Shkodra youth gain information on how to initiate a start-up

For many young people, the idea to start a business may look like an impossible and immense enterprise. To start a business from the beginning is not very easy because you need to have adequate knowledge about the market, good planning, and you also need to find funding. For all youth that aim to begin a Start-Up, engaging in drafting a project at a relatively young age is undoubtedly a great advantage.

Fifty young people from the vocational high school "Hamdi Bushati" in Shkodra, engaged in the project "Pathways to Career Development: Preparing Albanian and Montenegrin Youth for Career Opportunities in the Tourism Sector" were part of a six-day long training where they were trained how to plan adequately their business idea, starting from the idea design, ways of financing, marketing, etc. The training was interactive and the youth were divided into working groups where they worked on ways how to draft a business idea, how to present it, and how to sell a product.

"During the training, I gained knowledge that will help me being a successful entrepreneur in the future. We also addressed the ways how to study the market and the importance of customer care," says Denisa, 18-years-old, from Shkodra, Albania.

Following the project implementation, the youth will be encouraged to generate business ideas and draft their ideas in writing to transform these ideas into reality. Throughout this period the youth are in the phase of generating and drafting the business idea, which they will present to a commission comprising of field professionals. Once they are presented and evaluated by the commission, the 8 best ideas will be supported by the project, enabling so a real assistance to the ideas, and youth will have the possibility to initiate a start-up, thus creating the first real opportunity.

"I have been engaged in the project since the beginning and I have participated in all trainings and activities organized. The acquired knowledge will serve me as a base in the future to enter faster in the labor market and maybe one day start my own business. For me, being part of the project is a great help. I have learned many new things and I believe that now I am closer to the labor market," Ermela, 18-years-old from Shkodra.

This project is funded by the European Union through IPA II program, managed by Ministry of Finance and Social Welfare of Montenegro (CFCU) and implemented by World Vision Albania in partnership with New Horizon, Public Institution Combined Secondary School “Bratstvo Jedinstvo” in Ulcinj and “Hamdi Bushati” School in Shkodra.