Programme aspires young people under 25 years looking to turn their innovative ideas into successful businesses. It includes series of 6 sessions that equip participants with the essential knowledge and skills needed to enter world of business.
It will encourage participants to enter the creative market, and provide them tools with which to reach the potential customers. Training programme’s aim is teaching participants green and circular business models and developing them a new way of thinking.
By the end of this training program, participants have gained a comprehensive skill set, from crafting compelling business ideas and understanding market dynamics to effective leadership and financial management. They are better prepared to understand competitive business landscape.
The course participants will:
– learn about sustainable, green product and service design
– learn strategies to create systemic change through design thinking and processes for a more sustainable entrepreneurship
– build knowledge that will enable trainees to make smarter material choices
– understand various business model strategies
– address the cultural and traditional approach to service and product diversity and marketing, through small manageable projects gain hands-on experience of the issues.
Training includes:
– 8 online courses with added homework
– mentorship
– developing your own project or product
– chance to sell your products in Tampere Christmas Fair
Wednesday evenings from 18:00 – 20.00.
Lecture part 90 minutes + 30 minutes joint discussion and worksheets filling.
Recordings with Zoom and sharing to the public in the end of the project.
Training modules are:
I Creative Company Business Models and Business Development
II Brand Strategy
III Customer-Centric Value Proposition
IV From talent to business, finding your way
V Integration of Service and Product in the Value Proposition
VI How to benefit from networks and cooperation in the circular economy and what the use of reused material enables in business
VII Finance and production planning
VIII Digital Marketing and Online Presence
We will start in the beginning of October with online meetings and in the beginning of December with final study trip and kick-off event in Finland where we take part of the Tampere Christmas fair.
The whole course is free for participants!
I cycle
The first cycle of the training program took place from September to December 2024. At the beginning of December, a joint final trip to Finland was held, where the young participants took part in the Tampere Christmas Market.
II cycle
The opening event took place on March 19, 2025, at the Tartu Centre for Creative Industries, where participants got to know each other and drew inspiration both from one another and from experienced mentors.
The program’s project manager, Ederi Ojasoo, gave an overview of the course structure, and the participants present introduced their ideas and products, sharing where they hoped to be in the coming months. Key Külaots, head of the Estonian Fashion Festival, presented trends in sustainable fashion and emphasized the importance of this mindset—why it is the future, not just a trend. She also introduced the role of the festival as a platform for young creators.
Mentor Raul Oreškin encouraged participants to be bold with their ideas and to take responsibility for bringing them to life, while mentor Maie Aija introduced the pop-up exhibition that would take place at the end of the course—highlighting that every detail, from concept to presentation, needs to be carefully considered right from the start!
Kick-out in Tartu
At the end of the second week of June 2025, young people from Estonia and Finland gathered in Tartu for the final event of the program!
On the morning of June 13, the participants attended an inspiring seminar titled “The Future of Green Fashion Business,” where experts Key Külaots, Kairi Lentsius, and Triin Rebbas shared insights on the world of sustainable fashion, its opportunities, and challenges.
In the afternoon, the group visited the HOPP Design Store, where they had the chance to explore how a design store operates and learn about the creative work Tartu-based designers engage in daily. The evening concluded in the Antonius Courtyard, where the participants took part in three engaging workshops, gathering inspiration and knowledge to carry with them on their future journeys.
On June 14, as part of the Antonius fashion show at the Estonian National Museum, the young creators opened a pop-up exhibition showcasing their work. The pop-up area featured a variety of approaches to fashion and product design, reflecting the participants’ creative potential, distinctive style, and first steps in real-world design work.
Congratulations to the second group of graduates from the project!
Total budget: 211816.12 €
Duration: 12 months, 01.06.2024 – 31.05.2025
Lead partner: Foundation Tartu Centre for Creative Industries (EST)
Partners: The Baltic Institute of Finland (FIN)
Contact: Ederi Ojasoo, ederi.ojasoo@gmail.com
Project is co financed by Central Baltic program
https://centralbaltic.eu/
