Entrepreneurship Counselling at Generation 2.0 RED

In 2019, Entrepreneurship Counselling was added as an additional action under the umbrella of the Career Counselling Service, aimed at people with refugee or migrant background, with the support of the International Rescue Committee.

The action started with the introductory workshop “How to develop a business idea” by Yannis Vikas, economist and researcher (PhD, MBA). In addition to the general information about setting up a business in Greece, Career Counselling beneficiaries throughout the year had access to one on one Entrepreneurship Counselling sessions so that a business idea could be further developed.

One on one counselling sessions did not result in starting a business, but the beneficiaries were supported to understand all aspects of setting up a business. Alternative scenarios for implementing the business idea were explored through one on one counseling and information, on the right to self-employment according to residence and work permits were provided. In cases where it was not possible to start a business due to financial, legal or lack of general resources, we discussed how this would be possible in the future, as well as consulting with the counsellor on the necessary steps until their business idea could be implemented.

The second Entrepreneurship Workshop of the action was entitled “Collaboratively Developing Our Business Idea – An Interactive Workshop” and focused on a more experiential and collaborative approach to developing a business idea.

Through the implementation of this new action, in addition to realizing the difficulties faced by a person of refugee or migrant background in their quest for entrepreneurship, the need to pursue respective actions to empower and inform these populations about the business landscape in Greece, becomes apparent, so that in the near future more and more innovative and interesting ideas will thrive and contribute to a strong economy.