OSCE Scholarship Programme for Young Entrepreneurs Kicks Off in Porto

The OSCE scholarship programme for young entrepreneurs and start-uppers from the Western Balkans kicked off today in Porto, Portugal, at the European Innovation Academy (EIA) - one of the world’s leading summer entrepreneurship programmes for young professionals, students, recent graduates and young start-uppers.

From 16 July to 4 August, 30 young women and men from the Western Balkans between the ages of 18-25 are joining peers from all over the world for the three-week programme, where they will be immersed in a multicultural ecosystem with professionals and mentors from the world’s top institutions, including business leaders from North America, Europe and Asia.

Participants will be given the opportunity to work with leading start-up coaches and mentors to further develop and scale up their socially and environmentally impactful businesses ideas, particularly in the field of employment/training, sustainable transport, sustainable tourism, waste management, energy, sustainable agriculture and pollution reduction.

The scholarships are awarded as a part of the YDEAS project (Young Developers and Entrepreneurs to Advance Start-ups in the Western Balkans), which is managed by the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA), in collaboration with the network of the OSCE Field Operations as well as the local branch offices of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO).

“With this initiative, the OSCE is making a real contribution to innovation and human capital development in the Western Balkans. By supporting these young people, we are tackling persistent unemployment and brain drain by providing an opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills so they can start businesses, create jobs and improve their communities,” said Ambassador Igli Hasani, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.

18 year old Ana Morina from Albania says, “The OSCE-EIA Scholarship is the perfect environment to foster entrepreneurship and innovation, to get inspired, to network and cooperate.”

The YDEAS project expands opportunities for skills development and job creation, with the aim of improving the employability of youth and women and promoting an enabling environment for innovative, socially-impactful and green start-ups. It works to establish regional networks of social and green entrepreneurs and leverage innovation and social economy to foster trust, connectivity, inclusive development, and reconciliation in the Western Balkans and in the OSCE region.