From unemployment to entrepreneurship – the right choice?

The unemployed form a group of society suffering quite severely from the economic crises. In this situation many of them consider becoming an entrepreneur. At the same time the government is seeking solutions to diminish unemployment and start-ups are quite actively supported through different support programs (either in the form of subsidies or training/mentoring etc.).

We find that too little attention has been paid to the evaluation of the design and effectiveness of this kind of support especially during economic crises. There are no preferences made based on, for example, the field of activity, the motivation or background of the potential entrepreneur. The main objective of the project is to find out if and on which conditions support to start-ups is an effective measure for struggling with unemployment during an economic downturn.

First, other countries experiences will be studied both in the form of a literature review and seminar with guest experts. Later, a web-survey will be conducted among start-ups and in some cases interviews will also be conducted.  

Based on the results, recommendations are formulated for policymakers and organisations implementing support schemas. Furthermore, potential entrepreneurs gain additional information which helps them to make a well-considered choice concerning becoming a self-employed person.