31.01.-05.02.2021: First ifempower event 2021 was held under the title ‘How does the idea become a business? Matchmaking and knowledge exchange for business angels, female entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs, experts and other stakeholders’. It aimed to provide a platform for matchmaking and online knowledge exchange for business angels, entrepreneurs, experts and other stakeholders.

Since the event was part of the week-long ifempower winter school, its main part was the pitch session during which the business ideas of students attending the intensive training were presented. A professional jury provided hands-on feedback to the presenters with the aim of supporting their development and turning into real businesses.

Then, the event provided an opportunity for knowledge exchange related to business investment and nurturing marketable business ideas in a frame of a roundtable discussion and break-out session.

Steinbeis Transfer Center EAST-WEST Joint-Ventures, German ifempower project partner, was supposed to organise and host the event in Stuttgart. Due to pandemics, travel restrictions especially, the entire program was carried out online.

ifempower aims to empower female students to get engaged in self-employment and entrepreneurship especially in SMEs. The project elaborates and tests an international module for university students which broadens their knowledge on entrepreneurship related topics, provids hands-on training and case study based learning to support their engagement in self-employment and entrepreneurship. This comprehensive module reflects to all obstacles in female entrepreneurship and empower students to successfully overcome them.