Weaknesses Identified:
• Lack of financial support: How it is possible to get access to funds to foster entrepreneurship in rural areas?
• Brain drain and rural flight/rural exodus: how can we retain talent in rural areas?
• Lack of entrepreneurial skills: how to provide entrepreneurial skills and training in rural areas?
• Weak ties: how to strengthen networking among entrepreneurs in rural areas?
• Small size of local markets: how we can encourage and support entrepreneurs in rural areas to access bigger markets?
Opportunities Identified:
TRAINING – MENTORING
• Entrepreneurship specific training – capacity building (at all levels) about topics as creativity, management, promotion and innovation, being considered keys to business success.
• Promotion of mentoring/empowering people taking advantage of volunteers – successful entrepreneurs from the same rural area: experts in finance, marketing, accounting...
ENDOGENOUS RESOURCES AND NEW MARKET NICHES
• Support and promotion of endogenous resources as market niches (developing also synergies among sectors): services for elderly rural population, ecological and handicrafts products, tourism and energy.
• Enhancing accessibility to, and use and quality of ICT in rural areas with new business opportunities related to ICTs with other sectors as food or tourism.
LOCAL POLICIES
• Facilitating diversification, creation of new small enterprises and job creation.
• Promoting high quality living spaces and high quality communities in key rural areas (very close to urban centers) to attract and retain greater numbers of professional workers.
• Development of adequate support mechanisms for entrepreneurs and alignment of resources.
FUNDING
• Funding opportunities in the 2014-2020 Programming Period (Structural Funds) as well as other national or regional programmes, including Local Action Groups (LEADER).
