation of an online knowledge platform based on needs and demands, tailored to different entrepreneurial phases, in which the preparation of a comprehensive and very instructive questionnaire survey was considered an important milestone. Thanks to the persistent work of the project partners, a free digital educational platform has been created that can effectively contribute to the most important mission, so that women can more easily start on the path to becoming entrepreneurs and contribute to the prosperity and development of European societies with their valuable work. In addition to the fact that the e-Platform helps women start a business, it also provides great support to those who have already started their business and want to develop it. After registration, 7 different "lessons" are currently available on the site - partly in English, partly in Hungarian - and in specific topics that help start-up entrepreneurs, those planning to expand their business, and angel investors. The goal is to continuously expand the available curriculum.
"Anyone who digs into the otherwise easy-to-consume materials can get practical tips on how to prepare a good business plan, what are the steps that must be followed in the critical 100 days after founding a company, can get pointers for entering foreign markets and business development, while the female business angels can gain complex knowledge about the entire innovation ecosystem. There is enormous economic potential in women, who are not supported in their ambitions by their wider, or even often narrower environment, and after starting a family, these career aspirations are pushed even further into the background. However, it is good to see that the importance of entrepreneurial skills has already entered the mainstream media in the form of entertainment-educational content, and to hear more and more positive examples of women who changed their professional profile from an almost impossible situation and started their own company. We want to support them” – adds Ágnes Puskás
In addition to visiting the education platform, those who are interested should subscribe to the regular newsletter of the WINGATE project, in which additional useful information and tips are available.
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About the WINGATE project
The consortium formed for the WINGATE project, whose members from Hungary are SKC-Consulting Kft. and Women/Business/Angels Association, won a tender worth of 1.824.320 Euro from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation. Additional partners are the Serbian Venture Network (SEVEN), the Romanian National Association of Entrepreneurs (ANAA) and the Norwegian Kvinner i Business (KIB). Their goal is to create a green, competitive and accepting business environment in Central and Eastern Europe. To this end, the WINGATE project is intended to support female entrepreneurs in the region. The website of the project was created in English, but in Hungary, a significant part of the surveys, events, teaching materials and trainings will also be available in Hungarian.
wingateproject.com
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