Office for Micro-Entrepreneurship Support
| Duration: | 22/11/2023 – 17/11/2024 |
| Partners: |
“DIMITRA” Educational Consulting S.A. |
| Project Website: | smallbizlarissa.gr |
| Authority: | Municipality of Larissa |
| Program: |
Micro-Entrepreneurship Support Office 
|
Description
The project “Micro-Entrepreneurship Support Office” involves the establishment of a specially designated space in the city of Larissa, which will function as a Micro-Entrepreneurship Support Office. It will be staffed with specialized scientific personnel who will monitor local development and trends, identify gaps in the entrepreneurship chain that represent opportunities for the creation of new complementary or support business activities, and explore how these opportunities can be leveraged in the intervention area of the Sustainable Urban Development Strategy (SUDS) of Larissa.
The office will support at least 150 unemployed individuals who wish to start their own businesses or become self-employed, by offering a comprehensive range of consulting services. These include practical support services (legal, tax advisory, locating office space, co-working spaces, etc.), mentoring, guidance on grants and funding opportunities, networking services, marketing, and assistance in finding clients or partners.
The services provided by the Micro-Entrepreneurship Support Office were as follows:
a) Coordination, Management, and Supervision Services for all Project Activities and Maintenance of the Monthly Beneficiary Registry
b) Support Services for Beneficiaries provided by the Micro-Entrepreneurship Support Office
- Two (2) Actions for Attracting and Raising Awareness Among Beneficiaries
- Drafting of training needs reports based on each participant’s selected business idea and evaluation of their readiness for inclusion in the project.
- Engagement and documentation of existing businesses’ needs in the wider area to identify opportunities for new complementary or supportive entrepreneurial activities by new entrepreneurs (Networking Services).
- Support for beneficiaries in choosing the type of business and in drafting a business plan.
- Support for beneficiaries in drafting their business statutes and deepening their understanding of business law.
- Guidance and support in choosing a logo, formulating a business vision, and learning marketing methodology and promotion strategies for their products or services.
- Provision of information and initial support for utilizing entrepreneurship support schemes from the NSRF (ESPA) or other funds.
- Guidance for beneficiaries in submitting applications for funding or subsidies for their new businesses.
- Guidance for beneficiaries on the optimal organization of accounting departments in their new businesses.
- Consulting on finding office space, co-working spaces, etc., for the newly established businesses.
c) Support services for beneficiaries in networking, through the organization of 14 networking workshops, each with a duration of 10 hours.
Finally, as part of the project, a three-day (3) dual-purpose Exhibition on Social Entrepreneurship was organized and implemented. The exhibition included two sections: the first focused on showcasing social enterprises and best practices in social entrepreneurship, while the second involved the organization of a special event titled “Rendezvous with Employment.”
The Action was funded by the Regional Operational Programme Thessaly 2014–2020.
