Business Achievements for Social Entrepreneurship (BASE) program offers free training to budding entrepreneurs on how to start a small business. The program follows a simple but highly successful model, where established professionals and entrepreneurs offer individuals from disadvantaged groups free help and advice. In a series of meetings, they pass on their experience and knowledge, starting from the foundations of entrepreneurship—what business to start and how to make it a success where they live, how to prepare a budget, where to look for funding and partners, and what to charge for their services or products.
BASE will include 30 to 40 trainees from Sofia and the neighboring towns, prudently selected following a comprehensive set of criteria. Trainees will then be included in a 13-week business training, led by volunteer business professionals. It is planned that participants will form a mixed cohort consisted of 1/3 of disadvantaged participants, including Roma. Participants will be also provided with coaching, business plan review, one-on-one mentoring and networking after they start their small community-based business initiatives. TSA will partner with The Association of the Bulgarian Leaders and Entrepreneurs (ABLE) that will be responsible for the coordination and identification of lecturers. It is expected that the training will be completed in February 2020.