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Read about our Hungarian project below. Making business ideas work, in Hungary. In Central and Eastern Europe the previous political climate has resulted in an insufficient infrastructure to facilitate the development of an enterprise culture. This has presented a barrier to young, Hungarian entrepreneurs with the commitment and enthusiasm to start their own businesses but little or no support to help them do it. In order to address this situation, Wandsworth Youth Enterprise Centre (WYEC), as the lead partner, worked with the Budapest Business Polytechnic (BBP) on a pilot project funded by the European Commission through the PHARE Partnership Programme. This resulted in the creation of the Budapest Youth Enterprise Centre (BYEC), not only the first youth enterprise centre in Hungary but the first in Central and Eastern Europe.
Project Objectives and Project Success To create the administration necessary to run a Youth Enterprise Programme and Incubator Centre and to develop, set up and pilot a programme and centre, accommodating a small number of new businesses. To promote the start up and development of micro and small businesses in the region, providing positive socio-economic benefits for the wider Hungarian community and other regions of Europe. The objectives were successfully achieved and the centre has gone from strength to strength. The pilot project, which finished in June 1998, consisted of the development and delivery of the following features:
Practical Support for Young People BYEC now provides practical support for young people aged 18 to 30, through the provision of a training and counselling programme specifically adapted to meet the needs of young Hungarians. This is combined with the provision of some managed workspace units and centralised services. A range of services are now available, including: • Business Awareness Workshops Centralised business services include secretarial services (message handling, facsimile, mail and postage), photocopying, a business information library, computer usage, internet and intranet access and accountancy services. Young People Set Up in Business This provision has successfully resulted in young people exploring the option of self-employment, developing viable business plans and starting up their own businesses. The pilot incubator centre achieved 100% occupancy during the life of the pilot programme and BYEC has supported more than 140 young people, helping 18 of them set up their own businesses and creating 25 jobs. These results were achieved through the exclusive, direct support of BYEC. Outreach and Dissemination The project also involves an ongoing programme of outreach and dissemination activities. These include:
By working together with WYEC, on developing and implementing an outreach and marketing programme, BYEC are able to experience at first hand how such an activity is structured and operated. The BYEC staff are able to see the impact of an ongoing and well targeted outreach programme on the level of enquiries generated and the progression rates of clients. The combination of outreach and dissemination programmes is instrumental in developing good, local support networks and influencing the decision/policy makers. A Referral and Support Network BYEC has built up and is continuing to build co-operation with those established agencies which are able to refer young people to the centre's programmes BYEC's services complement existing provision in Hungary and offer many new and original elements. An example is the counselling and training programme, specifically designed for young entrepreneurs in their pre- and post-start up stages. The Business Polytechnic, and BYEC's growing number of supporters, appreciate the need for this initiative and consider the centre and its services highly effective and valuable. BYEC is now actively contributing to and helping build a Hungarian entrepreneurial culture by facilitating the establishment of micro and small enterprises. Future Plans Due to the success of the pilot project, a full scale youth enterprise centre is already in development with planned accommodation for up to 30 new businesses. This new centre will be the 'flagship' model for future centres in Eastern Europe. There has been unprecedented interest in the BYEC pilot project, from other regions and agencies, and the aim is now to disseminate the model and to establish a network of incubator centres throughout Hungary and CEEC. A Strong Partnership WYEC and the Budapest Business Polytechnic have been working together since 1993 on the Budapest Youth Enterprise Centre pilot project. Through 5 years of co-operation the partners have got to know each other's organisation, services, aims and objectives very well. The development of this relationship was a major factor in successfully applying to the PHARE Partnership Programme and facilitating such a new concept in the region. Wavehill Consulting worked with both partners, providing technical assistance in the form of EU project management, monitoring, auditing, reporting and evaluation. They also provided technical expertise for the development and promotion of company profiles during the Business-to-Business co-operation element of the project. BYEC's supporters include: • Business Basics Foundation Contact: Budapest Youth Enterprise Centre, Vendel utca 3, Budapest 1096, Hungary Tel: +36 1 215 49 07 E-mail: byec@mail.matav.hu The BYEC Project is sponsored by the PHARE Partnership Programme, a European Commission initiative.
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