The acronym WE (Women Entrepreneurs) stands for the women entrepreneurs that the project aims to support. The main objective is to support this target group in the transition to the circular economy through a wide range of activities. Despite efforts to support women entrepreneurs (WE), only 25.6% of entrepreneurs in the Danube Region are women. The gender gap exists in all sectors, including those related to the circular economy. While the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the development of the digital economy, it has also widened the existing digital skills gap. The lack of digital skills is creating new inequalities. The project therefore aims to improve the skills of women entrepreneurs in the Danube region for business development in the context of the circular economy, including business and digital skills.

The consortium of 15 partners from 12 countries in the Danube region brings together national and regional, public and private organisations and universities whose specific thematic background guarantees the necessary expertise and appropriate innovative solutions.

The main objectives of the project are:
1. Overcoming the challenges of the transition to a circular economy through an innovative training programme for women entrepreneurs.
2. Accelerating the transition of women entrepreneurs to a circular economy by introducing circular business models.
3. To increase the capacity of policy makers to support the transition of women entrepreneurs to the circular economy through a transnational policy learning centre focused on the circular economy.

Key project outputs:
Objective 1
a) Innovative training programme.
b) Pilot testing of the WE.Circular educational program.
c) The WE.Circular transnational learning network.
Objective 2
a) Innovative business models for circular transition of women entrepreneurs in the energy sector.
b) Pilot testing of innovative circular business models.
c) Strategies for the sustainability of the WE.Circular lab.
Objective 3
a) Regional Action Plans.
b) Transnational strategies for women entrepreneurs and their circular transformation.

Implementation team: Martina Kubíková, Vojtěch Dvořák, Jitka Šeflová, Eliška Mičová