MompreneurCONNECT: Building Bridges and Bridging Gaps for Sustainable Growth

The project objectives have been designed to address the economic and social disadvantage of women in the field of entrepreneurship. The general objective was to reduce the economic and social dis...

The project objectives have been designed to address the economic and social disadvantage of women in the field of entrepreneurship. The general objective was to reduce the economic and social disadvantage of women through entrepreneurship, which was in line with the broader objectives of promoting inclusion, diversity, and equal opportunities and, further afield, supporting overall well-being and employment, economic growth, and sustainability. The first step was to understand the current situation in both Estonia and Romania, identify the needs of women entrepreneurs, and determine the challenges they face. The specific objectives of this project were the following: to identify the main barriers women face in (international) entrepreneurship and in setting up their own businesses and to propose solutions to overcome the main obstacles and barriers they face in entrepreneurship; to create opportunities for networking, mentoring and training tailored to the needs of women entrepreneurs; to promote cooperation and networking between Estonian and Romanian women entrepreneurs; to learn from the experience of the partners in the project and to implement measures to achieve the objectives in the cooperation between the two countries.

Needs analysis, study: Expert brainstorming; Defining research questions; Questionnaire survey; Final report both from Estonia and Romania. Conference on women entrepreneurship in Estonia - conference focused on the challenges of women entrepreneurship, featured speakers from Estonia and Romania and fostered networking and knowledge exchange. Key topics included: overview of the needs analysis based on Estonian responders; raising awareness of women's entrepreneurship; skill development through workshops; mentoring opportunities; success stories, and international cooperation. Conference on women entrepreneurship in Romania - The Romanian conference mirrored the Estonian event, addressing women entrepreneurship challenges, sharing success stories, and featuring speakers from both countries. A key difference was the presentation of the fully completed needs analysis and lessons learned from the Estonian conference. Project management - involved coordinating and monitoring all project stages to ensure that objectives were met efficiently and on time. Key tasks included:project initiation; guiding partners; preparing documentation; scheduling payments; and overseeing implementation.

The project was successfully launched, agreements made with partners. 5 experts from both countries for an expert brainstorming to build up the structure of needs analysis. Survey was carried out with a slight shortage of answers, but it was decided that the amount of answers is still sufficient for having a good overview (Estonia 186 responses instead of aimed 200 and Romania 202 responses). Report has been completed and publicly accessible virtually and physically. The results of the needs assessment study have been presented at both conferences. Conference participant registration forms are finalised and available for project reporting. The project team meetings were organised including all relevant parties with the necessary regularity (with a total of about 20 meetings online and face to face), meeting minutes were prepared and made available to project stakeholders (via Google Docs) and reporting. Feedback from conference participants has been collected and documented and is available to project stakeholders (via Google Docs) and reporting. Follow-up meeting on the conferences with the Romanian project partners and also cooperation meeting with representatives from the city of Tartu and city of Cluj-Napoca.