GRANDIS 3rd Interregional Meeting in Namur
The third interregional meeting of the Interreg Europe GRANDIS project took place on 11–12 June 2025 in Namur, Belgium, gathering project partners, stakeholders, and local ecosystem actors to exchange on challenges and potential solutions to strengthen female entrepreneurship in the green and digital transitions. Hosted by Service public de Wallonie, the two-day event built upon the previous Challenge Mapping workshop in Santander, moving into the Ideation phase of the Design Thinking cycle.
Day 1 – Design Thinking & Real-World Insights
The event opened with a welcome by Lionel Bonjean, General Manager at the Directorate General for Economy, Employment and Research (SPW EER). The morning focused on the “Ideation” Design Thinking workshop led by EIfI-Tech, where partners and stakeholders co-developed ideas responding to previously mapped challenges. These included access to finance, gender biases, work-life balance, support networks, and skills development. Participants used co-creation techniques to link these issues with potential Good Practices already in place across regions.
In the afternoon, the group explored the Walloon ecosystem through site visits to two key support structures. First, at Wallonie Entreprendre, participants learned how the SAACE scheme (Structure d'accompagnement à l'auto-création d'emploi) supports women’s entrepreneurship with a strong social dimension. They heard firsthand from Céline Roisin, CEO of Sol-Ex (soil decontamination & water analysis), and Lola Brousmiche, CEO of Waste-End (biomethanisation systems for organic waste recovery).
The second stop took the group to IFAPME Charleroi, where Lilou Mauroy, mural artist & interior painter (The Fifth Wall), presented her journey through the “Je monte ma boîte” programme, which empowers women in traditional sectors to start their own businesses. The day ended with a networking dinner in Namur’s old town, strengthening informal dialogue between partners and local stakeholders.
Day 2 – Good Practices & Policy Pathways
The second day turned attention to Good Practice presentations. Partners and stakeholders showcased potential examples addressing key barriers to female-led entrepreneurship. Moderated by Resolvo and EIfI-Tech, the session prompted peer exchange and feedback around relevance, replicability, and impact potential.
Building on this, EIfI-Tech (Advisory Partner) presented conclusions from the project’s Chapter 1 analysis on the current policy landscape. These insights served as a springboard for the next interactive workshop: Policy Improvement Journey Mapping. Here, partners collaboratively outlined steps toward improving their selected policy instruments, identifying both pain points and ambitions for each phase. The exercise reinforced how policy learning through interregional exchange can support practical, tailored improvements at the local and regional levels.
The meeting concluded with the third Steering Group Meeting of the project, covering updates on communication, Interreg Europe reporting requirements, and next steps for turning local challenges into policy improvement across GRANDIS partner regions.
