Igniting Innovation in Young Entrepreneurs Young Developers and Entrepreneurs to Advance Start-Ups (YDEAS) – Phase 2 Igniting Innovation in Young Entrepreneurs Young Developers and Entrepreneurs to Advance Start-Ups (YDEAS) – Phase 2
YDEAS fosters innovation and social entrepreneurship in the Western Balkans through scholarships, capacity building, networking, and community activities. It helps young women and men develop entrepreneurial skills, creates opportunities, and nurtures an environment conducive to innovative, socially impactful, and eco-friendly start-ups.
Key Project Achievements
1. Enhanced Entrepreneurial Skills: YDEAS has helped young women and men (18-25) in the Western Balkans 2. 3. increase their entrepreneurial Social Entrepreneurship Network: Leveraging the OSCE’s expertise, a network of young social entrepreneurs has been established across the Policy Development Knowledge-Base: A comprehensive resource has been created, supporting future policy developments in human capital and skills and has established Western Balkans, promoting a business‑friendly climate a robust platform for innovation and human capital for social and green networking and interaction. development. entrepreneurs in the Western Balkans. Beneficiaries Project Budget Youth aged 18-25 €461,262 Regional and Local Authorities (Pledged: €390,259) in the Western Balkans
Project Duration Donors March 2020 - December 2024 Italy, Poland, Germany
Investing in the activities, including innovation weekends, hackathons, workshops and seminars future: enhancing to increase knowledge and capacities in entrepreneurial under-served communities. skills for young Regional Hackathon, Lake Ohrid, women and men 4-6 November 2022 - Under the motto “Inspire, Connect, Enable”, 80 participants OSCE Scholarship Programme: Thirty took part in creative problem solving exercises on business, the environment, data and smart young women and men aged 18-25 in the communities. Western Balkans received scholarships to attend the summer acceleration Responsible Business Workshop, programme at the European Innovation 9 December 2022 - The OSCE Presence in Academy (EIA), a recognized leader Albania and Deloitte Legal held a workshop for in tech entrepreneurship education. 20 young developers and start-ups on how to The three-week programme in which develop and run a start-up in compliance with local legal frameworks, emphasizing integrity participants worked with innovation as key to success. gurus to take their start-ups to the next level was held in July and August 2023 in National Integrity Week Workshop, Porto, Portugal. 7 December 2023 - The OSCE Presence in Albania organized a workshop for 16 students, Community-based activities: YDEAS entrepreneurs and startups focusing on business integrity and entrepreneurship. held a series of community-based Toolkit for Start-ups Launch, 7 May 2024 - 2023 Youth Forum Skopje: 17 young The OSCE Presence in Albania in collaboration entrepreneurs from the Western Balkans with Deloitte Legal launched the Toolkit for joined other young innovators and Start-ups, on how to establish and develop a start-up in Albania. The Toolkit launch change makers from the OSCE region in included an interactive ideathon workshop Skopje to discuss how entrepreneurship for 21 young entrepreneurs on developing – especially social and green business ideas and pitching strategies, as entrepreneurship – can address growing well as information on financial sources and economic, social and environmental guidance on regulatory frameworks. challenges, foster inclusive development, bridge inequalities and create peaceful, secure and prosperous societies. Connecting innovators Recommendations were presented at the and start-uppers: The 2023 OSCE Ministerial Council meeting.
Social Entrepreneurship Network Promoting A virtual platform for entrepreneurs: policy‑relevant dialogue The YDEAS platform was developed to provide a space for the YDEAS community Green Paper on Social Economy in of social innovators, including investors, the Western Balkans – To promote support services and other businesses policy-relevant dialogue and create to foster business planning, networking, an ecosystem conducive to youth exchanging experiences, projects, entrepreneurship, YDEAS produced the investment and work opportunities. Green Paper on Social Economy in the Western Balkans. The Green Paper aims Networking and continuous learning to stimulate a fact-based, consultative opportunities have been hosted for process towards improved policy- entrepreneurs from different OSCE making on reducing skills mismatch and regions and networks of social enterprises supporting a positive business climate through YDEAS events, workshops and for social and green enterprises in the study tours. Western Balkans. Voices from YDEAS entrepreneurs
Ana Morina Age: 19 Albania “Being a young leader does not entail Ana is a software engineering student and a youth waiting for opportunities, instead, it activist on climate change, gender equality and signifies the preparedness to create civic engagement. Ana is developing an app to opportunities not only for oneself but monitor electricity consumption and working to also for others.” make digital financial literacy tools more inclusive.
Petar Huska Age: 23 Serbia “The OSCE’s dedication to amplifying Petar is a student at Faculty of Technical Sciences, our voices and ensuring that our University of Novi Sad, who looks to the future needs are met with adequate policies, and is creating an IT solution that enables early demonstrates the organization’s detection of hazardous and highly toxic gasses, willingness to invest in the region’s explosions and damage in the mining, waste management and gas industries. Out of 130 teams youth for a brighter future!” at the European Innovation Academy programme, Petar’s was among the top 10 outstanding teams and received three awards from the Academy jury.
Petar and Ana attended the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office’s Youth Forum in Skopje in November 2023 as representatives from the Western Balkans. They addressed some of the challenges young entrepreneurs face in starting businesses and developed and presented a series of recommendations on improving the business climate for youth to the 30th OSCE Ministerial Council from 30 November to 1 December 2023 in Skopje, North Macedonia. OSCE Secretariat
Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic
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