• Reinforcing Med Microfinance Network System for Start-ups (ReSt@rts) is an EU-funded project under the ENI-CBC Med Programme. aiming to reinforce the Med Microfinance network system for start-ups by promoting economic and social development and supporting innovative start-ups and recently established MSMEs.
• ReSt@rts’ main objective is to contribute to stimulating growth and improving the business ecosystem in the Euro-Med area facilitating, enlarging, and strengthening access to credit. The project achieves this objective directly by broadening the finance options available and improving understanding of the full range of financing instruments.
• ReSt@rts has therefore been created as a capitalization of the MEDSt@rts project to meet the needs of green entrepreneurs in the microfinancing realm.

Access to finance is still a major barrier to business development in the Mediterranean. This is especially true when it comes to young entrepreneurs that must fight much more than average to get proper funding. ReSt@rts intends to break down this business obstacle by supporting the so-called “non-bankable” young people.

The project will extend the microfinance system developed in previous projects to new geographical areas and sectors and will ensure that the main results of these projects are consolidated into new policies at the regional level. Both aimed at entrepreneurs and microfinance providers, a marketplace platform will be developed to gather the supply and demand in a friendly and easily accessible business environment. In this platform, crowdfunding will be playing a key role, as the ReSt@rts partners understand that the use of alternative financing is essential whenever the traditional ways of funding fail. Thanks to ReSt@rts, many Mediterranean young would-be entrepreneurs will get a new chance to fund their business ideas. Eventually, concerned entrepreneurs will have access to a wide Mediterranean cross-border network of investors.

ReSt@rts will be implemented by 9 partners, distributed among several countries in the Mediterranean basin: Arab Italian Chamber of Cooperation – CCIA (Italy)- Calabria Region (Italy)– Federterziario (Italy)- Leaders International (Palestine)- Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie de Sfax (Tunisia)- Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Sidon and South Lebanon (Lebanon)- Achaian Development Entity OF Chamber OF Achaia, (Greece)- Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Cyprus)- Ager Sarl, (Tunisia).

The project in numbers: 

Duration: 24 months

Start date: 20 September 2021

End date: 19 September 2023

Main source of funding: European Union (ENI CBC Med Programme)

Additional information:

https://enicbcmed.eu/projects/restarts
Instagram: @restartsproject
Twitter: @Restartsproject
Facebook: @Restartsproject