Growth
18.11.2020
We support the young talent at the Start Academy
These young higher education students not only arouse our admiration, they also deserve our support and advice. Fizzing with ideas for setting up a business of their own, they are taking part in the Start Academy, an initiative by the Vlajo (Flemish Young Enterprises) non-profit.
To us it’s absolutely obvious that the Start Academy is one of those projects that we get excited about and really want to support. We’re proud to be the Academy’s new main partner and to have the opportunity to provide support to those talented young people who come to test out the potential of their business ideas.
Are you a student with a dream of becoming an entrepreneur? Or perhaps you know someone who is? There’s still time to register!
Personalised coaching
The students who sign up – either individually or as part of a team – bring along to the Academy a business project on which they will then be working for several months with a personal coach, also benefiting from advice from leading experts. At the end of the process, in April next year for the current intake, a jury consisting of professional businesspeople will select the six most promising ideas to contest a final assessment round that will give them the chance to win €1,500 worth of capital to launch their business.Our affinity with the Start Academy
"We share a mission in common with the Start Academy," underlines Bart Ballon, who heads up the BNP Paribas Fortis Bank for Entrepreneurs, explaining: "Nor is it a matter of chance that we’ve been supporting Vlajo, the Flemish Young Enterprises organisation, for over 40 years now. We want to encourage the spirit of enterprise among young people and help future entrepreneurs to lay solid foundations for their business activity. Our experts are really keen to learn about these students’ dreams and plans and also to find out who’ll come out on top this year, following on from last year’s winner, Dripl."Business is cool!
"Young people today think it’s cool to run your own business,” says Vlajo Director Peter Coenen. "They like the idea and they see this programme as a way to learn about business and give expression to their creativity. Our aim is to set their potential free and give them as broad a picture as possible of business life. And the world of banking is part of that. The long-term support and advice provided by BNP Paribas Fortis experts is very valuable to us in helping these young people.”Are you a student with a dream of becoming an entrepreneur? Or perhaps you know someone who is? There’s still time to register!