A number of start-ups will receive financial support from the EU following a ‘Start-up Weekend’ held on 12 January at the School of Rural Business in Kamarova in Belarus.
The Start-up Weekend saw budding entrepreneurs present their business plans in competition for financial support from an EU-funded local development project. The participants were students of the school, who were trained from September to December 2017. Among them were residents of Smarhoń, Pastavy and Astraviec districts.
The best business plans were chosen by a jury, which included representatives of local authorities, NGOs and businesses. Winners of the Start-up Weekend will receive financial support of €2,000 to €10,000 from the project for the ‘Development of Rural Localities in the Republic of Belarus: Boosting Rural Entrepreneurship in Belarus and Launching a Rural Business Incubator in Kamarova’, funded by the European Union.
The highest score was obtained by Denis Serkevich from the Smarhoń district for his initiative to create a specialised service and repair centre for steering parts on cars and trucks. According to the submitted business plan, the cost of repair is tow and a half to three times lower than the purchase of new steering parts. The jury noted the strong environmental component of this initiative, in which the entrepreneur also plans to organise the collection of used oils for further processing.
The jury also supported another vehicle repair initiative, from Alexei Svirsky, who plans to open a service centre to repair emergency vehicles. With the financial support of the project, he will be able to repair about 50 vehicles per year.
Among the other winners were Danuta Grazhul-Gulbinskaya, who plans to open a mini-confectionery, and beekeeper Leonid Myshko from Pastavy district, who plans to expand production and sale of bee products.
The Start-up Weekend also saw several initiatives from the village of Lyntupy in the Pastavy district, where entrepreneurs plan to create a cultural cluster for the local population, summer residents and tourists. The jury saw the potential in creating a hostel providing budget accommodation, as well as camping opportunities and bike rentals.
The next Start-up Weekend at the School of Rural Business in Kamarova will be held in the spring of 2018.
The School of Rural Business in Kamarova works within the framework of the project ‘Development of Rural Localities in the Republic of Belarus: Boosting Rural Entrepreneurship in Belarus and Launching a Rural Business Incubator in Kamarova’, funded by the European Union with a contribution of €556,500. The project is implemented by the IPO "Ecopartnership" (Minsk) and the NGO "Women for the revival of the Narač region"(Kamarova). More information on ecopartnerstvo.by.
