WE ARE BUSINESS

PIONEERS FOR
SOCIAL
INNOVATION
Youth Exchange 11-21 March 2024
Sarata Monteoru
Romania
OUR PARTNERS

Academy of EYC
success Breclav

GO Alive

Usamborgia
Aktyvistai
RASIO
Perspektiva

Hair AJC
Redivivus Demeter
‘This project has been funded with support from the European
Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views
only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held
responsible for any use which may be made of the information
contained therein.’
 HOW OUR STORY
BEGAN
Imagine finding yourself in the enchanting town of Sarata Monteoru,
Romania, surrounded by young, passionate individuals from Bulgaria,
Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, and Spain.
That’s where my journey as a participant in the Erasmus+ project, "We
Are Business Pioneers for Social Innovation," began.

From the moment we arrived, there was

an electric energy in the air. We weren’t
just attendees; we were pioneers ready to
explore the fascinating world of circular
economy through non-formal education.
Each day was a new adventure, filled with
interactive workshops, spirited discussions,
and creative activities designed to challenge
our thinking and inspire innovation.

One of the most memorable moments was collaborating on a project to

develop sustainable business ideas. Working alongside new friends from
different countries, I saw firsthand the power of diverse perspectives
coming together to solve real-world problems. We laughed, debated, and
ultimately created something meaningful that we were all proud of.
But it wasn’t just about the work. The cultural exchanges, the late-night
conversations, and the bonds we formed were equally transformative.
Sharing our traditions, foods, and stories enriched our experience and
created a sense of unity and purpose.
 BECOMING A TEAM
The first day set the tone for
the entire project. We
gathered in a bright, airy hall,
each of us a little nervous but
equally excited. Our facilitators
greeted us with warm smiles
and immediately began guiding
us through a series of ice
breakers.

We started with simple activities like the classic “name game,” which,
despite its simplicity, had us laughing and quickly learning each other’s
names. Then, we moved on to more interactive games designed to break
down barriers and encourage teamwork. One of the most entertaining
activities involved each participant receiving a piece of paper and
drawing the outline of the face of the person whose paper they
received. After a few minutes, we swapped papers and drew the eyes
on the new face. This process continued as we exchanged papers again
to add the nose, and once more to draw the mouth and hair. The final
reveal of our collaborative, often hilarious, portraits brought lots of
laughter and broke the ice even further.
 BUSINESS OR SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEURSHIP?
We created a mind map about "Business vs. Social
Entrepreneurship" that highlighted the distinct and overlapping
aspects of both concepts. It compared traditional business
goals, such as profit maximization, with the social
entrepreneurship focus on social impact and community
benefit. Key points included innovation in addressing societal
issues, sustainable practices, and balancing financial viability
with social goals.

We also had an engaging workshop about the key competences

of Erasmus+. During this session, we explored essential skills
such as cultural awareness, communication, and collaboration.
We discussed how these competences are crucial for personal
and professional development in an increasingly interconnected
world. Through various activities and discussions, we gained a
deeper understanding of how to apply these skills in our
everyday lives and future projects.
 DO YOU TRUST ME ?
Imagine standing blindfolded, your
sense of balance already a little
shaky, and having to rely entirely
on your teammates to prevent you
from falling. if you are someone
who likes to be in control, this
game will be real test. But feeling
the steady hands of your new
friends guiding you, you’ll learn to
trust and let go. For us, it was a
powerful lesson in vulnerability and
reliance on others.

Another highlight was the "Car

Driver" game. In this activity, we
paired up, with one person acting
as the "car" and the other as the
"driver." The twist? The "car" had
to keep their eyes closed, moving
only according to the gentle taps
and nudges from their "driver."
Navigating through a space filled
with other "cars" was a mixture of
chaos and careful coordination.
 DO YOU TRUST ME ?
The creativity and laughter reached a
peak with the "Eggsercise" challenge.
We were tasked with designing a device
to protect a raw egg dropped from a
balcony. Armed with straws, tape, and
an array of random materials, each
team brainstormed, engineered, and
tested our contraptions.

When the moment of truth came, we

watched in suspense as each egg
made its descent. Some cracked on
impact, but many survived, cushioned
by our collaborative inventions. This
activity not only showcased our
problem-solving skills but also
highlighted the importance of
innovation and teamwork under
pressure.
These games did more than just fill our time; they united us
as a cohesive team ready to tackle the more serious aspects
of our project. They taught us to trust one another,
communicate effectively, and approach problems creatively.
 I’LL SHOW YOU MINE
IF YOU SHOW ME YOURS
It was time for us to dive a little bit more into the topic, by
understanding what social entrepreneurship means in each
of our countries. We got into mixed teams so that we can
all learn more about how each country encourages social
entrepreneurship development, what are the principal models
of social entrepreneurship and how we can learn form each
others good practices.

Social Entrepreneurship in
Romania
In Romania, social entrepreneurship is at the beginning of
the road. Romanians have innovative ideas in business with
social missions, whose objectives are social, environmental or
economic problems that affect humanity (hunger, lack of
shelter, diseases, polio, ignorance). Social businesses offer
the population access to funds, goods and services.
The first social entrepreneurship in Romania was founded
in 1835
The social entrepreneurship sector began to grow in the
mid-2000s
30% of social entrepreneurship employees are vulnerable
people
 Social Entrepreneurship in Italy
Italy has a rich history in social affairs. Social enterprises
are legally recognized. In Italy there are over 17,000 social
enterprises. In recent years, there has been a growing
interest in social entrepreneurship in areas such as
sustainable tourism, organic agriculture, and waste recycling.
(+30% in last 5 years).

Social Entrepreneurship in
Bulgaria
Sectors that have attracted the interest of Bulgarian social
entrepreneurs include healthcare, environmental protection,
and education. Problems that occurs: unemployment,
corruption, small outcome and salaries and healthcare. Ways
of solutions:
Youth engagement rising
Legislative support and EU funding
International collaboration expanding
Employment opportunities
Community engagement
Anti-corruption measures
 Social Entrepreneurship in Spain
Problems: Aging population, housing affordability, poverty
and inequality. Establishment of 299 CADE in recent years.
In the last 10 years 50% of social business founded. Jerez’s
natural tourism business with 0% waste.

Social Entrepreneurship in Czech

Republic
The Czech government has begun to recognize and support
social entrepreneurship through funding programs and public
policies that facilitate the development of this sector.
Efforts are being made to increase awareness and
strengthen the legal framework for social entrepreneurship
in the Czech Republic.
In addition to generating income, social entrepreneurship in
the Czech Republic aims to create social value and improve
the quality of life for various groups of people.
 Social Entrepreneurship in Latvia
·204 social businesses for 1.9 M
pop.
·Most pop area of operation –
Education and work integration
·Charity shops
·Special law and tax reduction for
social LLC company

Social Entrepreneurship
in Lithuania
·Focused on innovation and sustainability
·Contributing to global social entrepreneurship movement
·1694 public enterprises
·Lithuania is home to successful startups like Vinted,
Trafi
·Lithuania is leading in social entrepreneurship due to
strong institutions and STEM- drivers population
·In 1996 first policy launched for youth social
entrepreneurship
 Social Entrepreneurship in Greece
·Over 3000 social enterprises
·Social entrepreneurs in Greece benefit from tax incentives
and exemptions to support their operation
·Social entrepreneurship is highly increasing
·There are projects that use traditional crafts and artisanal
skills to create modern products while safeguarding Greece’s
cultural legacy
·High unemployment
·Economic instability

RISING STARS
In our Erasmus Plus workshop, theater and role
play brought social entrepreneurship to life,
showing us creative ways to tackle community
challenges and inspire change. It was amazing to
see how storytelling and immersive experiences
can ignite innovative solutions across cultures!
 THE PERFECT SOCIAL
ENTREPRENEUR
This workshop was centered around developing
an idea for a character “a social
entrepreneur”. We had to give them a name,
age, location, occupation, and hobbies. And a
description. Then give them life - build them -
out of recycled parts: wine cork, cardboard,
plasteline, balloons, straws, wooden sticks,
toothpicks.
Every team came up with its unique
character and developed its traits, built
them, and then presented them to the
other groups.
The entrepreneurs were: Bulk,
Moksliukas, Hotwheel, Edward the Tool
Hands, and Responsi-Bob.

They worked together and molded their minds evolved their

teamwork and communication skills, bonded, and built
friendships. This was a very innovative workshop and all the
participants enjoyed it and had fun doing it. And the results
were amazing and very creative. The characters shows a bit
of everyone’s personality and represents them.
 THE ART OF
NEGOCIATION
Plot Case was a workshop we did on negotiation tactics and
working together to make our community better. The game
was split into 4 teams that had 7 or 8 participants from
which 2 of them were negotiators. The teams were:
Department of Housing, Department of Education,
Department of Infrastructure & Traffic and Department of
Economy.

Every team had to fit in their required squares/form

(square, line L-shape) by working TOGHETER. TOGHETER is
an important word because if we would be selfish and not
help the others get their respective squares the mayor
would get mad and everyone would lose the game.
 Each department had
different budgets (for Ex.
some had more money and
others had more plots) and
different tasks. Every team
had 10 minutes to make a
negotiation plan and then all
the negotiators would get
together and try and
complete their task.

At first we tried to complete our own tasks but then we

realized that we had to work together and help each other
and after some minor misunderstandings we realized what
we had to do and finished the game.
 THE BUSSINES ISLAND
This activity helps in developing team spirit and teaches us
how unpredictable an entrepreneurial venture can be. The
activity involves drawing a deserted island and dividing it
equally among the team members. Participants are then
required to build (draw) facilities, resources etc., that would
allow them to survive on the island. They are given multiple
challenges throughout the activity that put them in difficult
situations. Some of the challenges include giving up 20% of
the island's land or building an entrepreneurial business on
their part of the island.

Participants will need to make sacrifices and think ahead to

prevent any future obstacles. This activity trains both
entrepreneurial and artistic spirit, as participants need to
draw/color. Communication between team mates creates
bonds and friendships and also develops teamwork and
leadership skills. This was one of the participants favorite
activities because it highlights artistic values and logical
thinking, problem-solving in critical situations, and
entrepreneurial spirit, while at the same time being fun and
entertaining.
 LOOP
Our idea is to solve two problems in one. We will give second
life to waste materials and people in needs (homeless, drug
and alcohol addicts).

ENVIRONMENT PROBLEM
To make people want to recycle so we
give them back deposit money for their
used materials (electronics, plastic,
paper, glass, food waste). This used
materials we sell to green companies who
are remaking them into something else
or reusing them.

SOCIAL PROBLEM
To make homeless and jobless rate
go down. We give jobs to the
homeless and drug addicts until
they are ready to work on their
own somewhere else.
 GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION
For the start of our business, we chose “Barcelona” because
of the statistics. This city compared to other cities in
Europe has more people that we are looking for:
Population in Barcelona is 1,62 million.
4000 homeless people in Barcelona
8,2% are jobless people
29% of the population recycles trash

TARGET GROUP
Our target group is every citizen and visitor of Barcelona.
They will give us their used materials and waste that we will
recycle and after sell to the upcycling companies.
Our customers will be the upcycling companies in Spain and
other European countries.
 OUR STORY
Once upon a sunny day in Barcelona, there was a special
SOEN called LOOP.
LOOP had a big job to do because Barcelona had two big
problems: trash everywhere and people who needed help.
But LOOP had a smart plan!
First, they asked people to bring their old stuff like toys,
bottles, and even banana peels to the magical bins. In
return, they gave them some money. Then, LOOP sold all
that old stuff to companies that could turn it into new
things.

Second, LOOP gave jobs to people who didn't have homes or

needed some extra help. They worked together, learned new
things, and felt happy to be part of LOOP's family.
As time passed, something amazing happened! Barcelona's
streets became cleaner, and the people at LOOP smiled a lot
because they were making a big difference.
Under the bright sun and the twinkling stars, LOOP showed
that with a little help, we can make our world a better
place for everyone.
 MARKETING PLAN
Mainly we do social media marketing. We have accounts on
Tik Tok, Instagram, Facebook and Linked-in. We post
information 3 times a week. We also have our website with
all the information the people need. Then we have mass
media marketing (local TV, radios, etc.) and outdoor digital
advertising.

OUR TEAM
Adele – Marketing manager
Emilia – Human resources manager
Adrian – IT manager
Simona – Logistics manager
Magdalena – External
communication manager
Nick – CEO
MAIN RISKS
Upcycling companies don’t want to work with us, they
don’t need our product;
People don’t care about recycling even if they get
deposit money for it;
Homeless doesn’t want to work for us so we end up
with no employees;
At the beginning we don’t get money from the investors
and others so we can not open our company;
The equipment we need is too expensive.
MATERIALS
 MARKT-ALL
Life has some advantages and disadvantages and for this
project we are going to focus on the problem that has
occured in Spain recently, speaking specifically of Andalusia.
Within this place we have decided to talk about Jaen, a
place which is famous for its agriculture and its olive trees
since they are large producers of extra virgin oil, which is
highly valued and exported to many countries.

Time is money these days and everyone wants everything as

fast as possible, so we create an application to delivery
everything they need from the supermarkets and from local
producers.

Despite them, farmers and their jobs are not valued or well
paid, so to help them in their fight we have thought of a
business plan that can be advantageous for clients, sellers
and for us, being something that can start being of help for
the country but also expanding to other countries with the
same needs.
Time is money these days and everyone
wants everything as fast as possible,
so we create an application to delivery
everything they need from the
supermarkets and from local
producers.
We don’t want to waste our
customer’s time, help them find the
best prices and make their lives easier.

Through an application that would clarify the prices of

individual products from stores and give the opportunity to
support local farmers with the opportunity to put their
products on the markets.
Find a way to best help people who have diets and other
eating problems.
 OUR PLAN
To create an application to deliver
everything they need from
supermarkets and local producers,
by the use of ecological services like
electric bikes or cars by respecting
special categories like gluten free,
vegetarian, etc

An ease for people with special

diets for easier access to the
products. The needs are to support
local producers. To help people to
save money finding the best prices
for them.

Improve the economy and also

reduce the pollution and try to
balance the differences between
local producers and supermarkets
companies. Raise awareness of
the importance of facilitating
access and offering to people
with special diets.
 RISKS
Competition between supermarkets and local producers
Acceptance By society
More applications like this to come and stop us from
being “monopoly”
Inflation
New enemies (Supermarkets that are not participating)
Distance problems (Like when a product could get
rotten if we are late to deliver it)
Server/Application Problems
Equipment Problems that will need to get repaired
The workers are people and they could get injured or
make mistakes that will affect our company
CUSTOMERS COMPANIES
People with special Supermarkets
diets/needs (Gluten Local Producers
intolerance, (Farmers, Small
Vegetarian, etc.) shops, agriculture-
People with full daily based farmers)
schedule/no free time Newcomers to the
People with less Market
money to spend
Everyone who wants
to shop supermarket
items
MATERIALS
MATERIALS
 TOLEGO
Once upon a time, in a land filled with green fields and
rolling hills, there lived a little tank named Willie. Now,
Willie wasn't like the big, strong tanks you might see today.
He was small, with round wheels and a funny-looking shape.
But what Willie lacked in size, he made up for in bravery
and determination.

Little Willie had a brother and he always felt overshadowed

by his younger but bigger brother, Big Willie. Their father,
Winston Churchill, had a soft spot for Little Willie, but it
was clear that Big Willie was the favorite.

One night, a century ago, their father woke up both of the

son's, to roll on their first adventure. There were rocky
paths, steep hills, and muddy puddles blocking their way, but
nothing could stop them. Unfortunately, they were not
created equally, the Big Willy had an extra protection while
the Little one had no additional support.
 The battle was very tough,
they were tired and needed
their oil changed, but most
importantly, they both lived
on but separately.
Unfortunately, no museums
could accommodate both
Willies at the same place.

Both brothers are located in

different places and will spend
the rest of their lives without
their family. What is even more
sad, despite the effort that they
put in their fights, very fast
people forgot about them and
their legacy. Thanks to the
Toleago app, their story and so
many other stories will be
remembered

You can find information about the Little Willy and Big
Willy in our app for free. Download it now!
MATERIALS
MATERIALS
 FUTURE YOU
PROBLEM
90% of the youngsters have
problems finding their passion and
career path, because of that they
are introverted and get anxious.
Also, people who just graduated
have difficulties finding good and
motivated workers.

SOLUTION
Social platform / media that connects students and
employers who want to shadow their desired professions, try
them out and view work experience.
In this way, students can find out what they like easier and
the employers can find new talented workers.
Our business will earn money by charging small memberships
from both students and employers who want to participate
in profession shadowing.
 MATERIAL RESOURCES
Technology infrastructure, website or app development
servers and hosting, services for the platform.
Office space for administrative tasks and tram
collaborations
Equipment such as computers laptops and office Future
You

HUMAN RESOURCES
Developers and designers to creative and maintain the
website
Costumer support staff to assist users and handle
inquiries
Sales and marketing team to promote the platform and
attract users and professionals
Administrative personal for managing day to day
operations
 FINANCIAL RESOURCES
Platform development will take up to one year and the
necessary financial resources for it are 55.000€ for all
the materials and human resources. We will finance
development by crowdfunding part of the necessary amount
and also apply to SME EU funding. Building partnership with
educational institutions professionals. Organizations and
industry professionals would be valuable for sourcing
shadowing opportunities and establishing credibility for the
platform.

Our focus is on young people, students and workers to find

their passion. Also, companies, organizations and schools will
take a huge part into job shadowing.

A fee for companies to be featured on the platform

A fee for students who want to use the platform
Annual membership for education institutions
MATERIALS
MATERIALS
 FASHION REVIVAL
Our company allows people to donate clothes they no longer
want to others who need them. A current problem around
the world is society's waste and overconsumption. First,
people will fill out a questionnaire, and based on the
answers, they can select clothes for themselves or as a gift
for others. Our company is here to help people find their
style and turn their ideas into reality.

We are "Fashion Revival". We are a group of friends that

want to help the community of our city, Prague. We think
that every article of clothing deserves a second chance.
People can bring us the clothes that they don't want
anymore and we revive them by turning them into something
new. We pay the people who bring us clothes a few euros
for the clothing articles, and then we resell them. We are
fighting against fast fashion and also want to help people in
need by donating part of the clothes that we create. We
also do custom orders; people can tell us what they want us
to do with their clothes and then they get them back. Also,
this summer Fashion Revival will host a fashion week in
which we will show our products and further promote them.
This also helps models who want to promote themselves by
volunteering, as well as young photographers who want to
gain more experience.
 ENVIRONMENT PROBLEM
Because fashion is something that nowadays pollutes a lot,
since we use fashion too fast, the planet suffers and we
believe that we can give a second life to those clothes,
which, despite not being "in the canons of fashion", are still
useful. Also there is an opportunity to help homeless people
with these clothes that people don't want.

GEOGRAPHICAL PROBLEMS
We chose Prague to start this social business because here
we have:

Eco-conscious Population
Centre of Europe where several countries and people
can come without problems due to their location.
Supportive Government Policies
Affordable Costs and Strong Local Economy
Young Demographic
 MATERIAL RESOURCES
Sewing machine
Storage
Place to work
Painting for clothes

FINANCIAL RESOURCES
At first, we use Crowdfunding, just to “survive” 5-6 months
at the beginning, and some advertisements with small
influencers for free. We will pay during the month;
Electricity, water, rent and materials, such as: threads,
sewing machine, paintings, etc. ). After we cover this type
of thing, we end the crowdfunding, when we get some profit.

TARGET GROUP
Our target group will be people
who are environmentally
conscious, but due to the
production costs of the clothes,
they might need a bit more
money to buy them, so we can
talk about people between 25 -
35 years old.
 MARKETING PLAN
We will work mainly through social networks, promoting both
events in large squares to make us and our volunteers
known, collaborating with influencers showing our products,
those who support us in crowdfunding will have exclusive
advantages, to reward the people who support us.
We will also create a website for online and in-store
ordering and create awards and galas to commemorate all
that we and everyone else does for the environment.

HUMAN RESOURCES
Damian, founder of this company.
Dobre, marketing and graphic design.
Jenny, business idea manager.
Sintija, human resources.
Benas, customer service.
Vanessa, financial resources.
Models and photographers (volunteers because we are going
to promote then at first)
 TIMELINE
1.- Open crowdfunding 2024 April
2.- Starts after 9 months, December 2024. We start with a
little store in Prague with 6 workers.
3.- After one month, we collaborate with small influencers
to do advertisement Jan 2025
4.- After 6 months, we do the first Fashion Show during
the day. June 2025
5.- After that, we get profits and start donating the 5% of
clothes and profits to people in need. Also we close the
crowdfunding. We added 2 more workers. Dec 2025
Has enviado
6.- With all the profits that we have made, we open another
store and hire more employees. July 2026
7.- We do a Fashion week in the center of Prague and we
collaborate with photographers, models by volunteering. We
advertise on Social Media because it's a free event.
8.- Clothing Oscars. Macro Event where we collaborate with
indie designers and do trophy rewards for our products. Also
we invite people to bring with them clothes to donate or if
they want to donate money. If you do one of these two
things, the entry is free to the event.
 SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTHS
Recycling clothes, helping the
homeless to have clothes, fighting
against fast fashion and partly
against capitalism itself so strong
with big companies, new eco-friendly
fashion.
WEAKNESSES
The economic part, we need
money and if people don't respond
to our call, we won't be able to do
anything.
OPPORTUNITIES
Little competition as there
are not many companies that
dare to do this, change of
mentality in the people who
use our products or are
curious to try them, help the
homeless.
THREATS
That the big companies try to sink us, that people don't like
the product or that they don't come to help us to start the
project.
RECONNECT YOURSELF
 ECO-LOGICS
The last episode of Dora the explorer
🎶 Dora Dora Dora the explorer. 🎶
“Hello, I’m Dora, and this is Boots, and as you all can see he
is dead.”
OH NOOOO SO SAD
Boots died because of pollution. The air was getting
poisonous and Boots lungs couldn’t handle that anymore.
When she went to burry her loved companion she realized
that there’s no place to do so, because there was trash
everywhere. Dora’s heart couldn’t handle all of that so she
sat down to cry, after five minutes she lifted up her head
and saw a group of tourists leaving candy wrappers and
empty bottles on the ground. Dora being the clever girl she
is put two and two together. Her verdict was that tourism
tends to pollute and ruin the environment.
“Tourism is great, but we can’t sacrifice our planet for the
sake of exploring. We need to find a solution”
And Dora did create a solution.
 “I will teach my fellow explorers how to travel green!”
She made travel plans but not just regular travel plans.
First issue she tackled was how much planes create
emissions that are bad for the environment, then thought
travelers how to be responsible and respect nature.
“ If we substitute traveling by a plane with a train we are
less responsible for the emissions that pollute the ozone
layer. And why not explore new places? I’ll show people
forgotten beautiful landscapes that are included in
UNESCO.”

Five years later

Her green travel agency was first in the market.
thanks to her success she invested into cleaning up areas
that were trashed so she can bring her customers there.
Because of her innovative idea she is now the richest woman
in the world in a green beautiful world.

The monkey is still dead tho he has a beautiful grave.

MATERIALS
MATERIALS
 INTERCULTURAL
NIGHTS

Our intercultural nights were are amazing! We shared our

music, dance, food, and traditions, celebrating our diverse
backgrounds. It was a fun way to learn about each other,
make friends, and create unforgettable memories together.
 ROMANIAN NIGHT
The Romanian night was particularly special since Romania
is our host country. We immersed ourselves in Romanian
culture with traditional dishes, vibrant dances, live music and
warm hospitality It was a night we will remember for a long
time!
 THANK YOU
FOR ALL THE
MEMORIES!