Impact of the eStartup Academy: Building Capabilities for Future Work (TRANSFER)

The lack of entrepreneurial education and competencies at all levels (including higher education and lifelong learning) remains a hindrance to successful youth entrepreneurship in Palestine. Furthermore, entrepreneurship is not yet adequately acknowledged as a possible career path for youth. Educators at institutions of higher education often do not possess enough entrepreneurial experience and mindset to encourage and inspire students and youth to be entrepreneurial and enterprising. In Palestine in particular, youth unemployment remains to be a major challenge and providing adequate access to quality skills training can open new opportunities for youth – particularly women - enabling them to realize their full potential and shape the future that they envision.

The project eStartup Academy: Building Capabilities for the Future Work (TRANSFER) is imparting impact on 4 distinct levels. First, is developing entrepreneurial education pedagogies of teachers in institutions of higher education and connecting them with regional and international networks to boost entrepreneurship education knowledge and experience exchange. Second, is broadening cooperation of entrepreneurship education stakeholders with regards to entrepreneurship and innovation curricula. The focus here is on business and social innovation and creativity competencies including complex problem-solving, teamwork and leadership – shifting the existing curricula into problem-based and collaborative learning. Third is communicating the benefits of entrepreneurship education and increasing the visibility of what it is all about and what the potential benefits and value are – especially for Palestinian youth. The focus here is embracing all forms of entrepreneurship for the creation of cultural, social and economic value. This has the potential to increase the supply of entrepreneurs who are able to plan, start and sustain new businesses. Finally, the project impacts youth themselves by enabling digital entrepreneurs in terms of both mindset and intention- as digital entrepreneurship can open up opportunities for the creation of new products, services and markets, the exploitation of existing markets and the integration into the global value chains.