Rest@rts

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Reinforcing Med Microfinance Network System for Start-ups

Project in brief

ReSt@rts will create an innovative and full-structural model of support to provide access to finance, inspired by ethical finance and solidarity principles, to be re-adjustable and easily replicable in several environments.

ReSt@rts intends to provide technical guidelines and tools – including the set-up of an online platform playing the role of a marketplace linking the demand and supply sides of financial and non-financial services, strongly needed by Mediterranean youth entrepreneurs (aged 18-40 according to countries). In MED countries access to finance represents one of the main gaps to fill in, in order to promote economic initiatives capable to increase job opportunities for youth and improve living conditions of the most vulnerable people such as youth, women and migrants. Within this framework, and according to this approach, microfinance is seen as an important tool to promote access to finance for entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs currently excluded as non-bankable, for the startup and scale up of entrepreneurial actions.

The ReSt@rts objectives can be summarized as follows:

to promote the transfer of knowledge and best practices in the Mediterranean area, for the promotion and improvement of access to finance initiatives according to ethical principles;
to support business development services for encouraging the creation of new economic and professional opportunities;
to strengthen the system of ethical microfinance and access to credit in the Mediterranean area, supporting the business system in parallel and encouraging the creation of new economic and professional opportunities;
to strengthen a transnational network, which can be the right approach to link the demand with the offer of financial and non-financial services;
to enhance field experiences and improve peer to peer initiatives by adopting more collaboratives approaches;
to promote knowledge transfer processes to the new partners in the Mediterranean countries.