A new collaboration between Malta Enterprise and
the University of Malta (UoM) will lead to the pre-application support and
mentoring for start-ups, in an effort to provide business newcomers with the
necessary knowledge to access funding.
The Memorandum of Understanding, signed by UoM
Rector Professor Alfred Vella and Malta Enterprise CEO Kurt Farrugia, sets out
a new framework of integrated support for start-ups. The University of Malta,
through its Centre for Entrepreneurship and Business Incubation (CEBI), will
provide pre-application training for start-ups applying for funding from Malta
Enterprise.
Successful applicants will be able to access
mentoring and support from TAKEOFF, CEBI’s incubator facility, over a one-year
period post-award.
Ministers Miriam Dalli and Justyne Caruana lauded
this agreement as an example of hands-on support for entrepreneurs.
“Malta is open to start-ups and today’s agreement
signifies another step towards supporting entrepreneurs. It continues to build
on the funding support Malta Enterprise provides to start-ups, with the full
knowledge that training and mentoring should also be provided. This will ensure
that a new business owner is well informed on how to set up their business and
benefit from both pre- and post-application mentoring,” Minister for Energy,
Enterprise and Sustainable Development Miriam Dalli said.
Kurt Farrugia explained that this mentoring service
will assist applicants to better shape up their enterprise thinking. “New
business owners will therefore be able to project their business idea
holistically when applying for funding at Malta Enterprise. This compliments
our leading efforts to the national ecosystem with regards to start-ups, as we
recently launched startinmalta.com; a web portal aiming to serve as the main focal
point for start-ups; both foreign and local.’’
Minister for Education Justyne Caruana said, “This
MoU is a clear example of how education is one of the pillars of our society
and the economic sector. Education’s main purpose is to equip children and
young adults with the skills they need to enter the labour market and build
successful careers. The Education Ministry supports all initiatives that bring
the worlds of education and employment closer together. We urge educators and
employers to work closely to improve our young’s preparation for contemporary
careers and help them to transition more successfully from classroom benches to
their chosen careers.”
University of Malta Rector Professor Alfred Vella
said that, “Mentorship has a direct impact on the growth and survival rate of
new businesses. With this advice coming from experts at the university, it
makes everything all the more meaningful because the goals and achievements of
these businesses will be better aligned with the knowledge, experience and
research present on campus that are needed to set oneself apart from others.
This is the kind of support mechanism that will help these applicants unlock
their potential, and I augur them success in their first critical years.”
Professor Russell Smith, Director of CEBI, said,
“This is a milestone in support for new business ventures in Malta, and we are
proud to be able to offer our proven programme in collaboration with Malta
Enterprise. In addition to this practical support, we will be
collaborating on research-based reports which will be presented to the
competent authorities within the Government of Malta, the European Commission, the
European Parliament or the Council of the European Union, with the intention to
support the development of National and European Policy.”
Further information and training material can be
obtained from takeoff.org.mt. The initiative forms part of the EU-funded I-KNOW
project.
Għajnuna importanti għal startups permezz tal-Malta Enterprise u
tal-Università ta’ Malta
Malta
Enterprise u l-Università ta’ Malta qed jikkollaboraw biex jappooġġaw u
jipprovdu l-għarfien neċessarju lil startups ġodda biex ikollhom aċċess
għall-fondi.
Il-Memorandum
of Understanding, li ġie ffirmat mir-Rettur tal-Università ta’ Malta
l-Professur Alfred Vella u mill-Kap Eżekuttiv tal-Malta Enterprise Kurt
Farrugia, jistabbilixxi qafas ġdid biex tingħata għajnuna integrali għal
startups. L-Università ta’ Malta, permezz taċ-Ċentru għall-Imprenditorija u
għall-Inkubazzjoni tan-Negozju (CEBI), se tipprovdi taħriġ qabel ma startup
tibda l-proċess ta’ applikazzjoni għal għajnuna finanzjarja mill-Malta
Enterprise.
L-applikanti
li jkunu temmew il-proċess ta’ applikazzjoni b’suċċess se jkunu qed
jibbenefikaw minn appoġġ u mentoring ipprovdut minn TAKEOFF, faċilità fis-CEBI,
fuq perjodu ta’ sena minn meta l-applikazzjoni tiġi approvata.
Il-Ministri
Miriam Dalli u Justyne Caruana faħħru dan il-ftehim, li huwa eżempju ta’ appoġġ
prattiku għall-imprendituri.
“Malta
hija miftuħa għal startups ġodda u l-ftehim tal-lum ifisser pass ieħor ’il
quddiem lejn appoġġ akbar għall-imprendituri. Il-ftehim jibni fuq l-appoġġ
finanzjarju li l-Malta Enterprise tipprovdi lil startups, fejn jiġi provdut
it-taħriġ u l-mentoring li startups ikollhom bżonn. Dan jassigura li sid ta’
negozju ġdid se jkun infurmat dwar kif jibni n-negozju tiegħu filwaqt li
jibbenefika minn mentoring qabel u wara l-proċess tal-applikazzjoni,” qalet
il-Ministru Miriam Dalli.
Kurt
Farrugia spjega li s-servizz ta’ mentoring se jassisti lill-applikanti biex
jiżviluppaw aktar il-ħsieb dwar l-intrapriża tagħhom. “Sidien ta’ negozji ġodda
se jkunu jistgħu jiżviluppaw l-idea tan-negozji tagħhom b’mod ħolistiku meta
japplikaw għal għajnuna finanzjarja mill-Malta Enterprise. Dan jikkumplimenta
l-isforzi li qed nagħmlu bħala Malta Enterprise fl-ekosistema nazzjonali
fir-rigward tal-istartups fejn riċentament varajna startinmalta.com; website
bil-għan li sservi bħala ċ-ċentru ta’ referenza għal startups; kemm barranin
kif ukoll lokali.”
Il-Ministru
Justyne Caruana qalet, “Dan l-MoU huwa eżempju ċar ta’ kif l-edukazzjoni hija
waħda mill-pilastri tas-soċjetà tagħna u tas-settur ekonomiku. L-iskop ewlieni
tal-edukazzjoni huwa li lit-tfal u lill-adulti żgħażagħ ngħinuhom jiżviluppaw
il-ħiliet li għandhom bżonn biex jidħlu fis-suq tax-xogħol u jibnu karrieri ta’
suċċess. Il-Ministeru għall-Edukazzjoni jappoġġa l-inizjattivi kollha li
jqarrbu d-dinja tal-edukazzjoni u d-dinja tax-xogħol. Inħeġġu lill-edukaturi u
lil min iħaddem biex jaħdmu mill-qrib ħalli jtejbu l-preparazzjoni taż-żgħażagħ
tagħna għal karrieri meħtieġa u ngħinuhom biex ikollhom suċċess
fit-tranżizzjoni mill-bankijiet tal-klassi għall-karrieri li huma jagħżlu”.
Ir-Rettur
tal-Università ta’ Malta, il-Professur Alfred Vella, qal li, “Il-mentorship
għandu impatt dirett fuq ir-rata ta’ tkabbir ta’ negozji ġodda. B’pariri minn
esperti fl-Università, ikompli jagħti sinifikat għaliex l-għanijiet u l-kisbiet
ta’ dawn in-negozji se jkunu allinjati aħjar mal-għarfien, l-esperjenza u
r-riċerka preżenti fil-kampus li huma meħtieġa sabiex tkompli tiddistingwixxi
negozju minn ieħor. Dan huwa t-tip ta’ mekkaniżmu ta’ appoġġ li jgħin lil dawn
l-applikanti biex jisfruttaw il-potenzjal tagħhom filwaqt li nawguralhom
suċċess fl-ewwel snin kritiċi tagħhom”.
Il-Professur
Russel Smith, Direttur CEBI, qal, “Dan huwa pass importanti sabiex nagħtu
l-appoġġ lil intrapriżi ġodda f’Malta u aħna kburin li qed noffru dan
il-programm b’kollaborazzjoni mal-Malta Enterprise. Minbarra dan, se nkunu qed
nikkollaboraw fuq rapporti bbażati fuq riċerka li se jkunu preżentati
lill-awtoritajiet kompetenti fi ħdan il-Gvern Malti, il-Kummissjoni Ewropea,
il-Parlament Ewropew jew il-Kunsill tal-Unjoni Ewropea, bl-intenzjoni li
nappoġġaw l-iżvilupp ta’ politika fuq livell nazzjonali u Ewropew”.
Aktar
informazzjoni u materjal ta’ taħriġ jista’ jinkiseb minn takeoff.org.mt. Din
l-inizjattiva tifforma parti mill-proġett i-KNOW li huwa ffinanzjat mill-Unjoni
Ewropea.
