Tourexpi
Whilst
the tourism sector in Greece continues to thrive, many young entrepreneurs and
small businesses still encounter significant challenges in building and growing
their ventures. These challenges include limited market access and a lack of
educational resources that can support aspiring entrepreneurs. The new TUI
Futureshapers Greece initiative aims to provide the necessary training,
mentorship, and business links to support individuals and small businesses in
developing innovative entrepreneurial opportunities that tackle social and
environmental challenges.
TUI
Futureshapers Greece, launched by the TUI Care Foundation in partnership with
Wise Greece, will offer a comprehensive educational course designed to train
1,000 participants from across Greece. The extensive virtual course equips
aspiring entrepreneurs with the practical knowledge needed to launch or expand
their business ideas in the sectors of tourism, food, culture, arts &
crafts and cosmetics. Participants will benefit from hands-on guidance and
mentorship from expert trainers and successful entrepreneurs, who will share
best practices and offer personalised mentoring.
To
support the most promising business ideas, the programme will invite the best
ideas to present during a boot camp in Athens. The boot camp will include
workshops, inspiring talks and opportunities to pitch. The best projects will
be awarded stipends, enabling them to focus on developing their ideas without
financial constraints.
Thomas
Ellerbeck, Chairman of the TUI Care Foundation: “Tourism is an important
cornerstone of Greece’s economy. We want to make sure that everyone can benefit
from the successful development of tourism in the country. We strongly believe
that local participation is core to the sustainable and responsible growth of
tourism. With TUI Futureshapers Greece, we’re harnessing the transformative
power of the industry to foster entrepreneurial innovation and sustainable
growth – for the benefit of Greece and all of its people. Our initiative
addresses the challenges faced by small businesses and empowers young people to
transform social and environmental challenges into entrepreneurial
opportunities.”
Melina
Taprantzi, Wise Greece: “We are pleased that, with the support of the TUI Care
Foundation, we will be able to launch the TUI Futureshapers programme in
Greece. This initiative will support key sectors of our country, as well as
entrepreneurs who either want to start a business or have already established a
small business and are looking to innovate sustainably. Wise Greece remains
committed to staying close to local communities and maximising its social
impact whilst addressing the real needs of the people.”
In
addition to the training component, TUI Futureshapers Greece will support a
cohort of at least 60 small and medium-sized enterprises, local artisans,
entrepreneurs, and producers in popular tourism regions such as Zakynthos,
Peloponnese, Corfu, Epirus, the Cyclades and Rhodes. Through capacity building
training and business opportunities, the initiative aims to enhance
participants’ skills in sales, product refinement, marketing, and digital
campaigns. The most innovative SMEs will have the chance to collaborate with
Wise Greece to showcase their products at “Local Gems exhibitions,” promoting
their products to locals, tourists and visitors.
To
maximise its positive impact, the initiative will collaborate with leading
Greek universities and the Greek National Tourism Organisation to ensure a
broad outreach and support. In particular, the collaboration aims to attract
students and young professionals interested in launching start-ups in the food
and tourism sectors.
TUI
Futureshapers Greece is a part of the global TUI Futureshapers Programme, which
empowers people to turn social challenges into entrepreneurial opportunities in
destinations such as Cape Verde, Zanzibar, Senegal, Portugal, Namibia and
Tunisia.
TUI
Care Foundation's ‘Entrepreneurship October‘ is a month of activities dedicated
to supporting sustainable businesses in tourism destinations. Through a series
of project launches, it highlights the importance of empowering small
businesses in tourism destinations with a holistic approach of financial
assistance, mentoring and access to the tourism market.
Image
Credit: © TUI Group
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