Inclusive entrepreneurship

Inclusive entrepreneurship is about a set of attitudes, competences and skills which allow people to turn their dreams into concrete projects or “enterprises” and then see these through to fruition. It is about more than starting an individual business. Inclusive entrepreneurship can be applied to self-employment, starting or growing micro or small enterprises and to social enterprise using business based approaches driven by social mission. Indeed, the personal qualities required for entrepreneurship are essential for success in the knowledge economy – whether this be in the private or public sectors.

The use of the word 'inclusive' indicates a belief that entrepreneurship is for all and that the personal qualities and conditions required for entrepreneurship are not the prerogative of a privileged, highly educated few. Indeed, millions of people across the globe take complex decisions, manage risk, find new innovative solutions, and collaborate with others just to survive in their daily lives. However the obstacles and risk they face when trying to make the leap from survival to long-term sustainability are proportionally far greater than those involved in launching a new company on the stock exchange.

Inclusive entrepreneurship is about supporting entrepreneurs from all backgrounds by creating a genuinely level playing field. This involves understanding and then overcoming the barriers faced by different people in different places. It is about unleashing the creative potential that people have within them and using this to create a more sustainable future for all of us.

Following the end of EQUAL, COPIE 2, a learning network under the Learning for Change programme, has been established. Again led by Germany, it includes Flanders, Wallonia, the Czech Republic, Spain, Andalucía and Lithuania. It has working groups on:

Inclusive Entrepreneurship is also the name of a project which evolved from the Start-Up NY Pilot Project funded by Office of Disability Employment Policy by DOL in Onondaga County, Syracuse University.

It defines inclusive entrepreneurship as:

Inclusive Entrepreneurship utilizes practices and partnerships developed through the three year (2006-2009) US Department of Labor/Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)-funded “Start-Up NY” program and the five year (2009-2014) Small Business Association’s Program for Investment in Micro-entrepreneurs (SBA-PRIME). Start-Up NY brought a personal multidisciplinary team consisting of business consultants, disability experts, benefits counselors, mentors, and any identified peer and family supports together with the participant to merge their knowledge and resources, and provide a customized micro-enterprise training, assistance, and counseling resource.

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Wikipedia