ECOlogically VIable Business innovation through ECVET compliant digital Entrepreneurial Skills training
▶Summary
Eco-innovation refers to the development of products and adoption of processes contributing to sustainable development and significantly decreasing any negative environmental impact. The importanc...
▶Objectives
The ECO-VIBES project focuses on the Balkan Mediterranean area, where the percentage of and the importance of SMEs in the local/national economies is very high. These SMEs face strong challenges, especially in the areas of innovation, entrepreneurship and environmental protection. Currently, investment in innovative or “green” products or services is very small. Furthermore, the recent economic crisis and the currently active COVID-19 pandemic increased unemployment and created the biggest brain-drain in the region in modern times, depriving SMEs and Higher Education Institutes from young and well educated personnel. Our main focus is on digital entrepreneurship whereby creating new ventures and transforming existing businesses by developing novel digital technologies and/or applying novel usage of such technologies offers opportunities to our main target groups: aspiring young eco-innovative SME owners and entrepreneurs. Especially when entering in the “green” and/or “blue“ economy, they need competencies to create new added-value jobs, improving the area’s competitiveness, combatting the brain-drain phenomenon, and contributing to the area’s sustainable development. That is where ECO-VIBES aims to make a difference.