The Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development

The process of testing the ideas of social entrepreneurial ventures in Istria has begun

Foundation for  Partnership and Civil Society Development in cooperation with the Public Institution "Regional Coordinator of the Istrian County for European Programs and Funds" within the project "+ Resilient" gathered interested stakeholders over the past 2 days from the area of ​​the Istrian County who have embarked on a multi-month educational and practical process of testing and validation of business models of social entrepreneurial ventures. The testing process is led by Teo Petričević, CEO and social economy expert, director of the ACT Group.

The past two days at the Faculty of Economics and Tourism "Dr Mijo Mirković ”, the participants sketched their lean canvas of the business model, detected the risks and opportunities and threats of a social entrepreneurial venture. The next step of the participants is to test the assumptions of the problem on customer segments using one of the principles of the Lean Startup methodology: Create - Measure - Learn, the so-called learning circle. After this first phase, there will be a consultation with Teo and the transition to the next phase.

The whole process is very important so that the participants can prove that their idea is on the right track, minimize their risks and confirm the profitability of investing in an entrepreneurial venture.

The process is intended for civil society organizations, companies and individuals from Istria who have an elaborate social entrepreneurial idea or business plan for starting a social entrepreneurial venture.

The Regional Center for the Development of Social Innovations - ReCeD'Istria is a pilot project implemented by the Foundation for Partnership and Civil Society Development as part of the "+ Resilient" Project. The project "+ Resilient" is funded by the Interreg Mediterranean 2014-2020 program from the European Regional Development Fund and co-financed by the Office for Non-Governmental Organizations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia. The project involves 14 partners from 8 Mediterranean countries and aims to network, connect and transfer knowledge and good practices to encourage and develop social innovation and influence the creation of stronger institutional support at the European level.