Published by DIFME on 01-Dec-2021

The hybrid  Final Event for the DIFME project was  held on the 26^th November 2021 at the Malta Chamber in Valletta and online. The event  entitled ‘Empowering Micro-Entrepreneurs to Grow and Thrive ‘was organised as part of  the DIFME Knowledge Alliances Project led by MBB with the participation of 5 Universities, 6 Business Partners from 7 European Countries .

The  event served as a launchpad for the DIFME  SME Hub , an open repository of solutions for entrepreneurs. Through collaborations between the DIFME project partners, practical information was collated and made accessible to entrepreneurs operating across different industries, including information on doing business in Malta, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, and the Netherlands, relating to government agencies, banking sphere and assistance programmes, among others.  Furthermore, a curriculum and e learning tool were built on feedback, surveys and piloting by the DIFME partners  . The eLearning  tool is available and was piloted in 6 European languages and is accessible for individual online learning as well as face -to -face learning by tutors .

The hybrid conference was  addressed by Roberta Metsola, First Vice-President of the European Parliament and Josianne Cutajar, Member of the European Parliament. Dr Metsola explained the European Parliament’s work on boosting entrepreneurship and facilitating investment and trade by pushing the development of better SME financing tools and generating greater business opportunities. On her part, Dr Cutajar put emphasis on the challenges faced by microenterprises in island states like Malta, whilst also highlighting the critical role of funding and access to finance in helping microentrepreneurs get equipped with the skills they need to cope with the twin transition and the structural challenges they face.

The event had two different  panels of experienced mentors,  entrepreneurs  and also academics  who related their experiences on the importance of Financial Literacy,  Digital Tools and  Internationalisation .The panellists looked back at their career paths, their role models, and mentors who supported their growth over the years. They also shared advice on how to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit, intended to benefit microentrepreneurs and start-ups  and also those considering founding their own enterprise.

The DIFME project partners signed a Memorandum of Cooperation  witnessed by MEP Josianne Cutajar , confirming their intention to develop further activities and maximise on the outputs achieved throughout the last three years of project implementation.

DIFME partners representing their entities signing the MOC  as witnessed by MEP Josianne Cutajar .Left to right : Dr Leonie Baldacchino (Edward de Bono Institute,University of Malta), Jack Foley (FabPractice, Ireland  ), Aris Chronopoulos,( IDEC , Greece),  MEP Dr Josianne Cutajar , Joe Tanti ( MBB, Malta ) Alexander Krauss ( ISOB, Germany), Prof. Dr Sean Patrick Saßmannshausen ( OTH Regensburg Germany), Lennard Drogendijk( Inqubator Leeuwarden ,Netherlands)

Absent: Dr Brian Bryne ( TUD, Dublin) ,  Professor Kamelia Stefanova (University of National and World Economy  , Bulgaria),  Dr  George Priniotakis ( UNIWA , Greece), Dr Mirna Fusaro ( Italy).

You can access the speech related to DIFME  by the Roberta Metsola, First Vice-President of the European Parliament here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZIrCgfDUJ4

For video related to MEP Josianne Cutajar please view https://www.facebook.com/difme.eu/posts/1553345714998199

For more information about DIFME intro video

https://youtu.be/gB5VS2Dr4lw

Please contact us on  info@difme.eu

DIFME (Digital Internationalisation and Financial Literacy Skills for Micro-Entrepreneurs)  is an Erasmus+ Knowledge Alliances Project