{"id":12760,"date":"2024-04-30T10:36:06","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T07:36:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alaturidevoi.ro\/?p=12760"},"modified":"2024-07-20T21:33:20","modified_gmt":"2024-07-20T18:33:20","slug":"eea-and-norway-grants-support-for-social-enterprises-and-social-economy-in-romania","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alaturidevoi.ro\/en\/eea-and-norway-grants-support-for-social-enterprises-and-social-economy-in-romania\/","title":{"rendered":"How EEA and Norway grants contribute to the development of social enterprises and social economy in Romania: SEEDing project retrospective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The “SEEDing – Enterprising for Tomorrow” project, co-funded by EEA and Norway Grants,<\/a> was a significant step towards increasing the competitiveness of social enterprises in Romania, focusing in particular on the ICT and green industry sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project<\/a> was implemented by “Al\u0103turi de Voi” Foundation Romania (ADV Romania<\/a>) in collaboration with organisations from Romania and Norway with expertise in social economy, social inclusion, circular economy and social finance – Unikum AS,<\/a> Ateliere Fara Frontiere (AFF), Romanian Network of Social Economy<\/a> (RISE Romania), Social Finance Association <\/a>(SFA). Through the partners’ expertise and diverse activities tailored to sector needs, the project has contributed to developing a solid and sustainable ecosystem for the social economy in Romania.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During 11 months (June 2023-April 2024), over 500 people from the social economy sector<\/strong> (including founders and employees) participated in courses, webinars, and mentoring sessions<\/strong> focused on the circular economy. Additionally, the project organized the first nationwide gala dedicated to social enterprises<\/strong> from Romania and an exclusive networking event<\/strong>, connecting social entrepreneurs with company founders and managers. Another highlight of the project were the study visits,<\/strong> which encouraged the adoption of best practices<\/strong> and fostered synergies between the traditional business environment and social entrepreneurs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What added value did the project bring?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Skills development<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The project’s activities enabled social enterprises in Romania to access free training in the fields of digitization, social finance and circular economy.<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In total, over 500 individuals<\/strong> (including founders and employees of social economy enterprises) and 100<\/strong> social enterprises participated in the courses. <\/strong>The new skills they acquired will enable them to adapt swiftly to today’s market challenges and opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the importance of continuous learning and professional development is widely recognized, the low financial capacity of social enterprises in Romania (many of which are also start-ups) limits their ability to invest in courses. These enterprises face constant pressure to ensure cash flow for operational expenses, cover costs for social activities, and invest in the development of new products and services, all of which are often more urgent priorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are some of the testimonials shared by participants:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Very good organization and a course full of exciting topics.”<\/p>


“Should you organise more courses like this.”<\/p>


“I liked the structure of the course, I didn’t even feel when the time passed. I wish you much success and can’t wait to see what else you release!”<\/p>


“Attending the course was extremely enjoyable and useful. For me personally, as a social enterprise manager, this course came as a complement to the insufficient information on the circular economy, a concept I wanted to integrate into my company’s work. It was also very interesting to have the opportunity to see in real life how the principles of the circular economy are applied in two organisations we had the opportunity to visit, which crowned the theoretical information we received.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Know-how transfer<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another success of the project has been the transfer of know-how in the fields of circular economy and social entrepreneurship, facilitated through study visits and webinars conducted by professionals from Norway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n