CONTEXT

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According to European Commission data, women account for 29% of the total in the entrepreneur’s category, with a slight increase of 3% from 2008 to today(1).These data show an underutilization of the female workforce, corroborated by statistics on the overall employment of women in Europe, equal to 67.4% in 2018 (compared to an average of 79% for the male counterpart(2).The European Union is founded on cardinal values, including equality AND promotes equality between men and women at all levels is one of them (3). Promoting self-entrepreneurship and female entrepreneurship, to increase employment levels and the economic autonomy of women, is therefore a desirable action.

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THE PROJECT

European Handmakers Network" project is part of this theme, proposing the creation of a digital platform that allows European women handmakers to have a place where they can be followed by online mentoring in English, in order to increase their skills and turn their hobby into a micro enterprise. This mentoring activity may concern not only women already operating in the manual work sector, but also those who want to transform their home-based craftsmanship into a working activity. In fact, many women in various regions of Europe already deal with the production of artefacts, which contribute informally to the livelihood of the family. In addition, women who are already successfully pursuing their entrepreneurial activity would be given the opportunity to exercise a role as trainers and to be a good example for other women, as well as to promote their activity at European level.

The digital platform would allow:

1. To deepen the financial training of the handmakers;

2. Provide methodological tools on starting a self-employed job;

3. Develop the communication and training skills of the mentors registered on the platform;

4. Spread the exchange of good practices, through peer-to-peer mentor-handmaker training;

5. Create a sustainable training network at European level between mentors and users.