Objectives and main results

The NET4GREEN project aims to increase the eco-entrepreneurial skills of young people and women in Italy, Albania, and Montenegro by improving the quality of services provided by private and public organizations and strengthening the cross-border innovation ecosystem.

The project seeks to address the challenge of young talent migration from the southern Adriatic area, which, alongside demographic changes and an aging population, contributes to an above-average unemployment rate, particularly among young people and women. This issue underscores the inadequacy of current training systems to meet labor market demands. The project proposes a collaborative approach to create coordinated training programs that align with local needs and boost eco-entrepreneurial capacity at BSOs level and young and women aspiring eco-entrepreneurs level. It emphasizes the involvement of all key actors in a quadruple helix framework, now extended to include environmental sustainability as a crucial driver of innovation. The project aims to foster sustainable, low-impact businesses by offering skills and tools to key stakeholders, developing a cross-border strategy to attract talent, promoting women’s entrepreneurship, training business support organizations, and creating a vocational education and training (VET) program, the Short Master on Eco-Entrepreneurship, focused on integrating environmental principles into business activities. The project’s innovative approach is rooted in open innovation, utilizing human-centered design, validated needs analysis tools, the five-fold helix approach, co-design and co-creation methodologies, and design thinking. Additionally, a digital tool will be developed to support the strategy, facilitate data collection and networking, and ensure the long-term sustainability and replicability of the project’s outcomes.