Building Regional Innovation & Development for Global Entrepreneurship (BRIDGE) is a Visegrad+ cooperation project that connects partners from Armenia, Georgia, Slovakia, and Czechia to strengthen social entrepreneurship education and youth empowerment through interregional learning and capacity building.
The project addresses the limited opportunities faced by young people in Armenia and Georgia- particularly NEET youth and young women- to transform innovative social ideas into sustainable ventures. While interest in entrepreneurship is high, young people and youth workers often lack access to structured mentoring, tested methodologies, and international peer networks. In contrast, Slovakia and Czechia offer well-established ecosystems with proven non-formal education models and mentoring practices.
BRIDGE responds to this gap by creating a blended interregional learning program that combines youth worker training with direct support for early-stage social entrepreneurs. Six youth workers from Armenia and Georgia will be trained through online modules and hands-on learning alongside Czech and Slovak experts, enabling them to adopt and apply V4 methodologies in their local contexts. This capacity-building process culminates in a Regional Learning Camp in Georgia, where 24 young social entrepreneurs from Armenia and Georgia receive intensive mentoring, practical tools, and cross-border peer support.
Beyond individual activities, the project establishes a EaP–V4 Mentoring Pool, connecting youth workers and mentors across regions to ensure continued knowledge exchange, coaching, and collaboration after the project ends. Digital storytelling, national closing events, and international dissemination through the Social Impact Award network will further extend the project’s reach to at least 50,000 young people.
By integrating entrepreneurship education, intercultural exchange, and organizational capacity building, BRIDGE strengthens youth ecosystems in Armenia and Georgia while reinforcing the V4 region’s role as a bridge-builder between the EU and Eastern Partnership countries. The project fosters inclusive, resilient, and interconnected ecosystems that empower young people to turn ideas into impactful social enterprises and contribute to sustainable regional development.
Building Regional Innovation & Development for Global Entrepreneurship (BRIDGE) is co-financed by the governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from the International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe. Impact Hub Yerevan, Impact Hub Tbilisi, Impact Hub Prague and KOLABO are implementing this project.
