STAND Up! launches a call for applications for textile and fashion entrepreneurs

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STAND Up! launches a call for applications for textile and fashion entrepreneurs to develop their financial literacy skills

The call for applications will include an Access to Finance Training and two events in each country in front of potential investors. A minimum of 50 entrepreneurs will be selected in the Mediterranean region.

STAND Up! launches a call for applications for ventures in the textile and clothing sector to develop their financial literacy skills, get knowledge on how to raise funds, and get chances to meet with local and regional investors to potentially secure funding opportunities. The ‘Call for Access to Finance’ will select a minimum of 50 entrepreneurs from the 5 partner countries in Lebanon, Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia. It means that each country will target at least 10 entrepreneurs.

As a supporting element for circular and sustainable business models, the 10 selected entrepreneurs per country will participate in a 10-days-long training that will focus on building the financial projections of the start-ups, understanding their readiness, trends, and opportunities in the investment landscape. The training program, which will be held in each country, will be followed by two events organized by each country to provide investment feedback to the entrepreneurs and to receive local and regional exposure with potential investors.

The call is open for textile and fashion start-ups that meet the following criteria:

  • Early-stage/Growth-stage start-ups in the textile and clothing industry

  • Venture with potential scalability, innovative and economically viable

  • Venture with a prototype or product/service ready in the market

  • Venture with an environmental and social impact

  • Venture with a unique value proposition and sustainable business model with clear revenue streams

Among the selected participants, at least 50% should have participated in the capacity building phase and incubation phase. The ‘Access to Finance’ training, which will be given in a virtual format in English, will review revenue streams in the business model canvas and develop the investment teaser. It will also focus on identifying the sources of revenues and setting the cost and pricing strategy. In addition to that, it will give tools to entrepreneurs to build a financial forecast based on assumptions.

Besides, the training will share knowledge on what investors are more interested to know and to see and the concepts of ‘investable’ or ‘investment ready’. Finally, it will help ventures to find funding options and the type of investors in the markets. This capacity-building training will be followed by two pitching events. During the first matchmaking event, the entrepreneurs will get the chance to pitch their ideas in front of an internal jury and investors to receive feedback on their investment teaser.

During the second matchmaking event, ventures will pitch their investment teasers in front of potential investors in order to get the chance to secure investments and potential funding opportunities. The two events will be organized from July until September 2022. The application forms must be filled in through The Switchers.org platform, a free-to-use tool that entrepreneurs have used along with the capacity-building program. Applicants must register on the platform in order to be able to apply!

Deadline to submit applications: 21st March 2022

Link to apply for the access to finance call

[:ar]

STAND Up! launches a call for applications for textile and fashion entrepreneurs to develop their financial literacy skills

The call for applications will include an Access to Finance Training and two events in each country in front of potential investors. A minimum of 50 entrepreneurs will be selected in the Mediterranean region.

STAND Up! launches a call for applications for ventures in the textile and clothing sector to develop their financial literacy skills, get knowledge on how to raise funds, and get chances to meet with local and regional investors to potentially secure funding opportunities. The ‘Call for Access to Finance’ will select a minimum of 50 entrepreneurs from the 5 partner countries in Lebanon, Egypt, Italy, Spain, and Tunisia. It means that each country will target at least 10 entrepreneurs.

As a supporting element for circular and sustainable business models, the 10 selected entrepreneurs per country will participate in a 10-days-long training that will focus on building the financial projections of the start-ups, understanding their readiness, trends, and opportunities in the investment landscape. The training program, which will be held in each country, will be followed by two events organized by each country to provide investment feedback to the entrepreneurs and to receive local and regional exposure with potential investors.

The call is open for textile and fashion start-ups that meet the following criteria:

  • Early-stage/Growth-stage start-ups in the textile and clothing industry

  • Venture with potential scalability, innovative and economically viable

  • Venture with a prototype or product/service ready in the market

  • Venture with an environmental and social impact

  • Venture with a unique value proposition and sustainable business model with clear revenue streams

Among the selected participants, at least 50% should have participated in the capacity building phase and incubation phase. The ‘Access to Finance’ training, which will be given in a virtual format in English, will review revenue streams in the business model canvas and develop the investment teaser. It will also focus on identifying the sources of revenues and setting the cost and pricing strategy. In addition to that, it will give tools to entrepreneurs to build a financial forecast based on assumptions.

Besides, the training will share knowledge on what investors are more interested to know and to see and the concepts of ‘investable’ or ‘investment ready’. Finally, it will help ventures to find funding options and the type of investors in the markets. This capacity-building training will be followed by two pitching events. During the first matchmaking event, the entrepreneurs will get the chance to pitch their ideas in front of an internal jury and investors to receive feedback on their investment teaser.

During the second matchmaking event, ventures will pitch their investment teasers in front of potential investors in order to get the chance to secure investments and potential funding opportunities. The two events will be organized from July until September 2022. The application forms must be filled in through The Switchers.org platform, a free-to-use tool that entrepreneurs have used along with the capacity-building program. Applicants must register on the platform in order to be able to apply!

Deadline to submit applications: 21st March 2022

Link to apply for the access to finance call

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the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences - SLU

[:en]ERASMUS mobility program, Live, Work and Study abroad[:ar]برامج ايراسموس للتبادل التعليمي والثقافي للدراسة والتعلم بالخارج[:]

[:en]There’s a reason Heliopolis University has a keen interest in exchange programs.    HU aims to cooperate with the most progressive and most innovative universities in the world that are suitable to contribute to solutions of the challenges we now face. This results in a unique blend of partnerships with national and international universities, with whom we can now offer incredible opportunities to experience life, work, and study alongside regular research and studies. Therefore, we are happy to deepen our cooperation with one of the finest universities in the area of agriculture, worldwide, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences – SLU and offer further staff and now also student exchange opportunities.  To promote this, SLU recently cooperated in a webinar that was organised by the International office at HU. During the webinar, SLU presented the new ERASMUS mobility program and the exchange opportunities that were granted by the EU as a result of a joint application with HU. SLU presented the studies they are offering and the SLU Research interests that researchers pursue in areas relevant to HU. It was interesting to see different cultural angles.  Although, it has been a turbulent semester, with distance learning and many restrictions due to COVID-19. The webinar delivered many points, but the most crucial part was that we will not leave the pandemic effect on our international relations and exchange program.  We believe it will be a fruitful collaboration since our missions are very much aligned with each other. Special thanks to Assem Abu Hatab, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, SLU. Coordinator for Global Development at NJ Faculty, SLU Global, SLU  International Affairs Gabrielle Lagerkvist, International Officer at the Division of Educational Affairs; International Mobility Unit.  Geir Löe, International Officer at the Division of Educational Affair. Yasmin Abass, International Relations Officer of Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development and Sigward von Laue, President of Research and International Affairs, to provide better opportunities to develop HUSD staff and students.   We had the pleasure of meeting amazing people, building a solid network, and exchanging with top industry experts. [:ar]  تهتم جامعة هليوبوليس للتنمية المستدامة ببرامج التبادل، حيث تسعى إلى التعاون مع الجامعات الوطنية والدولية الأكثر تقدمًا وإبداعًا في العالم، التي تساهم بحلول لمواجهة التحديات التي نواجهها الآن، وتتيح فرصًا  لتجربة الحياة والعمل والدراسة جنبًا إلى جنب مع الدراسات البحثية المنتظمة. لذلك، يسعدنا تعميق تعاوننا مع واحدة من أرقى الجامعات في مجال الزراعة، الجامعة السويدية للعلوم الزراعية – SLU لتقديم المزيد من فرص التبادل للموظفين وكذلك للطلاب.   ولتعزيز هذا التعاون، نظم المكتب العلاقات الدولية بجامعة هليوبوليس مؤخرًا ندوة عبر الإنترنت بالتعاون مع الجامعة السويدية للعلوم الزراعية – SLU. خلال الندوة ناقشت الجامعة السويدية للعلوم الزراعية برنامج ايراسموس للتبادل التعليمي والثقافي التي وافق عليها الاتحاد الأوروبي نتيجة لطلب مشترك مع منظمة التعاون والتنمية في الميدان الاقتصادي. كما ناقشت بعض الدراسات والأبحاث التي يتابعها الباحثون في المجالات ذات الصلة. على الرغم من إضطراب الدراسة لهذا العام، ومع التعلم عن بعد والعديد من القيود بسبب فيروس كورونا. إلا أن العديد من النقاط قد نوقشت، ويظل الجزء الأكثر أهمية هو أننا لن نترك الوباء يؤثر على علاقاتنا الدولية وبرنامج التبادل. لهذا نعتقد أنه سيكون تعاونًا مثمرًا بين الشريكين حيث أن مهماتنا تسير على درب واحد. ونخص بالشكر، دكتور عاصم أبو حطب؛ أستاذ مشارك؛ منسق التنمية العالمية في كلية NJ، قسم الاقتصاد بالجامعة السويدية للعلوم الزراعية. الشؤون الدولية غابرييل لاغركفيست، مسؤولة دولية في قسم الشؤون التعليمية؛ وحدة النقل الدولي. غير لوي ، مسؤول دولي في قسم الشؤون التعليمية.  ياسمين عباس، مسؤولة العلاقات الدولية بجامعة هليوبوليس للتنمية المستدامة وسيغوارد فون لاو، رئيس البحوث والشؤون الدولية، لتوفير فرص أفضل لتطوير موظفي والطلاب جامعة هليوبوليس.  لقد كان من دواعي سرورنا أن التقينا بأشخاص رائعين، وبناء شبكة علاقات قوية، والتبادل الخبرة مع كبار خبراء الصناعة. [:]

Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt,

[:en]Ambassador Christian Berger visits Heliopolis University[:ar]السفير كريستيان بيرجر يقبل دعوة جامعة هليوبوليس[:]

[:en] Forty-four years ago, the European Union and Egypt started paving the way for some modest advances in the EU–Egypt relations. It was challenging as the region required a typical response but they managed to turn these challenges into opportunities and achieved International and regional developments. As SEKEM has always been interested in taking part in this union so we invited Ambassador Christian Berger, Head of the EU Delegation to Egypt, and he kindly accepted the invitation to visit SEKEM and learn more about its dynamics and beliefs.     The tour started at SEKEM farm, where the ambassador was introduced to the SEKEM community by Mr Helmy Abouleish. During the tour, they conducted a discussion on the challenges that SEKEM has faced to achieve a community-based organic and sustainable lifestyle and how SEKEM has succeeded in delivering organic products at an affordable price They also talked about the two essential principles of SEKEM’s community; education and health.   The ambassador visited SEKEM school and got to know its different approach in teaching students and helping them unfold their potentials at a young age through different activities like handicrafts, pottery, carpeting and a lot more rather than depending only on the traditional methods of learning and memorizing. There, Helmy Aboueleish expressed his preference to visit the school a lot.  The ambassador also checked SEKEM companies and the entire production process; starting from the raw materials to the final products, and witnessed the making of the solar panels SEKEM uses in its own farms. The tour also included exploring the health services SEKEM provides for its employees through different clinics. After that, the ambassador headed back to Cairo with Helmy Aboueleish to visit Heliopolis University for Sustainable Development. There he learned about the university’s system and checked the entrepreneurship centre and its ongoing projects. And accepted the University’s shield and wrote a message in the HU Memorial book. After the tour, when we asked the ambassador about what surprised him the most during his SEKEM visit, he expressed his fascination with SEKEM community saying:  “I was surprised by the size of SEKEM, and that people don’t give up, people had a challenging start, but they succeeded and I think they are well received by the population of the places around. The area of the SEKEM farm is really huge and people really like it. There is a bond between the people and the farm.“  [:ar] قبل أربعة وأربعين عامًا ، بدأ الاتحاد الأوروبي ومصر في تمهيد الطريق العلاقات للتعاون بين الطرفيين. حيث كانت المنطقة تتطلب استجابة مستمرة للتحديات التى تواجهها، لكنها تمكنت من تحويل هذه التحديات إلى فرص وحققت تطورات دولية وإقليمية. نظرًا لأن سيكم كانت دائمًا مهتمة بالمشاركة تطوير المنطقة بالمزامنة مع الإتحاد، فقد قمنا بدعوة السفير كريستيان بيرجر ، رئيس بعثة الاتحاد الأوروبي إلى مصر ، وقد تفضل سيادته بقبول الدعوة لزيارة سيكم ومعرفة المزيد عن ديناميكيتها ومعتقداتها. بدأت الجولة في مزرعة سيكم ، حيث قدم السيد حلمي أبو العيش السفير لمجتمع سيكم. تناقشوا خلال الجولة حول التحديات التي واجهتها سيكم لتحقيق مجتمع قائم على نمط حياة عضوي ومستدام قائم وكيف نجحت سيكم في تقديم المنتجات العضوية بأسعار في متناول الجميع ، كما تحدثوا عن المبدأين الأساسيين لمجتمع سيكم ؛ التعليم والصحة. تلى ذلك زيارة السفير لمدرسة سيكم وتعرف على نهجها المختلف في تعليم الطلاب ومساعدتهم على اكتشاف إمكاناتهم في سن مبكرة من خلال أنشطة مختلفة مثل الحرف اليدوية والفخار والسجاد وغير ذلك الكثير بدلاً من الاعتماد على الأساليب التقليدية للتعلم والحفظ فقط . هناك ، أعرب حلمي أبو العيش عن تفضيله لزيارة المدرسة كثيرًا. كما قام السفير بتفقد شركات سيكم وعملية الإنتاج بأكملها ؛ بدءًا من المواد الخام وحتى المنتجات النهائية ، وشهد على صناعة الألواح الشمسية التي تستخدمها سيكم في مزارعها الخاصة. تضمنت الجولة أيضًا نظرة على الخدمات الصحية التي تقدمها لموظفيها من خلال عيادات ثابتة ومتنقلة. بعد ذلك عاد السفير إلى القاهرة مع حلمي أبو العيش لزيارة جامعة هليوبوليس للتنمية المستدامة. هناك تعرف على نظام الجامعة ومركز ريادة الأعمال ومشاريعه الجارية. وفي النهاية تقدمت إدارة الجامعة برئاسة الأستاذ الدكتور/ يسري هاشم بتسليم درع الجامعة الشرفي، حيث قبلها السفير ثم كتب بعض كلمات الشكر والتقدير في كتاب جامعة هليوبوليس التذكاري. بعد الجولة ، عندما سألنا السفير عما فاجأه أكثر خلال زيارته، عبر عن افتتانه بمجتمع سيكم قائلاً: “لقد فوجئت بحجم مجتمع سيكم، وأنهم لا يستسلمون، كان بدايات سيكم صعبة، لكنهم نجحوا وأعتقد أنهم استقبلوا بترحاب من قبل سكان الأماكن المحيطة. مساحة مزرعة سيكم ضخمة حقًا ويحبها الناس حقًا. هناك رابط حقيقي خلقته سيكم بالقرى المحيطة لهم “. [:]

[:en]STAND Up! Growing Innovation program[:ar]برنامج الابتكار الجديد STAND up! [:]

[:en] STAND Up! Growing Innovation program Call for entrepreneurship and eco-innovative business projects    Scaling and supporting Eco-Innovative projects in The Textile, clothing & Fashion Industry   Do you have a project or an idea in the textile and/or fashion industry that is eco-innovative and has circular model?  Do you want to scale-up and support your innovative business project?   SEKEM development foundation is inviting young entrepreneurs in the clothing and fashion industry who want to transform their ideas or start-ups into scalable eco-friendly textile and fashion ventures.    Apply now!    You will benefit from advanced business support, financing opportunities, and regional networking to develop and expand your business across the Mediterranean within ten months.   SEKEM development foundation is calling for young innovators and entrepreneurs in the fashion, clothing, and textile sectors to apply for the Stand-Up Growing Innovation Program!    This program is funded by the EU under the ENICBCMED Programme and focuses on transforming the entrepreneur’s solutions into scalable eco-friendly businesses contributing to the growth of innovation & business opportunities in the textile, clothing, and fashion industry.   From Egypt, 40 entrepreneurs/start-ups will be selected to join the program. Throughout the 10-month program, SDF will support the entrepreneurs through access to advanced business support, financing opportunities, technical assistance, soft-landing vouchers, and regional business networking to grow their projects into textile or fashion ventures and expand them across the Mediterranean basin.   The program will run in 5 Mediterranean countries – Egypt, Italy, Lebanon, Spain, and Tunisia, building a powerful network of entrepreneurs, eco-innovators, experts, and partners in the textile and fashion industry.   Business Support: Access to business and technical support designed to meet the needs for entrepreneurship and eco-innovative business projects in the textile, clothing, and fashion industry sectors contributing positively to an environmentally and socially responsible circular model.   Financing Opportunities Access to funding opportunities with investors and investment readiness training.   Access to Mediterranean Markets Access to regional market and support through soft landing vouchers in 5 Mediterranean countries    Circular Regional Network Access to the STAND Up! A Mediterranean network of green partners and investors    SEKEM development foundation Network Access to SEKEM’s network of entrepreneurs, professionals, funding companies, and international partners in sustainable development.   Who can apply? The call, which will be addressed in 5 different versions according to the countries involved, is mainly addressed to: young independent innovators and entrepreneurs (24-35 years old),  students/ graduates from fashion, textile, and design universities working on innovative business projects,  small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs),  industries and organizations working on spin-off projects, from the textile and fashion sectors.    What criteria must the proposed projects meet?  The eligible projects should offer: products, services, designs, business models, or technologies leading to sustainable and environmentally-friendly innovations in the industry.  Should include the potential of scalability, combining innovation, technology, and economic viability.  should be compliant with the environment and create a sustainable impact on the circular economy.   The program, organized in 4 different stages, will contribute to the growth of this ecosystem focusing on green business model development, early-stage incubation, access to markets, regional sectorial network, and access to finance in 5 Mediterranean countries (Egypt, Italy, Lebanon, Spain, and Tunisia). The Growing innovation Program’s Timeline and Stages The program starts in April 2021 and ends in January 2022.  Stage 1: Outreach & Selection (February 15 – March 15, 2021) Selecting 40 entrepreneurs in Egypt in the textile, fashion, and clothing industries.    Capacity Building (March 2021 – May 2021) The selected start-ups will go through a 2-month capacity-building program tailored to support them in developing their green business models, access to finance and market strategies.   Jury Day | Selection Of 4 Projects (June 2021) Entrepreneurs will pitch in front of a selected jury that will select 4 projects who will continue in the next incubation phase.  The pitching teams will be screened based on their value proposition, their innovation, the applicability of their technology, their green business model and scalability potential, their environmental and social impacts, their implementation capacity, and finally on their pitch effectiveness.   Stage 2: Incubation Support (June 2021 – November 2021) The 4 selected teams will benefit from incubation support from SDF and get in-depth technical and business support.  The incubation period will revolve around:   -Supporting the projects in the implementation.  -Facilitating linkages with experts, investors, and professionals  – giving the teams access to support programs, market, and funding opportunities through SDF and its partners’ networks.    Stage 3: Access to Finance (October 2021 – January 2022) 10 ventures will be selected based on specific criteria to benefit from: Investment readiness training support and matchmaking opportunities with regional investors and funding programs. Stage4: Access to Markets (October 2021 – January 2022) 4 ventures will be selected based on specific criteria to benefit from:  Soft-landing vouchers in Mediterranean countries to explore growth opportunities and access to business, partnerships, and collaboration deals to expand their operations.   Interested in joying this experience? The call is now open till the 31st  of March 2021 Apply Now by filling this form If you have any questions, please contact: Project Manager: [email protected] Communication Manager: [email protected][:ar]    STAND up! برنامج الابتكار الجديد  المرحلة 1 / دعوة لريادة الأعمال والمشاريع المبتكرة بيئياً دعم المشاريع البيئية المبتكرة في صناعة المنسوجات والملابس والأزياء هل لديك مشروع أو فكرة مبتكرة بيئيًا ولها نموذج اقتصادي دوار في قطاع النسيج و / أو الموضة  ؟ هل ترغب في توسيع نطاق مشروعك التجاري المبتكر ودعمه؟ هل انت من المحافظات التالية أو سيتم تطبيق مشروعك هناك: مرسى مطروح ،الإسكندرية، البحيرة،كفر الشيخ،الشرقية،دمياط،الدقهلية ،الإسماعيليةو رأس صدر؟ تدعو مؤسسة سيكم للتنمية رواد الأعمال الشباب فيي قطاع النسيج والأزياء الذين يرغبون في تحويل أفكارهم أو شركاتهم الناشئة إلى مشاريع ناجحة ،صديقة للبيئة  و قابلة للتطوير. قدم الآن! و احصل على فرص تدريب و تمويل وتواصل مع الشبكات الإقليمية لتطوير وتوسيع مشروعك عبر البحر الأبيض المتوسط ​​في غضون عشرة أشهر. تدعو مؤسسة سيكم للتنمية  المبتكرين الشباب ورواد الأعمال في قطاعات النسيج والملابس والموضة  إلى التقديم  لبرنامج الابتكار الجديد! يتم تمويل