NaturalOrigins

The NaturalOrigins Project aims to contribute to the facilitation of social inclusion of young people with migrant background through the development of entrepreneurial mindset that will equip them with all the necessary skills and knowledge to establish small-scale businesses that can benefit them on multiple levels.

Following the recent and ongoing political and economic crisis that led thousands of people to seek for a better, safer life in Europe, the EU faces a great challenge and opportunity of unexploited entrepreneurial, thus growth, potential.

Fostering entrepreneurship among people with migrant background, especially the young, can result in increased participation in the labour market, thus boosting economy at local, national, and even European level. At the same time, participation in the economic life is a decisive factor of social inclusion as it builds self-confidence, it creates the feeling of “belonging” and “contributing” to the society, and it provides income that can improve living conditions.

Focusing on the trade of natural products as a means of facilitating both entrepreneurship of young people with migrant background and cultural interaction among members of local communities, NaturalOrigins aims to address the needs of the target group to realise their entrepreneurial potential and take over the course of their own lives, through the provision of basic skills and knowledge for the initiation of small-scale business ventures, including the development of soft skills, self-confidence and other necessary characteristics to help them thrive in the business sector.