Bringing young European entrepreneurs in fast track

Brussels, 19th of October 2011 - Microsoft and JADE, European Confederation of Junior Enterprises signed in Brussels an education alliance agreement encouraging further the entrepreneurial spirit of students in higher education.

Microsoft and JADE share similar goals in terms of supporting and assisting young companies to expand their knowledge, to improve their business awareness and to facilitate networking between members throughout Europe.

JADE, headquartered in Brussels, works closely with the European institutions, satellite organizations and private sector. JADE, encourages young students to develop their entrepreneurial skills through the Junior Enterprise experience, following the principle of “learning by doing”. It is proven that 21% of former Junior Entrepreneurs open their company after graduation. 15 European countries are currently participating in the JADE’s project. Following the example of JADE, other countries like Brasil, South Africa and United States are spreading the concept of Junior Enterprises.

The alliance agreement with Microsoft was an important step for JADE, as the network organization aims to build supporting structures, which will stimulate the development of young people by fostering innovation and sharing best practices. Moreover, through this agreement JADE aims to develop a better communication and enhance the collaborations and knowledge exchange at European level through sharing platforms.

The agreement contains three partnering fields: technology, entrepreneurial and joint awareness. The agreement states that Microsoft will support JADE network by developing the next generation of JE.NET portal. Students and young entrepreneurs will also have access to developer resources, training and support. Together, the two parties will develop a ‘store in the box’, so the entrepreneurs can easily develop their own online stores. Microsoft will also look into the Academic Volume Licensing Program to set conditions for offering discounts to the members of JADE. Finally, Microsoft will also help the students to develop innovative marketing campaigns for which they are eligible for certification.

“Microsoft really enjoy this collaboration where the company has real contribution to offer”, says Regina Murray - Director, Western Europe Education “We believe that a high level of education is not only a fundamental right but also a socio-economic necessity. The use of technology has a significant impact on the promotion of the activities. With a real immersion in the entrepreneurial experience, you get also better results to continue forward to an evolution in terms of quality of education.”

“JADE shares a common vision with Microsoft regarding entrepreneurship education”, says Simona Lascu VicePresident of JADE. “JADE fosters entrepreneurial mindset in higher education through the Junior Enterprise concept, student run SMEs developing consultancy projects, thus bridging the gap between academia and businesses. This agreement proves that an important step to fill this gap is built by leading organizations in the fields of technology and youth entrepreneurship, like Microsoft and JADE.”Commissioner Simone Baldassarri from DG Enterprise and Industry emphasized how important it is to support entrepreneurship education and to stimulate and promote it at all levels of stakeholders. For this reason the agreement between Microsoft and JADE represents a collaborative approach, enabling companies to be more involved in entrepreneurship education.