A district of Gothenburg, Sweden has taken steps to turn itself into a hub for entrepreneurship in an all embracing approach. Activities and support have been made available to the existing business community – but also the area’s children, young people and migrant groups.
- 12 October 2015
The project has strengthened cross-sectorial integrated urban development where inequality in living conditions is a challenge. It has also shown the importance of early entrepreneurial learning, paving the way for the empowerment of young people, new SMEs and inclusive growth. A clever combination of EU tools such as Structural Funds and Erasmus+ has been a catalyst for these improvements in the City of Gothenburg.
Företagsamma Västra Hisingen sought to stimulate business start-ups by improving services for budding entrepreneurs; increase the survival rate of new businesses while increasing growth in established companies; and get schools involved in encouraging the entrepreneurship ethos among students.
Assistance was delivered in re-vamped office space where different stakeholders – such as the tax agency, investors, social entrepreneurs, research partners and banks – could provide a variety of services. The project also created an incubator to nurture new businesses, and hosted a range of networking events and talks.
Utilising talent
A collaboration with the University of Gothenburg has led to the development of pilot start-up course for new arrivals from Syria who have a business background. The aim is to ‘fast-track’ individuals so they can carry on being active entrepreneurs in Sweden rather than end up being unemployed. In addition, business courses were offered to the wider community in different languages including Arabic, Farsi and English.
Free legal advice was on offer through the project in order to provide business people with practical help on issues such patents, drafting agreements, public procurement and family law. These ‘Law Clinics’ were developed by the University of Gothenburg and then tested in the local community as part of the project. The clinics proved to be very useful to local business and have helped foster a much closer relationship between the district and the University.
Supporting the next generation
Encouraging young people to take an interest in entrepreneurship and the business world was a key objective. Some 10 schools and around 3 500 students aged between 6 and 16 got involved. Efforts were made to develop entrepreneurial competences in young people by encouraging their creativity, decision making skills and team-working.
The vast array of activities taking place in West Hisingen has strengthened relationships between the business community, the local educational establishment and the municipality. Moving forward, this will help the area achieve its goal of becoming a hub for entrepreneurship, illustrating its value to society at large, and not just to the business community. It is worth noting that during the project’s lifetime, 1 116 new business were created in the area. Plus, 100 new companies emerged as a direct result of start-up talks held under the project.
Total investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Företagsamma VH” is EUR 17 668 200, of which the EU’s European Regional Development Fund is contributing EUR 7 067 280 from the Operational Programme “West Sweden” for the 2007 to 2013 programming period.