Summary

Since the start of UP Collective we have experienced some major shifts within the European labor market. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals have discovered more flexible ways of working, such as working remotely, or beginning businesses as side hustles alongside their day jobs. Plus, companies are increasingly seeking candidates with entrepreneurial skills to boost company growth and internal innovation strategies. In short, the line between entrepreneurship and employment is no longer as defined as it used to be. 

This is the reason why, for 2023, we decided to merge Up Collective into our employability program: Fast Forward. By combining entrepreneurship and employment, we can acquire transferrable  innovation skills that allow newcomers to become ‘future-proof’ in whatever career they choose. Such as setting up their own business, stepping into the gig economy, becoming a star employee, or a combination of everything!  

In September 2023, we welcomed 28 newcomer women to join the Fast Forward program until March 2024 as PLACE ‘Catalysts’ (they are key drivers of change!). We decided to run a program specifically for women because, as well as facing additional barriers as female newcomers in the world of work, last year’s cohort was 90% female. We saw there was a clear need and drive for a programme addressing thespecific challenges newcomer women face

With the support of Ben & Jerry’s, BMW Group, and L’Oreal Fonds pour les Femmes, over these 7 months, our Catalysts had access to various hybrid learning workshops, networking opportunities, external events with partners, and individual coaching sessions. 

Our learning events included Innovation Labs, where entrepreneurial skills, ideas, and projects were developed in groups. Throughout the day-long workshops, we focused on Ideation, Prototyping, and Pitching so the Catalysts were prepared to showcase their projects during Entrepreneurship Fest, which was held in December. 

Alongside the Innovation Labs, Catalysts joined Online Challenges where they were immersed into a ‘real-life’ professional scenario through an imaginary company. By putting themselves into the role they aspired to be in, they learned how to become a star employee through immersive learning. We invited industry experts to give their professional evaluations and actionable feedback.

During all our learning events, former PLACE Alumni joined us as Facilitators to provide guidance, answer questions, and boost the learning engagement of current PLACE Catalysts.

Highlights & Key Learnings

The biggest highlight of the program so far was hosting ‘Entrepreneurship Fest’ in December. This event marked the end of the Innovation Labs, and gave the Catalysts their chance to showcase the entrepreneurial projects they developed. These projects ranged from support services for new working mothers, to HR solutions for finding the best talent, to optimizing beekeeper’s agribusiness in India. (Explore each of the projects in more detail in our online booklet).

During Entrepreneurship Fest, Catalysts had their own spaces to pitch their projects to diverse stakeholders in Paris, including incubators, potential partners, corporate sponsors, testers, and other entrepreneurial newcomers. Since the event, many of the Catalysts have had follow-up meetings and opportunities to further their projects in various ways; we could not be prouder of them really putting their pitching and networking skills to the test.

A key learning from the Innovation Labs and Entrepreneurship Fest is the benefit of projects being developed in groups. Rather than most pre-incubation programs where individuals join with their own projects and work independently, Fast Forward allows for working groups to be formed. This happened because half the cohort joined Fast Forward being more focused on employability rather than entrepreneurship, and did not have an entrepreneurial idea ready to develop. However, this did not stop their motivation to develop their entrepreneurial skills and adopt the relevant tools, understanding the advantage of having these transferrable skills within the corporate world. 

The main benefits of group projects we saw included strong connections amongst Catalysts (professionally and personally) as well as having fresh eyes and different perspectives to challenge assumptions. Although having too many chefs in the kitchen can ruin the soup, we found that in a safe and comfortable space founded on respect, active listening, and diversity, all of these women were empowered to speak their minds and collaborate effectively.

Innovations & Opportunities

Merging our entrepreneurship and employability programmes was a challenge, but worthwhile. It not only created a new space for newcomer women who have varying career interests, it also inspired others to explore these exciting new opportunities. For many entrepreneurs, they realise it may not be the right time and perhaps need some stability or more experience before fully committing, and this is why Fast Forward is so important. 

Having a wider scope of training and activities for the Catalysts meant we could offer a huge range of external events with our partners. This year we have attended a Masterclass on Neurodiversity et Ecole des Ponts Business School, Paris Innovation Day, the Women’s Economic Forum on Education, STATION F workshops, and more.

Looking forward

Due to the success of UP Collective and Fast Forward’s integration, we will be continuing to run the programme like this for future cohorts. We are constantly adapting and improving ourselves and our programmes based off participant feedback to ensure we provide the best opportunities as possible to all. 

If you’re inspired by what you’ve read, and want to enable the PLACE network to continue to provide inclusive business support to refugee entrepreneurs in Paris, we want to hear from you. 

Contact our Partnerships team here.