WeRin
Women Entrepreneurs in Regional Inclusive Entrepreneurial Ecosystems
A forward-thinking European initiative with a team of partners who are passionate about increasing the share of female graduate entrepreneurs.
Our ambition is to make entrepreneurship education and support programmes more inclusive for women.
Get to know us in less than a minute!
Why WeRin?
Women represent about 60% of higher education graduates, their under-representation amongst start-ups is a clear challenge.
Despite a rise in participation of female students in entrepreneurship education at Higher Education Institutes (HEI’s), they are behind compared to their male counterparts. Even when they have participated in entrepreneurship education, they are less likely to move towards entrepreneurial careers after graduation. If they do, these graduate female entrepreneurs are less embedded in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem: fewer of them participate in local incubation and acceleration programmes, seek and receive funding and are active in regional enterprise networks.
Aims
Increase the share of female graduate entrepreneurs and ensure they are firmly integrated in regional entrepreneurial ecosystems across Europe.
Inclusion of entrepreneurship education and support programmes from a gender and structural perspective.
Make women feel invited to the entrepreneurship scene, while going beyond the boundaries of Higher Education into their regional entrepreneurial ecosystem, and to ensure that female entrepreneurs can become a key part of these.
Targets
With tangible targets, WeRin plans to increase the share of female participation in entrepreneurship education by 15% and in entrepreneurship support programmes by 20% within three years of project completion.
WeRin provides opportunities for educators, policy makers, funding bodies and those working to increase the number of female entrepreneurs. We will highlight good practices in the regions, carry out a regional analysis of gender inclusivity, organise events including, international capacity building sessions and communities of practice.
Our Audience
- Female students in HEIs (undergraduates, graduates and post-graduates)
- Aspiring female entrepreneurs already graduated from HEIs
- Female Entrepreneurs looking for growth
Our audience are entrepreneurship educators (professors, lecturers, mentors, coaches) and Entrepreneurship Programme Managers in HEIs, incubators of the university, and in non-academic organisations in charge of promoting and supporting entrepreneurship in the broader regional entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Key Activities
The Benefits
Entrepreneurship educators at HEIs will directly benefit from the project through the improvement of their skills and knowledge to design a more inclusive entrepreneurship education program, as well as benefit from the regional and international networks established during the project lifetime.
It will also be the result from learning good practices for embedding women graduate entrepreneurs and female students in the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem.
A toolbox (WeRin Toolbox) containing material produced in the Research and Discovery Stage and educational resources compiled by the partners of the consortium (WeRin Knowledge Port).
The principles upon which an innovative and inclusive educational approach on entrepreneurship (WeRLearnin Approach) stands upon will be developed to support this group in the delivery of more inclusive entrepreneurship.
The creation of a WeRin Alliance will build a national community within each country during the lifetime of the project.
Who We Are
Funded by the ERASMUS+ Knowledge Alliance programme, the Women Entrepreneurs in Regional Inclusive Ecosystems – WeRin Project unites fourteen partners from network organizations, associations, research institutes, academia and businesses based in six countries in Europe. Their expertise and strong reputation make a solid foundation for successful achievement of the intended project results.
