Entrepreneurship School Graduates Meet Local Businesses in Georgia
To mark the successful completion of the Entrepreneurship School in Samegrelo, Georgia, set up as part of the EU4Youth programme, 19 graduates of the school were joined by the EU Ambassador to Georgia and the Danish Refugee Council Country Director on a study visit to various businesses in Kutaisi on 8 June.
The young graduates had a unique opportunity to get first-hand experience visiting the Gurmani food enterprise, Levanto shoe enterprise, Kvamli restaurant, and the Adina Ltd. cheese and dairy products company and strawberry farm.
The study trip helped the students to get to know the production processes, sales, products that were exported to the EU, and employment opportunities. Talking directly to the companies’ owners encoureged students to identify challanges in different sectors, exchange ideas, and put a greater empasis on the business planning process.
The graduates then gathered in the Madera Georgia wood processing plant, a member of the EU-supported Georgian Furniture Cluster and furniture producer with 12 years' experience in wood processing, where the certificate award ceremony took place. The director of the plant, Beso Matkava, showed the products that he exports to the EU and talked about the methodsapplied to wood manufacturing.
“The school gave me an ample opportunity to connect with youngsters who are dedicated to make our community a better place for living, it has taught the key elements of being a successful enterpreneuer,” says Irina Korshia who wants to expand her handicraft start-up in Zugdidi.
Zugdidi Entrepreneurship School is one out of four which engages 80 young people from Samegrelo and Shida Kartli region and aims to widen their educational, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities through training modules in Business Management, Marketing, Fundraising, Financial Management, and Legal Aspects, as well as through individual, needs-based consultation and mentorships aimed at improving their business ideas by business consultants and experts. The best 15 business ideas will be presented at the Tbilisi B2B fair to be organised in 2020.
The Entrepreneurship Schools were establsihed within the project ‘EU4Youth - Enhancing Youth Education, Employment and Participation in Conflict-Affected Areas in Georgia and Ukraine’, implemented by the Danish Refugee Council in Georgia and in Ukraine, in partnership with the Education Development and Employment Centre (EDEC) and Mariupol Youth Union (MYU).
The project aims at widening education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for internally displaced and conflict affected youth and encourages their participation in society, EUneighbors reports.