The expected result of the project is the enhancement of support services offered to agrifood businesses in the CB area. The result indicator’s measurement unit is entrepreneurship barometer is related to the Agri-food sector’s performance – state across 5 main pillars of entrepreneurship;Access to Funding, Entrepreneurship Culture, Tax & Regulation, Education & Training and Coordinated Support.
The project by default cannot make changes to Tax & Regulation, as both programme’s budget limitations, and implementation horizon, pose as barriers and discourage such interventions. However, the project directly addresses the other pillars, by creating a holistic support mechanism that specializes in supporting SMEs operating in the Agri-food Sector that focuses not only on one of the above-mentioned barriers, but contributes effectively to alleviating all of them simultaneously.
The project’s Work Plan is designed in such way, that unswervingly addresses issues related with those pillars, that pose as barriers for business survival and development, and affect the entrepreneurship environment in the area. The establishment the BSC will cultivate a breeding ground for the creation, survival and development of SMEs.
The BSC follows two main approaches, to effectively support in key places. Firstly it follows the incubator approach that aims to train and consult the sector’s newly established SMEs and equip them with all fundamental knowledge and business tools to seek funding. Secondly it aims to develop and provide the tools and guidance needed, to become cost efficient by integrating practices of CE and Contemporary Logistics, that will help them cultivate a competitive advantage and boost their growth.
Both approaches use mentorship, training, ICT technologies and networking, to achieve maximum impact and offer applied, substantial support. By doing so the project, directly affects 4/5 parameters of the result indicator and will contribute to its increase by its ending.