Good practice:

Fondounimpresa

Fondounimpresa is a interdepartmental service, jointly managed by the Department of education, culture and sport and the Department of finance and economy of Ticino Republic and Canton, together with an accompaniment steering committee including the social partners. In general Fondounimpresa is promoting entrepreneurship in a bottom up perspective, supporting grassroots initiatives (consultants are also “representatives” of micro entrepreneurs needs and expectations).

The aim of Fondounimpresa is in fact fostering local entrepreneurial attitudes and competences, with the aim of promoting self-employment as a means for improving economic growth and social cohesion. Specifically Fondounimpresa acts as:
• Contact point for small and micro-entrepreneurs: giving all information regarding the opening of a business
• Coaching provider: consultancy on specific requests
• Training provider: courses on administrative notions, business plan, marketing, digital marketing, instragram for small businesses, accounting.
• Competence center for animation and development of entrepreneurial attitudes and culture in initial VET and continuous training
• Digital documentation center (web resources are freely available to final users, including links and preparatory steps for applying for funding).

The budget of Fondounimpresa is about 750/800.000 CHF per year.

Fondounipresa is currently growing both in consultants than in users:
In 2019 414 people used coaching and accompaniment services provided by Fondounimpresa, most of them micro-entrepreneurs (199) creating a new business (15 hours coaching) and unemployed aiming at self-employing as independent workers (171), supported by different targeted measures.

Fondounimpresa can be transferred to other realities and be a support service for many regions. The service must be financed and designed to act with public mandate, and collaborations with unemployment offices and other public services must be considered.