ECONOMY

CIVIL SOCIETY: 44 PRACTICES


TOPIC:

Initiative

Praksis Business Coaching Center

Praksis Business Coaching Center
SUBMITTED FROM:

PRAKSIS

PRAKSIS whose main goal is the design, application and implementation of humanitarian programs and medical interventions, the elimination of social and economic exclusion of vulnerable social groups and the defense of their personal and social rights.

 

Read more: www.praksis.gr


Contact

Objective Action

The Praksis Business Coaching Center is and entrepreneurial hub offering business training, consulting and coaching to aspiring and already operating entrepreneurs who wish to build the necessary capabilities in order for them to transform their ideas into a business.

Our goal, beyond the offering of expert help to businesspeople/ beneficiaries of the program is to enroll their projects in a wider entrepreneurial network which is currently forming within Athens and the broader Greek area, and to connect them with entities that can offer them help in a variety of needs they might be experiencing.

 

Target Audience

PBCC target audience includes:

  • aspiring entrepreneurs who have a realistic and viable business idea,
  • individuals coming from socially and financially vulnerable groups,
  • long term unemployed,
  • youth and
  • women.
 

Duration

The program is currenty in the preparatory phase of the 6th cycle, which will begin in September 2016. Up to now 5 BCC cycles have been completed. The duration of each cycle is 6 months.


Description

During the 2.5 years that Praksis BCC is operating, it has created strategical partnerships with a broad network of entities, as described below.

In parallel, the BCC has created One-up, a crowd funding platform where aspiring entrepreneurs can upload their business idea and request donations from the public.

The platform is open to any entrepreneur coming from partnering hubs.  Below are some examples of such synergies:

DESMOS – WE CREATE HARMONY – Praksis BCC

During the first BCC cycle, we noted specific needs in tools that two handcrafters beneficiaries has.  These two individuals, coming from other Praksis structures could not afford to allocate money in order to obtain them.  More specifically one of the beneficiaries needed a professional sewing machine in order to produce leather and fabric bags, and the other one who created decorative wood items needed an electric sickle and some other specific tools.

In collaboration with NGO DESMOS we verified the needs which We Create Harmony decided to fund.  This way the tools were bought and were donated through DESMOS to the BCC beneficiaries.  The outcomes of this synergy were impressive since they both managed to improve the design and aesthetics of their products, as well as their delivery time, thus producing more and better items which they sold to their clientele.  This way they were able to transform their hobby into a profession, managing to financially support their families.

Ashridge Business School - Praksis BCC

On March 2016 the post graduate students of Ashridge Business School took on a survey for One up, the BCC crowd funding platform.  Basic areas of study were user friendliness of the tool, its basic “messages” and how to approach and advertise the platform beyond Greece to audiences that have an active interest and experience user friendliness with such tools.  One up was then compared to other relevant crowdfunding tools like Kickstarter and Groopio.  The outcomes of this comparison brought out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the tool, to be worked on further.

Impact Hub – Praksis BCC

In November 2015 me met with Dimitris Kontopidis, beneficiary of the Impact Hub entrepreneurship program, who wanted to get access to seed capital in order to deliver the “Breathe Box”, a prototype chamber with optimal conditions for the treatment of patients of Cystic Fibrosis.  A patient himself, Dimitris possessed the passion and courage to make a difference in the lives of patients with Cystic Fibrosis. 

We designed his campaign together, which was uploaded in One up , as well as all communication activities that needed to take place so that his idea becomes known to the public.  With a lot of hard work, Dimitris’ campaign managed to reach the 102% of his monetary target, providing him with the necessary capital to start his business.

After his success with One up, Dimitris continues his fundraising activities and got the 2nd «The squeeze” award, offered by Orange Grove, a strategic BCC partner. 

Today, Dimitris has returned to Praksis in order to cover an employment position through the Praksis structures for the socially vulnerable.

AD & PR Lab, Panteion University – Praksis BCC

On June 2015 we came together with the AD & PR Lab students of the Panteion University, who with the direction of their Professor Betty Tsakarestou, as well as Marketing experts from the multinational company Mondelez, divided in groups and worked on creating a plan of marketing and advertising proposals proposals for the BCC beneficiaries as well as One-up campaign holders. The plan was then presented and discussed with the BCC teams and were incorporated in the business & marketing plans of the ideas of the 3rd BCC cycle.


more...

Impact on Society

Total number of Interviews: 216

Final group of participants: 176 (81 % of those interviewed)

Drop-outs: 40 (23% of final participants)

Initial business ideas: 103

Graduates: 136 (77% of final participants)

Businesses started or about to start: 50 (49% of initial business ideas)



Initiative Location

The program takes place in Athens, where as on the 5th cycle since February 2016 it has enrolled business projects from other geographical locartions within Greece, via skype.


More...…

Working with Organization

Strategic Partners:

  1. Panteion University - AD & PR Lab
  2. Athens Center for Entrepreneurship and innovation (Athens University of Economics & Business)
  3. National documentation Center
  4. EATA (Athens Tourism and Development Agency O.T.A.)
  5. KEMEL
  6. Impact Hub
  7. Action Finance Initiative (AFI),
  8. Orange Grove
  9. Ashridge Business School
  10. Organization Earth
  11. DESMOS
  12. We Create Harmony
  13. The People’s Trust
  14. Mondelez
  15. Solidarity Mission
  16. Skywalker
  17. Epixeiro.gr
  18. Boussias Communications
  19. Hellenic American Union

More...…

Workers Participation


Photos

Benefits for Οrganization

Praksis BCC has offered employment perspectives to beneficiaries of other Praksis structures (30% of the total BCC participants were also beneficiaries of the “Social Residency” program, which supports families that cannot cover their day to day cost of living.

In parallel, through fostering strong community ties, businesspeople who have already started their business with the help of the BCC, return to Praksis to cover their employment needs from our database of people from socially and financially vulnerable groups.




Connection with Global Goals



No Connection with Global Goals found





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