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Guidance supporting Europe’s aspiring entrepreneurs
Policy and practice to harness future potential

entrepreneur in another EU country. The programme seeks to improve the know-
how of new entrepreneurs and promote cross-border exchanges of training and
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experience between entrepreneurs ( ).
The budget of the programme for 2010 to 2011 is EUR 5 million and the
target in terms of beneficiaries is 1 200 exchanges for the same year. At the
moment the number of exchanges is still significantly below the target but the
number of beneficiaries is growing and the programme has an important
symbolic value in terms of promoting mobility and entrepreneurship in Europe,
especially in the context of the Europe 2020 priorities. The European Union has
over 20 years of experience in implementing EU mobility programmes but this is
the first specifically targeting entrepreneurs. It has an important role in
highlighting the need to offer mentoring and shadowing opportunities for young
people interested in a career as an entrepreneur (see case study on Erasmus for
Young Entrepreneurs for further information).

5.1.5. Online services
Online mentoring programmes are another way of supporting both aspiring and
new entrepreneurs. They offer a resource-efficient way of providing advice and
guidance to new and aspiring entrepreneurs. Many find it appealing as mentors
generally carry out their activities on a voluntary basis, which is clearly more cost
effective for new entrepreneurs than using business coaches. The provision of
advice via the internet also makes online mentoring less demanding for both the
mentor and the mentee, which means they could also be more likely to pursue
the mentoring relationship over the longer term. At the same time, there are both
new and experienced entrepreneurs to whom this approach does not appeal as it
lacks the direct ‘human element’ and is less likely to provide as all-encompassing
a service as face-to-face mentoring. The preferred approach might be one that
combines both online and face-to-face mentoring.
Online mentoring tools were identified in Portugal and the UK. The
‘Netmentor’ is especially targeted at individuals who are considered to live in
hard-to-reach areas (see Example 30).

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( ) Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs official website, http://www.erasmus-
entrepreneurs.eu/page.php?cid=02 [cited 5.5.2010].

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