The Chamber collaborates actively with coworking spaces to promote the EYE program

On June 28, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg presented the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) program in at the coworking space Molengeek, within its entrepreneurship marathon “This is Starta”.

During a month, 10 young people with a business idea received training and participated in activities and workshops on entrepreneurship. On the closing day of the marathon, the Chamber presented the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs program to the participants as an opportunity to test their business idea while doing an exchange in a European country with an experienced entrepreneur in their sector of interest.

Likewise, the participants also had the opportunity to pitch their projects and receive personalized comments.

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs consortium meeting in Valencia

On the 29th and 30th of May, the Chamber participated in the consortium meeting for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme. This EC initiative that has been run by the Chamber for 3 years now has the objective to connect entrepreneurs across Europe and to promote the exchange of experiences among them.

The meeting took place in Valencia, city where the two leaders of the consortium are based. 15 partners representing the 10 institutions in the consortium attended the meeting. The event concluded with a dissemination session where future entrepreneurs and potential host entrepreneurs learned about the possibilities in each of the represented countries.

The chamber will be running the programme for 3 more years and this was an excellent opportunity to discuss the future strategy of the partners and the priority lines of actions. The Chamber has considerably increased its number of exchanges; since February 2019 it has managed nearly 15 exchanges between European entrepreneurs.

30/05 Presentation of the EYE programme at the Polytechnic University of Valencia

Next 30 of May the Chamber will be presenting the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Programme (EYE) at the Polytechnic University of Valencia. The event will be oriented to entrepreneurs that want to learn fom experienced business owners or entrepreneurs interested in hosting a European entrepreneur in their companies.

The Chamber will outline the possibilities that Belgium offers to entrepreneurs and will also showcase the experienced entrepreneurs that are currently registered with the Chamber and that are willing to host new entrepreneurs.

To the event, organized by the Association of Young Business Owners of Valencia (AJEV) and Fundación Equipo Humano (FEH), will also attend different representatives from other European partners participating in the EYE programme who will also present the opportunities in each of their countries, namely, United Kingdom, Ireland, Slovakia, Serbia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Croatia and Spain.

We invite you to follow this link for further information.

The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs supports cultural industries Brussels

Creative District is a hub of cultural industries based in Brussels, and one of the Spanish Chamber’s hosting companies within the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneur (EYE) programme. The initiative, financed by the European Commission, whose objective is to promote the exchange between entrepreneurs from different European countries.

Creative District was created in 2014 by Aurelie Rompler and Mulenga Royen. Five years later it has become the hub of creative and cultural industries and new media of Brussels. Since then, they have developed several lines of work inside the company: property management, training, coworking spaces, projects solutions and services, new media management and professional and cultural events. Developing a network of professional and artist to give a global solution to their clients.

Simone Lopez is a journalist and public relations with a wide experience marketing and social media. A few months ago, she decided to come to Brussels to develop her business idea, collaborate with an experienced entrepreneur and learn the different challenges that an event management company faces.

The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs has given them the opportunity to pair up in this win-win collaboration whereby both have discovered new markets, business partners, and different ways of doing business.

¿A normal day at the office?

In the events management sector does not exist such a thing. Aurelie and Simone explain that every day is different, and workflows vary from one month to the other. For the first weeks, they worked on understanding each other’s work and ways of working.

This period was really fulfilling for them for this reason they think the EYE has been successfully personally and professionally.

Now they are immersed in the events period. They are organizing different events around the city: concerts, afterworks, launching albums events… but there is one they are especially excited about…an haute coiffure show.

Once the peak of work is over, Simone will help Aurelie with the marketing and communication strategy for Creative District, designing the website and promoting the company’s activities through social media and with the objective of increasing the visibility and the attraction of potential clients.

After the exchange

The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs gave them the opportunity to meet but they both trust that they will keep in touch.

Aurelie thinks there is a space for the internationalization of Creative District in Spain.

After this experience in Belgium, Simone’s ambition is to come back to Spain and continue working on her conscious weddings company Boda Consciente. A new concept of weddings: simple, relaxed, without labels or protocols. “A soul ceremony organized in natural locations: beaches or forests in the region of Malaga”.

The EYE reinforced her ability to find the balance the client’s requirements and her know-how to organise the perfect event.

Discover more about the EYE.

Contact us to register in the programme. erasmus4youngentrepreneurs@e-camara.com

 

Matchmaking event in Brussels for startups and freelancers

On the 8th May the Chamber organized a matchmaking event in Brussels for startups and freelancers, where close to 45 participants had the opportunity to present their projects, network with other entrepreneurs and learn about different initiatives for entrepreneurs such as the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme.

The event kicked off with a presentation of the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme, an EU funded initiative managed by the Chamber that allows new entrepreneurs to carry out a cross-border exchange with experienced entrepreneurs.

Each startup/entrepreneur had the opportunity to pitch in a few minutes their project or idea and what profiles they are looking for. The session followed by a speed networking between freelancers and entrepreneurs; both profiles had a limited time to explain in detail their projects and explore potential collaborations.

To close the event, all participants were invited to an open networking session to continue exchanging contacts. They were free to talk and discuss with anyone and take the discussion further ahead.

This event was organized in the framework of the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme.

Visit of a group of entrepreneurs from the European Business and Innovation Centre of Burgos

Last 7th of May the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg received the visit of a group of entrepreneurs from the European Business and Innovation Centre (CEEI) of Burgos.

Marta González, Membership and Business Development Manager presented the activities and functions of the Chamber, highlighting the organization of events and the role of the Chamber as an actor for the dynamization of trade between the three countries.

Subsequently, Arturo Ibañez, Project Manager of the EYE programme (Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs) in the Chamber, explained this European programme, its benefits and the facilities that the Chamber offers to participate on it.

The students had also the opportunity to present their projects and receive feedback on the possibility to commercialize their products and services in Belgium and/or Luxembourg.

Presentation of the EYE programme at the Student Projects Week in Mons

On March 26, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg took part in the Student Projects Week organized in Mons by Yump (a program set up by La Maison de  l´Entreprise for student-entrepreneurs).

The event was directed at students, professionals and entrepreneurs living in Belgium and was attended by many students interested in entrepreneurship as well as by teachers and entrepreneurs eager to advise those students and to share their different experiences with all the attendees.

The Chamber presented the programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs to the participants students as an opportunity to launch their business idea while doing an exchange in one European country with an experienced entrepreneur. They were also informed about the EYE Global initiative that enables new entrepreneurs to do en exchange in three different countries outside Europe; Singapore, the United States and Israel.

The Chamber reinforces its collaboration with Belgian universities to promote the EYE programme

Last 21st March, the Chamber presented the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme at the University of Antwerp. Around 15 students learned more about this EU funded programme exchange for entrepreneurs and about the main activities and programme of the Chamber.

The participants had also the opportunity to present their projects and get direct feedback from Soraya Bravo and Arturo Ibáñez, project managers of the Chamber and responsible for the EYE programme.

Besides the University of Antwerp, the Chamber is actively collaborating with Mons University and KU Leuven. In particular, the KU Leuven, with the support of the Chamber, has recently launched a call for projects among their student to present their business plans and get the opportunity to participate in the EYE programme. We invite you to follow the link for more information.

10 years of Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs

Last 18th and 19th of March the Chamber participated in the 23rd Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) Network Meeting organized in Brussels.

In 2019 the EYE programme celebrates its 10th anniversary, and this event was a good opportunity to review the achievements of this ambitious EU initiative searching to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences among European entrepreneurs.

Since its launch in 2009, the EYE programme has helped to facilitate more than 7.000 collaborations between new and experienced entrepreneurs across the EU, enabling over 14.000 entrepreneurs to benefit from this EU-funded programme.

The Chamber is one of the 194 contact points all around Europe managing the programme and has recently renewed its participation until 2021. The Chamber has been managing this initiative since 2016 and has concluded more than 40 exchanges in these three years.

The Chamber renews its participation in the EYE programme

The past 1st of February, the Chamber renewed for three more years its participation in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme. Since in July 2016 the Chamber closed its first exchange in the framework of the programme, the Chamber has managed a total of 29 exchanges in the last three years, doubling the numbers in each period.

During 2018 a total of 17 exchanges among Europeans entrepreneurs were managed by the Chamber, nine more than in 2017. Among them, 13 were experienced entrepreneurs based in Belgium that hosted other European entrepreneurs. The Chamber also managed the profile of 4 new entrepreneurs, supporting them drafting their business plan and identifying their hosting company.

Now the Chamber has three years ahead were it will manage this EU funded programme with the main objective of continue identifying experienced entrepreneurs based in Belgium that are willing to host other European entrepreneurs and identifying and supporting future entrepreneurs interested in doing an exchange abroad.