Promoting creativity microbusiness though web tools in rural area

<< Background >>The MicroHUB project was created as a response to the economic and social crisis emphasized by the pandemic COVID-19. Although the crisis has undoubtedly affected all sectors, one of the sectors hit the most has been the craft and the arts. The MicroHUB project, therefore, aims to help artists and crafters to take full advantage of today's technology, and at the same time teach them creative entrepreneurial thinking. It aims to help either existing creative micro-businesses or build new ones to be competitive and efficient in both domestic and foreign markets. At the same time, it helps to reduce unemployment and revitalise the economy both in cities and rural areas.<< Objectives >>By developing the digital and entrepreneurial skills and competencies of crafters and artisans the project aimed to foster their capacity to succeed in the labour market and provide them with new opportunities. The MicroHUB project partners wanted to achieve the following objectives:- To develop entrepreneurial and digital skills of people holding or wanting to create a microenterprise- to empower teaching staff to be more prepared for the challenges connected with digitalization and provide them with a more up-to-date skillset (project-oriented teaching methods, digital tools etc.)- to enable people to gain new skills which would enrich their professional life and open new doors for them in the labour market - to create a digital platform to provide a space for network creation and product promotion for entrepreneurs from rural areas<< Implementation >>A number of activities have been carried out within the project, reaching a large number of stakeholders such as crafters, artisans, artists, policymakers, chambers, associations, NGOs, business support organisations, accelerators, etc., thanks to the partners' extensive network of contacts. The following activities have been implemented: - PR1 (T1.1): Inception meetings with local and national stakeholders to identify skill gaps in crafters' and artisans´ learning – 78 stakeholders reached- PR1 (T1.2.): meeting with expert representatives of the selected EU projects presenting the best practices in entrepreneurial education, business creativity thinking, and crafters support projects (at national and international levels) – 20 participants- PR1 (T1.2.): a questionnaire survey to gain more in-depth knowledge on the areas that need to be supported in crafters´ entrepreneurial education – 121 participants reached - PR2 (T2.3): Training material development consisting of 10 MOOC modules- PR2 (T2.4): Peer review and Testing of the materials during C2 – 13 experts- PR3 (T3.1, T3.4): Design of innovative multilingual online tool consisting of the MOOC course and open catalogue for matchmaking and subsequent testing of developed materials – MOOC was piloted to 270 participants and 71 crafters uploded their profile into the online catalogue- PR4 (T4.2): implementation of the Individual online acceleration procedure for entrepreneurs - 35 entrepreneurs- (C1) 5-day training of 15 entrepreneurs + 8 trainers in Transformative Business Models for creativity micro businesses in Bulgaria - (C2) 5-day training of 13 experts in the ‘MicroHUB’ approach: Training of experts in individual acceleration and mentoring in Sweden<< Results >>Following resuluts were produced:- (PR1) Competence Matrix for Digital entrepreneurship and business creative thinking for crafters in rural areas. The Matrix serves as a basis for the whole project and it was created through the process of identification of skills gaps in entrepreneurial learning of crafters and artisans (78 stakeholders), as well as through extensive quantitative (121 participants) and qualitative research (20 experts). - (PR2) The Transformative Business Model for creativity micro businesses that consist of 10 MOOC modules. Each module consists of theory and interactive exercises to provide an innovative curriculum to foster digital skills and entrepreneurial thinking of crafters and artisans who either have or wish to establish their own microbusinesses. - (PR3) Design of innovative multilingual online tool consisting of two parts: open catalogue for matchmaking which serves as an online space to facilitate international network creation and product promotion of crafters and artisans in (not only) rural areas. 71 crafters and artisans uploaded their profile in total. Innovative online course based on the information provided in the Transformative Business Model was piloted to 270 participants (originally 140 particants were planned). - (PR4) Individual online acceleration procedure for entrepreneurs. Within the Individual online acceleration procedure 2 experts (14 in total) from each partner country provided services to 5 creative entrepreneurs (35 in total), ending up with tailored business plan creation and mentoring. Together 700 hours of mentoring were provided.Apart from that, the project consortium created a project website (https://www.facebook.com/microhubproject), social media channel (Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/microhubproject), dissemination materials (leaflets and brochures, newsletters), dissemination reports (every 6 months), quality assurance reports (every 6 months), exploitation strategy, Management and financial plan, progress reports, interim report and final report.