Thematic Network Forum 1

The consortium members for the MAGNET (Migrant Acceleration for Growth Network for Entrepreneurship Training) Project, co-funded by the European Union, would kindly like to invite you to the first of four thematic forum on “Identifying common issues and challenges of Migrant Entrepreneurship Support and the role of entrepreneurial skills”

The MAGNET project aims to create a network of organisations active in the field of migrant entrepreneurship, as well as interested public and private actors. MAGNET will seek to promote the creation, further development and broad dissemination of existing support schemes for migrant entrepreneurs.

Despite a general consensus and excitement surrounding the possibilities that migrant entrepreneurship offers for both migrant integration and host communities, there is a growing body of evidence that migrant entrepreneurs require a different set of support systems to successfully set up and run their businesses in a changing society with dynamic economic and labour market situations. Transnational and regional efforts to share information, experience and expertise on migrant entrepreneurship support are crucial to better tackling the challenges associated with labour market integration of an intensifying wave of migrants. MAGNET will furthermore move forward the implementation of strategic objectives at EU-level as well as promote innovation in the field of migrant entrepreneurship support.

This forum agenda is part of the project “MAGNET” which has received funding from the European Union’s COSME Programme (2014-2020).

9:30    -  Registration and Networking Breakfast

9:45    -  Welcome and Introduction to the MAGNET Project

              Anna Faustmann (Danube University Krems)

10:00  -  “Policy Guidelines for Facilitating Migrant Entrepreneurship: Lessons from Good Practices”
              Richard Bolwijn/Fulvia Farinelli (UNCTAD)

10:30  -  “Characteristics of migrant entrepreneurship”
              Gudrun Biffl (Danube University Krems)
11:00  -  “Contextual Factors for the Development of Entrepreneurial Competencies”
              Tina Gruber-Mücke (FH Krems)
11:15  -  Discussion
11.45  -  Coffee break
12:15  -  “Challenges and key success factors of Migrant Entrepreneurship – an Austrian experience“
12:45  -  “Challenges of Migrant Entrepreneurship Support”

               Doris Kaiserreiner (ZSI, MEnt Project)

13:00  -  Lunch break
14:00  -  Parallel working groups on specific challenges and success factors in migrant entrepreneurship Needs, success factors and challenges:

• Regulatory framework (policy, economic and legal Environment

     Evgeni Evgeniev (VUZF), Katerina Lalia (IATAP)

• Education and skills (including language, financial literacy and other managerial skills)

     Magdalena Filipova-Rivers (IATAP), Isabella Skrivanek (DUK)

• Innovation (migrant entrepreneurship as driver for growth and development

     Frederic Kastner (TERN), Sobhi Khatib (DL)

• Finance (access to property and financial capital)

     Ewa Bankowska (MFC), Detelina Smilkova (VUZF)

• Social capital and networks (awareness and access to networking opportunities)

     Anna Faustmann (DUK), Luisa Seiler (SINGA)
15:30  -  Coffee break
16:00  -  Final plenary session and conclusions
17:00  -  End of conference, networking, get-together

DISCLAIMER: The content of this forum agenda represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility; it cannot be considered to reflect the views of the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and the Agency do not accept any responsibility for use that may be made of the information it contains.

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