Youth Entrepreneurial Service Foundation (YES)

Overview of implemented CEI projects

About YES Foundation

Overview

YES Foundation aims to stimulate the entrepreneurship development and increasing the employment among youth by strengthening their skills and competences for (self) employability. Its activities are organized around 4 (four) main areas:

1. Business incubator

2. Trainings

3. Business support services

4. Project development

Main achievements

a) Business incubation and start-up support

• YES runs the biggest and the only ICT incubator in the country

• YES was the first to organise business plan competitions in the country (over 350 young people involved in 3 annual BP competitions)

• Over 75 companies supported in incubator, over 300 work places created, 13 export oriented companies

• Over 90 people are at work every day in the YES incubator

b) Entrepreneurship development in the country

• YES brought Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in Macedonia in 2008 (ever since is the official GEW host for Macedonia - http://mk.unleashingideas.org)

• YES brought Start-up Weekend initiative in the country in 2011 (main organiser for Macedonia: http://startupweekend.org)

• It operates the entrepreneurship portal (www.pretpriemac.mk) with the highest outreach in the country (2962 subscribers to the weekly bulletin published by YES)

Main achievements

c) ICT development in the country

• YES is the front runner in promoting mobile applications development (organiser of Mobile Apps Camp – 2012 and 2013, the only one in the region -http://www.mobileappcamp.org) with over 300 participants from different countries and involving B2B meetings, pitching, etc).

• Along with Vip Operator YES organized the second Vip Android Competition on which 100 developers competed for the main prize

• YES is part of the Macedonian Blackberry Developer Group (BDG) from 2012 and since this year it organises also the activities of the local Google Developer Group (GDG)

• YES is among the first organisation that works actively on the open data government promotion (e.g. mobile app ‘See-click-fix’ introduced in 3 municipalities in Skopje)

Main activities

a) Business incubator programme- Pre-incubation - Incubation- Mentoring scheme- Business support services- Soft-landing services

b) Training and capacity building programme

c) Project development and implementation programme

CEI implemented projects

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012

Description of the cooperation activityGlobal Entrepreneurship Week is the world’s largest celebration of the innovators and job creators, who launch startups that bring ideas to life, drive economic growth and expand human welfare.

SectorEnterprise development including tourism

SummaryTotal of 10 GEW events were implemented that included more than 350 participants

CEI approved budget Used to cover the travel and accommodation for participants and speakers from: Albania (9); BiH (5); Croatia (4); Italy (1); Montenegro (11); Poland (3); Romania (6); Serbia (8); Slovenia (1); Ukraine (1).

*** Speakers also came from Kosovo*, United States, Great Britain, Sweden, Finland, Estonia

*** Project also supported by the Swedish Embassy, British Embassy, Agency for Electronic Communications, World Bank This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2012

Results

20.000 EUR seed investment from Game Founders for one Macedonian company

Mobile App Camp winner among the 7 finalists of LAUNCHub Seed Accelerator

Mobile App Camp winner awarded with a scholarship by School for Startups Romania

Mobile World Congress and Webit Conference tickets

Mobile App Camp winner successfully raised $400.000 seed investment and generated $716.000 in preorders

Investment readiness programme for innovative start-ups and future entrepreneurs 2014

Description of action

The main goal of the initiative is to make the chosen start-ups “investment ready” and to connect them with potential investors from the developed EU countries.

Sector

Enterprise development including tourism

Summary

More than 50 companies from Macedonia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Slovenia attended the event

CEI approved budget

Used to cover the travel and accommodation expenses of participants from: Bulgaria (22), Croatia (1); Slovenia (2); Romania (13); Serbia (13); Macedonia (23)

Investment readiness programme for innovative start-ups and future entrepreneurs 2014

Results

1st regional women entrepreneurship conference in the Balkans

30 companies presented and promoted their business

4 companies invited to apply for seed investments

Investment readiness programme for innovative start-ups and future entrepreneurs 2014

Results

Over 80 business meetings organized

5 multinational business cooperation agreements concluded

10 multinational business cooperation agreements expected to be established in the next couple of months

Thank you for your attention!

Aleksandar Filiposki – YES Foundationaleksandar.filiposki@yes.org.mk

www.yes.org.mk