Enhancing SMEs’ economic competitiveness through innovation driven development

Encouraging and development of social entrepreneurship

Creating an environment conducive to harmonized development of the region through sustainable use of natural resources, via development of social entrepreneurship and raising capacities for social enterprise among women in rural areas using innovative models of knowledge and skills transfer.

Enforcing the growth capabilities and employment potential of SMEs through the development and adaptation of new technologies, processes, products or services.

The project aims to contribute to achieving harmonic regional development through intensified economic cooperation using natural resources since arable land is abundant in the CBC area. By creating a favourable environment for development of social enterprise, raising awareness and training rural women, project will directly contribute to the specific objective: ’Enforcing the growth capabilities and employment potential of SMEs through the development and adaptation of new technologies, processes, products or services’. Lavender will be introduced as a new and environmentally friendly crop. Along with sustainable lavender farming, a social enterprise will be formed through the project. It will consist of women from rural areas who represent a severely disadvantaged group and who suffer from social isolation. Through CB networking, business events and knowledge transfer, the social enterprise and its members will be empowered and able to grow beyond the project implementation period.