Financial literacy is a significant framework of knowledge and skills that is essential for every adult. However, there are certain adult groups that have difficulty with the understanding of basic financial knowledge; and, women are among these populations.

The FIT guidebook has been developed and will soon be released by the project consortium. In particular, “FIT: Financial literacy and new business models to boost women entrepreneurship possibilities” is a European project aiming at strengthening women entrepreneurship and contribute to societal prosperity.

FIT: In a Nutshell

In particular, FIT project materialization is being co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme. This initiative uses the knowledge of solid financial literacy and circular economy business models to help women grow business-wise. However, the partnership is not only aiming to empower women entrepreneurs but also to encourage them to support their political or social goals financially.

Find out more about the FIT initiative on the official website of the project.

The FIT Guidebook

This output is a thematic sessions guidebook aiming to enhance women’s ability regarding new business models; and, by extension, apply these skills to their businesses.

Specifically, the training sessions are founded on peer-learning and spontaneous mentoring, for the development of soft and hard entrepreneurial skills. In addition, the basis of this output is good practices on entrepreneurial education for women, through theory and practice.

The FIT guidebook comprises of the following:

• An outline of each thematic session, including activities, based on the skills as determined in IO1 and the different stages of the program.
• Understanding the benefits, goal, key concepts and main topics of the FIT program, in relation to each session.
• Understanding the roles and responsibilities in each session, along with the mentoring and coaching activities.
• Description of the techniques employed in each session that are shaped according to the different stages of a business plan preparation.
• How to use the practical tools to foster entrepreneurship skills; forward thinking; problem solving; management skills; and, other skills for the circular economy approach and innovation.
• How to determine the best mix of face to face, online activities, and mentoring, according to the program stage and women’s needs.
• How to foster participants’ skills development; motivation; and, ensure they follow the online course.
• Finally, the ways to foster financial literacy; managerial skills; leadership; and, other competencies pertinent to leadership and management. And, how to assess learning outcomes with the proposed tools.

Subsequently, the FIT partnership is preparing the piloting stage that will occur in June. In this phase, trainers will implement IO3 to lead the activities and organize the workshops. They will also implement it in the form of learning-dinners and other networking/ mentoring activities. The purpose is to offer the possibility for collaborative learning, aggregation and spontaneous mentoring among participants.