Project Promoting Good Entrepreneurship 2009 is under way

In the last issue of the Bulletin, we informed you that our Chamber joined the Project Promoting Good Entrepreneurship again this year. The common Project of the Czech Donors Forum and us thus continues with its third year, this time, in addition, strengthened by cooperation with the British Chamber of Commerce, which brought new member companies into the Project.

“We decided to support this project mostly because it is practical and has results,” says Simon Rawlence, Director of the British Chamber of Commerce. “Instead of organizing some seminars or conferences, we joined a running project focused on development of NGOs. We are interested in this project also because it is established and its participants will continue to develop their skills.”

“The principle of this very effective project that we are organizing already the third year, is simple,” explains Pavlína Kalousová, Executive Director of the Czech Donors Forum. “Managers of the NGOs have an opportunity to take part in a number of seminars free of charge, in which they learn the basics of project management, marketing, PR and communications, and so on. And on the tutors’ side, there are managers from the world of commerce who pass their knowledge on to them. Everybody has a chance to learn more about commercial and non-profit environments, they can actually teach one another.”

Misja den Haan, Secretary General of the Netherlands-Czech Chamber of Commerce, adds: “Our Chamber and its member companies feel that we should contribute to the development of a well functioning civic society here in the Czech Republic, because we are also doing business here. Being thus part of this society, we should not only earn money, but we should also contribute. Therefore, we have chosen to transfer something we believe we are good at, and that is experience in entrepreneurship.”

Participants of the Project are representatives of NGOs specialized in working with clients particularly in the area of better employability of endangered groups. Managers from the participating companies not only prepare lectures for the NGOs, but they also make themselves available as consultants and advisors for their real entrepreneurial projects. By means of such projects, the NGOs, for instance, establish protected works, prepare re-qualification courses or create new jobs for their clients. A well-functioning earning activity of the NGOs is crucial for them in terms of their long-term financial sustainability.

In April, the first seminar of this year was held, it was devoted to the topic of project management (tutors were Jiří Dudorkin from Ernst & Young and Alena Rabčanová from Business Lease). The participants of the next seminar gained knowledge on social enterprise (tutors: Petra Francová – Nová ekonomika, Jiří Novák – Jůnův statek and Jitka Švejcarová – ČSOB) and on cooperation between the NGO and a commercial company (tutors: Alexandra Gjurić and Eva Koubíková, ING). The third, June seminar was focused on social marketing and cause related marketing (tutors: Helena Liška – Mazars, Libor Kytýr – Ahold CR, Jakub Fiala and Víťa Soulková – Czech Donors Forum). The Project will continue with two final seminars after the summer holidays, the main topics will be effective communication, communication campaign management, PR & media and financial aspects.

Apart from those mentioned above, the following companies are involved in the Project: PricewaterhouseCoopers Czech Republic, Unilever, The Royal Bank of Scotland and GE Money Bank. Moreover, besides leading workshops, PricewaterhouseCoopers Czech Republic also supports the Project by providing meeting rooms for the seminars.