BUILDING INTEGRATION THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP (BITE), ITALY, GREECE, SWEDEN

The BITE consortium advertises the programme in its countries of operation in order to promote entrepreneurship, raise awareness of the programme and identify potential entrepreneurs of Sub-Saharan origin and encourage them to apply.

Successful candidates go through a business development and acceleration course. In a first phase, entrepreneurs participate in a management course (focusing on building entrepreneurial skills and shaping business projects). In a second phase, they receive one-on-one mentoring to develop their project and consolidate financial and economic plans to ensure long-term business sustainability. Participants are supported in this process by experienced professionals including financial advisors, certified accountants and communication experts. They also have the opportunity to interact with role models, i.e. successful entrepreneurs of African descent. To facilitate access to finance after programme completion, BITE created a platform, Diasporabusiness.eu. On the website, interested impact investors can browse BITE start-ups by sector and country, and make contact with the BITE team to learn more about the projects and invest.

The BITE programme also developed learning supports available to all. First, it offers free instructional videos for immigrant entrepreneurs on key steps of business development (including finding a business idea, developing a business model, drafting a business plan and searching for financial resources).  The videos are available in English and in French. Second, the project also developed a Toolkit for local authorities and civil society organisations that want to adopt the project’s best practices. The toolkit includes a handbook and infographics on the project’s structure and method, and is complemented by a recorded webinar including presentations of successful project participants.