Antoine Blondiaux, new entrepreneur through the EYE programme

The young entrepreneur Antoine Blondiaux, new participant in the European programme Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) through the Chamber.

Antoine is an ambitious Belgian entrepreneur who has the objective of launching his project DeliveShip, an innovative online shopping solution for seamen. After working for several multinationals, Antoine decided to start developing his own project motivated by the opportunities offered by this market. The next step is now to validate his business idea with an experienced entrepreneur in the sector.

The host entrepreneur chosen by Antoine to carry out the exchange is Alejandro Madico, owner of the Spanish company Madico&Villaroel, located in the surroundings of the port of Valencia. Madico&Villarroel is a family-owned business specialized in the retail market for maritime travelers with more than 30 years of experience in the sector.

Antoine has now the objective to continue working on his project supported by the experience of Alejandro and benefiting from doing his exchange in Valencia, city with the second most important port of Spain in terms of traffic. On the other hand, this exchange will allow the host entrepreneur to broaden his network in Europe and to get new insights from the new entrepreneur.

The exchange between Antoine and Alejandro will last 2 months. It will be an excellent opportunity for both entrepreneurs to share their experience, move forward with their projects and explore potential collaborations.

Matchmaking event in Brussels for startups and freelancers

On the 28th November the Chamber organized a matchmaking event in Brussels for startups and freelancers, where close to 50 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 were looking for in the event. Among the presentations, Pieter Moremans, founder of My Global Dreams and Plannr.eu, and host entrepreneur in the EYE programme with the Chamber, showcased his relocation solutions’ startup.

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.

 

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Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Network Meeting

The past 2nd and 3rd of October the Chamber participated in the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs Network Meeting, where the different contact points of the programme, the support office and the European Commission had the opportunity to meet for two days to discuss the progress and the future of the programme.

During the meeting, the representatives from the European Commission confirmed the continuity of the programme for the next programming period 2021 – 2027 and their ambition to continue consolidating the programme by increasing the budged.

They also reaffirmed their commitment to continue expanding the programme to other countries. Kosovo has been the last country to join and this year was also launched a pilot project to extend it to Israel, USA and Singapore.

On the second day, a consortium meeting was organized to define the priority lines of actions for the coming year.

My Global Dreams, sharing their entrepreneurial spirit

My Global Dreams, a young Belgian company based in Antwerp, the last company registered with the Chamber to host a new entrepreneur through the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneur (EYE) programme.

¿Who is who?

My Global Dreams is a Belgian startup launched 2 years ago by Pieter Morenmans. Self-driven entrepreneur and passionate about his new project, Pieter has designed an online platform oriented to simplify expats life, providing open and transparent information to those who are willing to buy a second home or who are planning their move abroad.

German Martínez, a Spanish journalist with a longstanding experience working for different media, decided to come to Antwerp to work on his business idea and to learn from an experienced entrepreneur the different challenges of launching a company. His ambition is to start his business in content marketing providing advice on subjects such as SEO, SEM, branding or social networks.

Convinced that the EYE programme is a helpful tool for new and experienced entrepreneurs, German is also interested in disseminating all the information about his exchange and for that he has launched the website where he regularly shares his experience and anecdotes with the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme.

A normal day at the office

During the following months, German will help Pieter with the marketing strategy of My Global Dreams, designing a sound dissemination plan for the website, social media and blog with the final objective of increasing the visibility of the project and the attraction of potential clients and investors.  

In exchange, Pieter will share his experience as project and team manager. Pieter has a striking background as entrepreneur, launching different projects in the past such as “Edible Insects”, an initiative to commercialize insect-based food on the Belgian market. Nowadays, Pieter has 5 colleagues working side by side with him in Antwerp and some other collaborators working remotely.

The months ahead

The exchange between German and Pieter started the 1st of July and they now will have 5 months ahead to build a fruitful relationship. This will be an excellent opportunity for these two ambitious European entrepreneurs to share their experiences in their respective fields, to move forward with their projects and to explore potential collaborations.

The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme goes global

In the framework of the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme, the European Commission has recently launched EYE Global, an initiative that gives the opportunity to EU-residing entrepreneurs to carry on an exchange with other entrepreneurs based in USA (states of New York and Pennsylvania), Singapore and Israel.

 The New Entrepreneurs´ exchange covers 1-3 months and is partly co-financed by the EU. A lump sum to cover travel costs (800,- EUR for USA and Singapore, and 600,- EUR for Israel), as well as a monthly subsistence allowance of 1000,- EUR is offered by the EU.

The Official Spanish Chamber in Belgium and Luxembourg, as a local contact point for the EYE programme, can provide you with all the information on how to take part in EYE Global. Contact us now if you are an entrepreneur resident in Belgium or Luxembourg and you want to learn from experienced entrepreneurs in USA, Singapore or Israel.

The Chamber presents the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme at TransformaBXL

On the 12th of July, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg presented in Brussels the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs (EYE) programme at the coworking space TransformaBXL. 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.

Arturo Ibáñez and Soraya Bravo, project managers of the EYE programme, explained the role of the Chamber in Belgium and Luxembourg and its involvement in European projects.  The presentation continued with the explanation of the main requirements to participate in the programme as New Entrepreneur (NE) and Host Entrepreneur (HE) and the description of the support given by the Chamber to take part in the programme and carry out an exchange.

During this information session, we had the opportunity to present a success story. We invited our host entrepreneur, Chema Cruz, who is now hosting a Spanish new entrepreneur, Gloria Llopis, in his company. They both explained how the found out about the programme, how they manage to find each other through the EYE platform and how they agreed on the working plan.

HE and NE showed their satisfaction with the programme and they expressed their willingness to continue collaborating after the exchange.  Gloria and Chema are an excellent example of the synergies that can be created through this EC initiative.

 

Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs consortium meeting at EASME

On the 4th of July, the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg 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 at the premises of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME). The 9 partners of the consortium attended to the meeting as well as the EU officer managing the EYE programme. 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 reaffirmed its intention to consolidate the EYE as a key programme for the organization. The Chamber has considerably increased its number of exchanges; a total of 4 were registered in 2016, 9 in 2017 and 14 during the first 6 months of 2018.

The European Commission (EC) launches EYE global; Singapore, Israel and USA are now new destinations for the Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme

Last April the EC announced the official start of the EYE Global for the period 2018-2020. Three new destinations, USA (states of New York and Pennsylvania), Singapore and Israel, are now available for EU-residing New Entrepreneurs.

With these new destinations the EC broadens the list of participating countries; as from now candidates will be able to choose among 40 countries. This pilot project aims at offering the new entrepreneurs the opportunity to learn from the experience of other entrepreneurs outside the European continent.

Some of the conditions for participating in the EYE Global differ from the current programme. As a local contact point in Belgium and Luxembourg, the Spanish Chamber of Commerce can guide you through the application process. Contact us now for further information: erasmus4youngentrepreneurs@e-camara.com.

Presentation of the Chamber at the University of Antwerp

On March 14th,María Catalán, the Secretary General of the Official Chamber of Commerce of Spain in Belgium and Luxembourg, took part in the conference organized by the University of Antwerp.

The workshop was geared towards economics students. Maria Catalán presented bilateral trade data between Belgium and Spain and the role played by the Chamber for Spanish companies in Belgium.

Additionally, the Secretary General informed the students about the projects that the Chamber develops in relation with employment and entrepreneurship like the outstanding European program Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs, for which the Chamber is a local  point in Belgium and whose objective is to promote the exchange of experiences among entrepreneurs in Europe.

21st Networking Meeting of Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs

The 6th and 7th of March took place in Brussels the “21st Networking Meeting of Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs” (EYE), where the different consortiums participating in the programme had the opportunity to learn about the future of the EYE programme and to interact and exchange best practices with different intermediary organisations.

The Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Belgium and Luxembourg, as part of the of the programme since 2016, attended to this event. During the first day, different representatives from the European Commission (EC) unveiled future novelties that will be implemented in the programme. On the second day, a consortium meeting was organised to define the priority lines of actions for the coming year.

One of the main novelties announced by the EC is the initiative “EYE Global”, a pilot project that will allow 120 new entrepreneurs to do their exchange in countries such as Israel, Singapore and United States (specifically in the states of Pennsylvania and New York). This pilot project will be launched next May and will be in place for two years.

The other relevant announcement made by the EC representatives was the agreement on the continuity of the programme after 2021.  The EC is already working on the next programming period and the future of the programme has been guaranteed even though some modifications might be included.  The success of this programme after 7 years of implementation and its role in boosting entrepreneurial cooperation across Europe justifies the ambition of the EC to opt for the continuity of the programme.