25 teenagers to develop their business ideas as part of the Entrepreneurship Summer School organised with the EU support

Between 11 and 14 August, 25 students from 25 schools across the country benefiting from the Joboteca project, took part in Summer School of Entrepreneurial Education, organised by Terre des hommes Moldova Foundation with the EU financial support. During the four days, young people had the opportunity to learn what entrepreneurship is, and how they can become entrepreneurs, tested business ideas and participated in practical exercises compiling the steps of a business plan.

The activities included theoretical and practical information and creative activities to help students test what it is like to be an entrepreneur and start a business from scratch. Topics covered included leadership, management, skills of an entrepreneur, from idea to business, stages of starting a business, business promotion, team communication, etc.

Vision and expectations

Participants came to the summer school with the desire to learn what entrepreneurship is and how they can start a business, but also learn other skills they consider necessary for their personal development and career path.

“I want from this experience to gain knowledge about what entrepreneurship means and what I should know to open a business and have economic stability in the future. At the same time, I would also like to learn how to speak in public without emotions”, says Anatolie Savca, a student at “Grigore Grigoriu” high school in Carnateni, Căușeni. 

Dorina Zinovei, a student at “Mihail Sadoveanu“ high school in Călărași, came to the School of Entrepreneurship with the idea of creating an open-air cinema and needs the support of the trainers to get this idea off the ground. “I wanted to participate in new experiences, not only in the field of entrepreneurship but also to meet other young people,” she says. 

Business ideas and teamwork

The students identified areas in which they would like to start a business, including food, entertainment, tourism, waste recycling, education, and IT. Based on their areas of interest, the young people worked in groups to develop initial ideas, which they then presented to their peers. With the help of the trainers and through practical exercises, they became aware of the adjustments their ideas needed to create a viable strategy that, once put into practice, could become a successful business.

Ion Mocanu, one of the summer school trainers, says that such a programme should help young people discover their passions and give them a solid foundation in entrepreneurial education. Ion Mocanu noted that students initially came with business ideas inspired by family and community, but “our goal is to help them identify their dreams and passions and turn them into businesses. Ideas that come from passion and inspiration withstand obstacles and flourish, even in times of crisis.”

“At the same time, an important element is the awareness of personal responsibility, creating a pro-active attitude: daily actions to realize entrepreneurial or social dreams,” says the trainer.

At the end of the camp, the students mentioned that, as a result of the programme, they gained knowledge not only about entrepreneurship but also about general culture, met new people, and learned about other opportunities. The young people concluded that there are enough resources and opportunities, it is up to each individual to use them effectively to achieve what they set out to do. 

Future plans

At the beginning of the new school year, young people will set up teams with their schoolmates to work on ideas. The team-building exercises, SWOT analysis, identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as Canvas strategy that they have learned at the Summer School will help them both in building and strengthening their teams and in working on their business plan. 

“Through this program, the 25 young people were exposed to a different type of information and a different way of teaching than what they see in school. It is important for us that they put into practice what they have learned here, build teams, and, in the next 2 months, finalize their ideas so that we can help them identify sources of funding. We, as mentors, will make every effort to develop long-term projects in these communities”, explained the continuity of the programme Dorin Curoșu, trainer at the Summer School of Entrepreneurship. 

Over the next two months, students will have the support of mentors who will guide them step by step in creating their strategy and help them find potential funders. They will go through each stage of writing a business plan so that this experience will be useful now and in the future for other ideas.

In October 2022, during a Gala to be organised by Terre des hommes Moldova, young people will present the results of their work, exchange experiences, and share their plans for the future. At the end of the two months, the students will be ready to establish partnerships and present their business plan to potential investors, to start the next stage, the business start-up. 

The project “JOBOTECA – Pilot programme for preparing young people in Moldova for the labour market” (2021 – 2024) is implemented by Terre des hommes Foundation, Romania office, and Moldova office, in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Research of the Republic of Moldova and is funded by the European Union.