The start of the CREAzone project in Belarus
21.04.2020

Reducing unemployment – promoting entrepreneurship by combining business models and creativity into organic, young and promising business (Creativity and entrepreneurship)
Lead beneficiary: Lithuanian Business Confederation (LT)
Project beneficiaries: Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LV), Association of European Business (BY)
Project implementation period: 27th February 2020 - 25th August 2022
Project no: ENI-LLB-1-076
Project budget: 952 853,57 EUR (2 658 842,60 BYN); EU funding - 857 568,21 EUR (2 392 958,33 BYN), budget of the Belarusian part - 165 603,72 EUR (462 100,62 BYN)
Project funding: This project is funded by the European Union’s European Neighbourhood Instrument Cross-border Cooperation Programme Latvia-Lithuania-Belarus 2014-2020. The aim of programme is to strengthen relations, raise capacities and share experience among people and organisations from Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus through implementation of joined actions aimed at increasing the overall quality of life in the border regions.
Project description:
The project aims to foster long-term sustainable youth employment by building entrepreneurship and business skills in Lithuanian, Latvian and Belorussian border regions. The project is based on a proven and tested methodology. In 2012-2013 Lithuanian business confederation alongside with its partners, Vilnius Gediminas technical university, University of applied social sciences and Utena University of applied sciences, has successfully implemented project “CREAzone”. By using methodology improved during the “CREAzone”, project seeks to reduce disproportionately high level of incapacity (as compared to the major cities), especially among young people, in targeted program
regions: Alytus county, Utenos county, Vilnius county, Kaunas county, Panevezys county, Grodno oblast, Vitebsk oblast, Minks oblast, Mogilev oblast, Minsk city, Latgale and Zemgale regions. The project will focus on promotion of entrepreneurship among young people (15-29 years old). The project will directly involve not less than 120 young people in project activities and will integrate them to foster their joint effort in establishing viable enterprises (SME).
Project goal is to create new promising businesses by combining innovative knowledge economy driven ideas with business models in traditional industries thus contributing to the long-term and sustainable rise of employment in the Lithuanian-Latvian-Belarus cross-border region.
Project results:
- To empower young people to become entrepreneurs by building their skills needed for development of enterprises (SME);
- To build an alliance of stake holders, who are determined to create long-term collaboration on promotion of youth entrepreneurship;
- To promote visibility and sustainable development of newly established and existing SME.
Link to programme: www.eni-cbc.eu/llb/en