Under the name WINGATE, a business incentivisation project has been launched in Hungary, which aims to increase the number of successful women enterprises in the region. The project benefits from a € 1,824,320 grant from Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation, of which nearly 40% can be spent on the realisation of domestic goals.
The international consortium will primarily train women entrepreneurs and angel investors from the provided resources, develop curriculums and create an online platform to build their community.
Supporting women enterprises is also a timely task because the coronavirus epidemic has had a particularly negative impact on sectors with a higher share of women enterprises. According to the International Trade Center’s SME Competitiveness survey, 64% of women enterprises worldwide say the crisis has substantially hit their 2020 performance.
Due to the well-known challenges in the region, the organisations participating in the consortium want to increase the participation of women in innovation at the international level, and offer support to improve the competitiveness of this group of entrepreneurs. Therefore, it is also an important goal for entrepreneurs to get in touch with institutional as well as angel investors and thus have access to adequate financial resources.
The project aims to provide answers to real problems and needs, so as a first step it assesses the needs of the region, including Hungarian women entrepreneurs, with the help of an anonymous questionnaire. Based on the feedback received in this way, curricula will be developed that will become available in the third phase, in the form of various trainings. Those interested can expect primarily business and management content, but they will also be able to apply for skills development trainings. Of course, all knowledge sharing and networking events will be free thanks to the aforementioned funding background.
“WINGATE is not just about helping those who already have a business. It will also offer training to women who are currently employed or inactive, who are still in the brainstorming phase and are thinking about how to start a business or how to be successful. However, the goal is to think in terms of an innovative business, product, or even a novel business model.” – said Ágnes Puskás, the Hungarian leader of the project.
What are women owned enterprises?
In addition to self-employed women, the target group of the project is companies with at least 51% female ownership and at least one woman among the company’s managers.
About the WINGATE project
The consortium formed for the WINGATE project, whose members in Hungary are SKC Consulting Kft. and the Women/Business/Angels Association, won a tender, and a support of EUR 1,824,320, at the EEA and Norway Grants Fund for Regional Cooperation. Other 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 inclusive entrepreneurial environment in Central and Eastern Europe. To this end, the WINGATE project is designed to support women entrepreneurs in the region. The project website is in English but all surveys, events, curricula and training in Hungary will be available in Hungarian.