Entrepreneurship workshops at the ApiLab Innovation Technology Centre
About this good practice
The ApiLab Innovation Technology Centre – the Carniolan Bee House is a business epicentre for the local community, the region and the country. It is a bridge between heritage, tradition and innovative economy. It is a space of new ideas and success stories. SMEs can take advantage of ApiLab’s brand-new technologies and approaches to develop new insights and design advanced solutions.
Although it has some features of a coworking space, such as 3D printers available for use, ApiLab’s fundamental purpose is to serve the SME community. It was created in 2021 in response to different needs of local SMEs and since then, it has organized regular free workshops and events discussing entrepreneurship topics for local businesses. ApiLab has evolved into a hub where entrepreneurs can get support from local environment, training, events, gatherings, protocol events. Every event also promotes local cultural and natural heritage and local SMEs.
The focus of workshops is wide-ranging: Lobbying as the art of the future; The key to succeeding in family business; Creation and development of a startup - the difference compared to a “normal” company; Working in a toxic society - how to be successful in spite of it; Entrepreneurs’ Chat; Persuasive communication; How to design a good brand; ABC of communication in the business world, Labor law legislation and internal control in employment process, The Art of Talent Management - Leadership skills to leverage and inspire talent.
Resources needed
70,000 EUR per year covering the costs of ApiLab staff and for the external experts presenting the workshops
Evidence of success
24 FREE workshops and events with different topics have been organised at ApiLab for local business owners since 2021. Approx. 600 people attended the events.
Potential for learning or transfer
The heart of this good practice is two-way communication and active listening. Topics for seminars come from the bottom up: ApiLab listens to the needs expressed by entrepreneurs and responds to those actual needs, which can have a great effect in improving local businesses. And because it is simple, it also has a significant learning potential and can easily be adopted by other local authorities interested in supporting their SMEs through practical, useful workshops and seminars on many aspects of running a business.
Further information
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
