Support young entrepreneurs to adopt sustainable approaches to entrepreneurship by providing them the necessary skills and competences to integrate the SDGs in their business.
Context
Although EU has prioritized the support and enhancement of sustainable entrepreneurship over the last years, youth entrepreneurs, and those interested in running a business, face important barriers due to lack of competences and knowledge on how to start and manage a sustainable enterprise. Despite the available guidance developed from the UN about SDGs, there is a lack of education and training opportunities on sustainable entrepreneurship. The Stars4SD project seeks to address this issue by strengthening young people’s entrepreneurship skills in the field of sustainability.
Objectives
- To strengthen high-quality entrepreneurial education by providing the necessary entrepreneurial skills and competences to young people interested in running a business.
- To develop and test innovative methodologies to support youth entrepreneurs to meet sustainability criteria in their businesses.
- To provide information to policymakers in order to promote the adoption of sustainable approaches to youth entrepreneurship.
- To raise awareness of the importance of SDGs in business and the role of social entrepreneurship in achieving them.
Activities
- Mapping the training needs of youth entrepreneurs and the existing good practices of entrepreneurship initiatives that have incorporated Sustainable Development Goals.
- Developing educational materials and providing training to coaches that work with young entrepreneurs at the beginning of their careers.
- Developing innovative methodologies to enforce sustainability in youth-led SMEs.
- Establishing an online network to provide peer review and award youth sustainable businesses.
Resources
- Guide for youth workers on how to best support young entrepreneurs to meet sustainable goals in their businesses
- Methodological framework to award youth entrepreneurship sustainability excellence
- Sustainability Plan to support the continued use and implementation of the Stars4SD Methodology
- Online platform to foster dialogue and exchange of ideas, methods and tools among young entrepreneurs and youth workers
- Good practice guide on sustainable development models in youth SMEs at local, national and European level
- Policy recommendations and lessons learned throughout the project
Impact
- 120 youth workers equipped with new methodologies to support youth entrepreneurs to enforce sustainable goals in their businesses
- 120 young entrepreneurs involved in the Stars4SD peer-learning network.
- Improved policy experts’ comprehension of the competences and the support needed by youth entrepreneurs.
Partners
- KENTRO MERIMNAS OIKOGENEIAS KAI PAIDIOU (Greece, coordinator)
- Amazing Youth (Greece)
- Reframe (Belgium)
- SUDWIND VEREIN FUR ENTWICKLUNGSPOLITIK UND GLOBALE GERECHTIGKEIT (Austria)
- FUTURE IN PERSPECTIVE LIMITED (Ireland)
- CENTRE FOR ADVANCEMENT OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INEDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY LTD-CARDET (Cyprus)
