Good practice:

Coworking spaces & Go-To-Work Programme

The project is developed by EOI Foundation, a public institution attached to the Spanish ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism, in the framework of the OPERATIONAL PROGRAM ON EMPLOYMENT, TRAINING AND EDUCATION of the European Social Fund, whose main aim is to boost entrepreneurship.

EOI Foundation together with local Spanish institutions all along the country (townhalls, councils…) have created more than 50 coworking spaces where entrepreneurs can spend the day working in their projects with all the necessary services, meet other entrepreneurs and receive a 5-month training and personalised mentorship, based on EOI´s Agile methodology for entrepreneurs.

Every sector is welcome (circular economy, fintech, handcraft and creative industries, energy, blockchain, digital marketing, videogames, sustainable tourism…).

At the end of each mentoring programme, a demoday takes place, where the entrepreneurs pitch their projects and receive meaningful feedback from mentors and peers.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=espacios+coworking+eoi
Moreover, two transnational programmes have been launched: The European Coworkings Programme https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGGaC5SBD2Q (together with partners in almost all of the EU countries) and the “Womenpreneurs for Change” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX_h6uDfu8U (together with the University of Oulu, in Finland).

There´s many more videos, just click “Espacios coworking eoi” on you tube to know more!!

The programme is cofounded by the European Social Fund. Depending on the region, the co-funding goes up to 50%, 80% or even 90% (Budget 58,6 M €). The rest of the funds come either from the Ministry of Industry (the one to which EOI Foundation is attached), either from the local partners (councils).

So far, almost 3,000 entrepreneurs have benefited from the programme in almost all Spanish regions, with a business creation rate of more than 75%.

The scouting of entrepreneurs has not been easy in some regions. Not all of the potential candidates can join the programme, only those who have either a very clear business idea or are already running their businesses. The second main challenge is to have a strong pool of mentors on board.

This practice could be transferred anywhere in Europe provided that the following requirements are observed:
• Getting the funding (in our case is ESF). The programme covers the mentors, teachers and facilitators salaries, the physical cw-space (wifi, infrastructure). The programme also needs financial support to develop the scouting for entrepreneurs in each region.
• Establish alliances with local public partners (or even private entities) that can bring the physical space or/and some co-funding.
• Put in place a good scouting process in each region, a powerful communication campaign to get the entrepreneurs on board.
• Have a reliable network of mentors in the region (or not necessarily in the region, the mentoring and training sessions can be online as well). The mentor is not only an expert in the field but also must adapt his/her mentoring sessions to the real needs of the entrepreneurs and sometimes becomes sort of a coach.