In January 12, 2018 was the third Startup Weekend in the School of Rural Business in Kamarova. Beginning entrepreneurs presented business plans that was prepared during the training and competed for financial support of the European Union project.
Participants of the third Startup Weekend were the students of the School, who were trained from September to December 2017. Among them were residents of Smarhoń, Pastavy and Astraviec districts.
The best business plans were determined by the jury, which included representatives of local authorities, NGOs and businesses. Winners of the Startup Weekend will receive financial support in the amount of 2 to 10 thousand euros from the project "Development of Rural Localities in the Republic of Belarus: Boosting Rural Entrepreneurship in Belarus and Launching a Rural Business Incubator in Kamarova", funded by the European Union.
The largest number of points from the strict jury was gained by the local private initiative to create a specialized service for steering the cars from Serkevich Denis from the Smarhoń district. The car owners who live in the Smarhoń, Ašmiany and Astraviec districts will be able to use the service for restoring failed steering elements of cars and trucks. According to the submitted business plan, the cost of restoration is 2.5-3 times lower than the purchase of a new unit. The jury noted the strong environmental component of this initiative: the entrepreneur plans to organize the collection of used oils for further processing.
The jury also supported another initiative in the automotive sphere. Alexei Svirsky from the Smarhoń district plans to open a service to restore emergency vehicles. Due to financial support of the project, he will be able to restore about 50 cars per year, and in the future to restore antiques and repair electric vehicles.
On Startup Weekend was presented only one initiative from the Astraviec district and she was among the winners. Danuta Grazhul-Gulbinskaya plans to open a mini-confectionery. A resident of the Alkhouka village has long been famous for baking among friends, and with the opening of a mini-confectioner will be able to sell cakes and other types of baking in the district.
One of the winners was the beekeeper with many years of experience ‒ Leonid Myshko from Pastavy district, which plans to expand production and sale of bee products.
At the Startup Weekend several initiatives represented the village of Lyntupy, Pastavy district, where the beginning entrepreneurs plan to create a cultural cluster for the local population, summer residents and tourists. The jury saw the potential in creating a hostel with a barrier-free environment, providing budget accommodation, as well as placing tents on the premises and renting bicycles. This idea was represented by Roman Zabello. According to him, there is already a large stream of tourists in Lyntupy, who will be interested in the opportunity to stay overnight for several days.
Arthur Klinov's initiative to create an equipped hall-stage for expanding the commercial services package of the cultural center "Art-village Kapturany" recommended to finalize the business plan and try to participate in the additional Startup Weekend.
During the jury's work, speech time of Startup Weekend was filled by Vladimir Karyagin, chairman of the Higher Coordinating Council of the Republican Confederation of Entrepreneurship.
Next Startup Weekend in the School of Rural Business in Kamarova will be held in the spring of 2018.
Reference:
The School of Rural Business in Kamarova works within the framework of the project " Development of Rural Localities in the Republic of Belarus: Boosting Rural Entrepreneurship in Belarus and Launching a Rural Business Incubator in Kamarova". The project is funded by the European Union and co-financed by the US Embassy in Minsk, its budget is 588 thousand euros, where the EU contribution is 556.5 thousand euros. The project is being implemented by the IPO "Ecopartnership" (Minsk) and the NGO "Women for the revival of the Narač region"(Kamarova). More information on ecopartnerstvo.by.
