EVENT: Innovation Training in Serbia
Through Ashoka, I was invited to visit Belgrade for a week to train NGOs as well as youth in Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship. The youth were entrants in an innovation competition organized by the Ministry of Finance.
From June 15 to 18, I shared with the participants various tools for “customer discovery” as well as business model design. Above picture shows a youth team articulating their business model, using the business model canvas developed by Alexander Osterwalder.
The biggest challenge these youth face, I think, is that there is no culture of entrepreneurship… yet… in Serbia, no “enabling environment.” It’s going to be tough for them to get support – financial or otherwise – to pursue their dreams. Their best chance is to creative a supportive network with one another and tap into global resources, as much as they can.
A key highlight of that trip was the tour of Belgrade that the youth took me on after the training. Here, we’re visiting the fortress that stands at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers.
