At the end of October, the “Empowering Women” entrepreneurship programme will begin in Estonia. This programme is aimed at women escaping the war in Ukraine. The three-month entrepreneurship and mentoring programme aims to support women who are ready to regain their self-sufficiency through entrepreneurship.

“This is the first programme in Estonia, but the “Empowering Women” entrepreneurship programme has been working in Ukraine for three years, in cooperation between the Estonian Refugee Council and Garage48, supporting internally displaced persons and women who have lost their income due to the war, in the creation of their family and micro-enterprises in eastern and central Ukraine. The success of the programme and a well-functioning format are the basis for opening the programme in Estonia,” explains Kadri Tiisvelt, project manager and member of the Garage48 management board.

In Estonia, the “Empowering Women” entrepreneurship programme will take place in cooperation with Garage48, the Estonian Refugee Council, Swedbank and the European Commission’s Estonian Representation.

“Currently, there are approximately 60,000 Ukrainian refugees living in Estonia, most of whom are looking for opportunities to rebuild their lives, at least until they can return to their homeland. The programme offers entrepreneurial Ukrainian women the opportunity to be active themselves, create their own business here and take responsibility for their own income,” says Anu Viltrop, Head of Support Services at the Estonian Refugee Council and member of the board.

Following the announcement of the programme last week, the first nine business ideas from Tallinn, Tartu and Pärnu in the fields of catering, crafts, sports and pet services have already been presented.

Participants are mentored by small business leaders and business professionals in Estonia, who also include small entrepreneurs with refugee backgrounds. The programme has been adapted to the local context and an important focus alongside the business start-up workshops is the introduction of the Estonian business environment, digital society and services, and the European Union’s regulatory environment.

Applications will be open until 16 October, after which 50 business ideas will be selected to participate in the 2-week entrepreneurship programme. From there, 20 of the best will be selected, who will continue in the mentoring programme for two months, to start the company’s activities in Estonia.

The “Empowering Women” entrepreneurship programme in Estonia will be conducted with the support of a very large number of partners, and additional partners and mentors who wish to contribute to the programme will continue to be welcome.

For more information on the programme and applications:

https://entrepreneur.pagulasabi.ee/et/empowering-women-estonia-2022

To enable participation across Estonia, the activities will take place in hybrid form. The opening and final day will be held in Tallinn and in the meantime workshops and mentoring sessions will take place in virtual form. Tallinn Music and Ballet School MUBA, Palo Alto Club and European Experience Centre in Tallinn, SPARK Demo in Tartu, OBJEKT in Narva, Forwardspace in Pärnu and the South-East Estonia Innovation Centre in Võru make participation possible across Estonia.

Additional information:

Kadri Tiisvelt, Garage48, kadri@garage48.org

Anu Viltrop, Estonian Refugee Council, anu@pagulasabi.ee