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Programme

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Web Entrepreneurship

 

Specific Challenge:

The challenge is to create an environment in Europe that encourages more web entrepreneurs to start a business in Europe and grow internationally. The focus of this topic is on entrepreneurs who use web and mobile technologies as main components in their innovation.

Scope:

a.      Accelerate web entrepreneurship in Europe: Online platforms with new services

Proposals to develop and test online platforms connecting existing local web entrepreneurship ecosystems and hubs, and build upon these in order to provide new services for web entrepreneurs, complemented with other relevant activities. These platforms are expected to go beyond technologies and applications, to include necessary conditions for collaborative innovation.

The new services should help promising web startups to efficiently launch and scale up their operations across Europe, to create exposure to new financing opportunities, to link potential web entrepreneurs with key actors, e.g. mentors, located anywhere in Europe and to link acceleration programmes from several locations - providing real EU added value.

Characteristics of the proposed action can include as part of their services initiatives such as ""geeks in-residence"" to help web startups accelerate in their technological developments. They should be open to include any other measures, local, national or European, which aim to support web entrepreneurs in the launch, growth and internationalisation of their businesses.

Proposals may include actions to highlight the most valuable initiatives in a European context, e.g. highly-visible and innovative web and mobile services and applications.

b.      Coordination activities in the area of web entrepreneurs

Support actions that strengthen the environment for web entrepreneurship in Europe and that exploit synergies across stakeholder communities. They aim at increasing the impact, accessibility and reach of the online support platforms and the new services they offer as well as link into other relevant initiatives. This action should as well cover actions beyond the technological, e.g. training, legal and financial aspects.

Therefore proposals may also include features such as networking all relevant stakeholders groups; encouraging people, notably the young and the women, to become web entrepreneurs; supporting  European initiatives on web entrepreneurship; supporting awards to celebrate web entrepreneurship; promoting the use of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for web entrepreneurship skills.

Expected impact:

         To support the emergence of dynamic European ecosystems for web entrepreneurs that also contribute to shaping future web entrepreneurship specific policies, in particular for the implementation of Startup Europe EU initiative[1].

         To provide new, innovative environments including services that will help web entrepreneurs in their process of starting up and scaling up their start-ups.

         A European environment, fora and stakeholders, for web entrepreneurs to reflect and share experiences, easily replicate successful example, consider failures as valuable experience and where web start-ups can be confident in getting support.

         To contribute, together with other relevant initiatives of the Commission, to a positive impact across the continuum of actors for entrepreneurship.

Types of action:

a.       Innovation Actions – Proposals requesting a Small contribution are expected

b.      Coordination and Support Actions

[1] http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/startup-europe