E-Commerce Training for Women Entrepreneurs

The main goal of this project was addressing the challenges women faced when establishing and running businesses which are the difficulties in accessing finance, information, training, business networks, and balancing business and family responsibilities. The project contributed to the objectives of the EU's Entrepreneurship 2020 Action Plan, which highlighted opportunities for women, recognizing that female creativity and entrepreneurial potential were underutilized. The project aimed to address the following needs: The underrepresentation of women in entrepreneurship, where only 34.4% of the EU's self-employed and 30% of start-up entrepreneurs were women. The high rates of inactivity among women in the labor market, particularly those aged 25-49. Barriers to digital inclusion that limited women's access to business growth opportunities and formal financial services in the competitive digital economy. Ecommerce4women project wanted to support women entrepreneurs in adopting and leveraging digital platforms and we wanted to help them overcome these barriers by enhancing their participation in the digital economy and enabling their businesses to thrive.

We wanted to achieve several key objectives by implementing this project: 1. We aimed to facilitate women’s access to information through the use of e-commerce tools, helping them navigate the challenges of the business world more easily. 2. To improve the digital skills of women entrepreneurs, particularly regarding e-commerce, by providing them with a dedicated e-learning platform. 3. To develop a tailored training program to address the specific needs of women entrepreneurs and offer effective training solutions. By doing so, we aimed to contribute to women's employment, giving them a better chance to reveal their entrepreneurial potential. 4. To certify the e-commerce skills of women entrepreneurs, ensuring they were equipped to increase their entrepreneurship skills to fit in the digital economy.

In PR1; A curriculum targeting women entrepreneurs was prepared. All partners applied questionnaires, and conducted literature reviews. Each partner country organized workshops with stakeholders to discuss the curriculum of the training and report the workshop results. The training modules were developed in line with the curriculum. KSU developed measurement and evaluation tools for each module. All partners tested e-learning platform by 25 participants by using an online questionnaire. In PR2; The e-learning platform was designed and launched after piloting and testing. The e-commerce tools in line with the curriculum and the modules were developed: these tools include interactive videos, gamification elements and presentations. For each module interactive Videos, presentation and related content were produced. In PR3 The E-commerce Guidebook in line with the curriculum, modules and e-commerce tools for trainees was prepared. For a better dissemination of the project results, partners utilized their social media accounts. Also, social media accounts of the project were launched. Seven e-newsletters were produced for dissemination and sent to all stakeholders. To ensure project progress and monitoring both online and face-to-face meetings were organized. Also, monthly online monitoring meetings were organized for a better communication among the partners.

The main results of this project are; 1. E-Commerce Curriculum and Modules(PR1) 2. E-Commerce e-learning Platform with E-Commerce tools (Interactive Videos, presentations, etc)(PR2) 3. A Guidebook of E-Commerce (PR3) The website https://www.ecommerce4women.com/ was created to disseminate the project results and also to set the learning platform. To facilitate a better user experience we developed a tutorial video and put it as "How to Use" section in Project eLearning platform. The eLearning has 6 main modules and 19 subchapters with an additional literature section and assessment part. The modules have gamification elements. We also prepared an Entrepreneur's experience video.