CLIMB, new European project to foster female entrepreneurship in remote areas
The UAB forms part of a new European project entitled CLIMB – Empowering Women to Climb the Entrepreneurial Mountains in Remote Areas. This initiative is funded by the Erasmus+ programme and aims to empower women from rural and mountainous areas by offering training, digital tools and support networks created to foster inclusive and sustainable entrepreneurships.
A European consortium led by Meridaunia, an Italian public-private partnership, has announced the launch of the project "CLIMB – Empowering Women to Climb the Entrepreneurial Mountains in Remote Areas". The initiative, funded by the Erasmus+ programme with a budget of €250,000, aims to reduce the barriers faced by women in rural areas and foster inclusive economic development.
Depopulation is one of the main challenges facing rural and mountain areas in Europe. Women, especially young women, are the ones who leave these territories the most, due to lack of job and social opportunities. The CLIMB projects wants to reverse this trend by offering specific training in business skills, financial literacy and digital skills, as well as access to mentoring networks and institutional support.
According to European data, 40% of women who want to participate in training activities cannot do so due to family responsibilities, and the barrier is even greated in rural areas. CLIMB aims to create flexible and accessible learning itineraries to overcome these obstacles.
With a duration of 24 months, the project will last until August 2027 and aims to train more than 100 women in business, digital and financial skills; create an interactive digital platform with training resources, networking tools and mentoring spaces; develop a set of tools and six training modules on business planning, digital marketing, access to finance, strategic management, sustainability and female leadership; and publish a European report of good practices and policy recommendations to boost female entrepreneurship in rural areas.
“CLIMB aims to give support to women living in rural and mountain areas, where starting a business is often more difficult due to a lack of training, financial resources, support networks, and digital skills. Through the analysis of good practices, interviews and a pilot phase, we will develop resources adapted to the real needs of rural women and promote dialogue with institutions and policymakers”, explains Bernat Claramunt, researcher at the Department of Animal Biology, Plant Biology and Ecology at the UAB and the Centre for Ecological Research and Forestry Applications (CREAF). “As a result, the project will contribute to improving women’s economic opportunities, strengthening social fabrics, and promoting fairer, sustainable and inclusive rural development, with long-term benefits at both local and European levels.”
The CLIMB project includes five European partners which are contributing with complementary experiences: Meridaunia (Italy), which will be responsible for the coordination of the project and the rural development strategy; OECON (Greece), which will carry out training, impact assessment and implementation of gender equality policies; K-GEM (Turkey), which will focus on social inclusion and content validation with migrant women and vulnerable groups; Priority Trust Services (Cyprus), which will be responsible for the development of the digital platform and financial advice; and the UAB, where research, analysis of good practices, and academic support will be developed, under the coordination of Bernat Claramunt.