ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE
Encouraging entrepreneurial spirit from an early age
Building and nurturing a spirit of initiative means offering the younger generation the chance and opportunity to become entrepreneurs, to seek and find the space in which to give society the best of themselves. It also means teaching them to adapt to an ever-changing world.
Supported projects
LJE
LJE, Les Jeunes Entreprises, aims to stimulate the entrepreneurial spirit in young people aged 8 to 25. In particular, the Foundation supports the Défidée initiative, a challenge aimed at young people aged 14 to 17. This initiative aims to develop different entrepreneurial skills and integrate new social, digital and environmental issues in a cross-disciplinary and fun way, through the skill of “ethical and sustainable entrepreneurship”. It offers young people from all backgrounds their first entrepreneurial experience.
MyMachine
Primary school pupils dream up the most beautiful and innovative machines – secondary school students help the former to conceptualize their dream, to imagine a go-to-market strategy – and secondary technical/STEM students take charge of creating a functional, marketable prototype of that dream. Pupils and students thus acquire entrepreneurial skills, linked to creativity, respect for individual talents, perseverance and resilience.
Already present in Flanders, Brussels and 10 other countries, the Foundation’s support aims to roll out the initiative in Belgium, and thus directly support the development of creativity, the stimulation of go-to-market thinking for dream machines, and the appeal of STEM subjects to young people.
Debateville
Debateville is a new non-profit organization whose aim is to teach the art of oratory and debate to 10-14 year-olds, while improving social cohesion and mobility. Being able to convince potential customers or investors, being able to pitch your project in an original and innovative way… these are all qualities that are necessary in the entrepreneurial world and that it is useful to develop from an early age. The Foundation’s support for Debateville enables us to offer young people aged between 10 and 14 an entrepreneurial experience outside the classroom.
Venture lab / StartLab
A joint initiative of two university incubators, operating in French and Dutch in the Brussels and Liège regions. This initiative targets young people aged between 18 and 30, enabling them to create a business from their idea with the support of an entrepreneurial mentor. By stimulating their entrepreneurial spirit, this initiative enables around 25% of projects to see the light of day and become successful businesses. Examples include Kazidomi and Beinfluence.
