During this week (11 – 14 December), eight technicians and technicians from Cape Verdean entities will be trained on the Vigo campus, under the Emprender en azul project, in marine entrepreneurship processes, with the aim of allowing them to apply this knowledge to the activities they are developing in their country of origin. The University of Vigo, through the UNESCO Chair in Sustainable Development-Campus do Mar, coordinates with the University of Cape Verde, the National Institute for Fisheries Development and Proempresa, the body promoting business development in the African country, the Emprender en azul project, funded by the Xunta de Galicia, through Cooperación Galega.
“The technicians from the Cape Verdean entities will share with the team coordinated from the UNESCO Chair of the University of Vigo a week of work focused on learning about and strengthening training and mentoring methodologies through the transfer of knowledge and experience from their counterparts in Galicia”, explains the teacher and researcher from the Marine Research Center of the University of Vigo, Gonzalo Méndez, in relation to the activities that the Cape Verde technicians will develop on the Vigo campus until the 14th. In addition to developing analysis and study work sessions in which teachers and technical staff from the University of Vigo will participate, the African delegation will visit reference centers in entrepreneurship such as Incuvi, the University of Vigo Foundation, Citexvi, VíaGalicia, Zona Franca or the Juana de Vega Foundation.
The Vice-Chancellor for Social Responsibility, Equality and Cooperation, Maribel Doval, and Gonzalo Méndez himself, were in charge of welcoming the Cape Verdean delegation, wishing them a productive and happy stay at the University of Vigo.
A one-year project
Started in September of this year, Emprende azul will last until December 2019 with the aim of strengthening the capacities of Cape Verdean entities in terms of entrepreneurship. “In these meetings, we hope that Cape Verdean technicians can learn about the experience of working with entrepreneurs, from the previous phases of designing the business idea, through the design and analysis of the business plan, to its implementation and acceleration, so that they can strengthen the activities they are developing in their country,” Méndez details.
The activity that is being developed throughout this week on the Vigo campus is complemented by others currently being developed such as guides aimed at entrepreneurs; strategic analysis of capacities and needs for strengthening entities for the sustainable development of entrepreneurship programs; as well as the carrying out of a new mission to Galicia with the aim of learning about the aspects most related to the design and management of entrepreneurship strategies in the Galician territory or the transfer of experience in the field of valorization of marine resources, among others.
