MEnt (Migrant Entrepreneurs team-up with mentors) Final Conference

Since beginning of 2017, the AMIF-funded project MEnt (Migrant Entrepreneurs team-up with mentors) aims at facilitating, fostering and strengthening migrant entrepreneurship in five EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Italy, France and Germany) through light incubation cycles supported by mentors. While migrants are more likely to start businesses than their native-born peers, they have to cope with various obstacles in setting up, maintaining and expanding a business. As a result of these constraints, migrants’ businesses often have lower success rates than those run by native-born, provide low income and have low profitability rates, are the results of self-employment, have limited growth potential and are run in traditional sectors with low innovation rates and are more affected by cyclical recession. Consequently, there is a significant risk of running a business that does not foster upward social mobility, but conversely results in social isolation and economic downturn. The outcome of MEnt is an open-source toolkit with index cards for each material developed, guidelines how to use the methodology, an evaluation report as well as a policy brief. Learn more about the project here: http://www.mentproject.eu/ Save the date for MEnt’s Project Final Conference! Here are all the details:   DRAFT PROGRAMME 09:00 – 09:15 Registration, Welcome Coffee   09:15 – 09:30 Welcome and Introduction to MEnt project (Carmen Siller, ZSI Centre for Social Innovation GmbH); (incl. project video)   09:30 – 09:45 Short introduction on the AMIF Programme and the other projects – Fatima Velez, AMIF Project Coordinator, EC   09:45 – 10:45 Main project results analysis regarding profiles of migrant entrepreneurs – Carolina Pacchi, Avanzi; final toolkit: materials and lessons learned from incubation – Lily Scheuerpflug, Kiron Open Higher Education; evaluation and assessment – Lorenzo Scalchi, Codici Ricerca e Intervento; policy brief – Doris Kaiserreiner, ZSI – Centre for Social Innovation GmbH   10.45 – 11.00 Coffee Break   11.00 – 12.30 Panel discussion on transferability aspects Carmen Siller, ZSI Centre for Social Innovation GmbH (MEnt project) Marija Price-Martic, Eurocities (requested) (coordinator of AMIF funded project CITIES-GroW) Programme Owner Representative from TuR&Bo Feras Abo Dabboseh, Founder of Brussels’ first Arabic Cultural Hub Langrange Points (Migrant entrepreneur who participated in MEnt programme)   Later to be opened up for the audience using fishbowl technique. Moderator: Lily Scheuerpflug, Kiron Open Higher Education   12:30 – 13:30 Conclusions – Guglielmo Apolloni, SomosMás,   Opportunity to network   If you are interested to participate, please contact Carmen Siller (siller@zsi.at) or register at https://www.turboppp.com/events-1/ment-migrant-entrepreneurs-team-up-with-mentors-final-conference