15 young entrepreneurs from Cluj took part in workshops of financial education and behavioral economics to develop and stabilize financial affairs in their start-up phases. This was made possible with the generosity of 150 individual donors who have chosen to support the entrepreneurship education program initiated by Danis Foundation for Managerial Development. The entrepreneurs’ financial plans that prove more realistic and complete are awarded at the end of the project.

“Drive for Better Your Community” project supports young entrepreneurs in Cluj and at the same time, mobilizes the community to recognize the important role that entrepreneurship plays in successful economic development of a society.

The 15 entrepreneurs selected for the project take part in financial education workshops organized in the following areas: obtaining funding (funding lines, attracting investors) and the planning and management of financial resources (carring out a financial plan, calculating the break-even budget, using cashflow). The first meeting was held on September 17th and the next on September 24. The workshop is held pro bono by Anca Sanda, trainer and consultant in financial education business development for over 12 years. Also, on September 24 entrepreneurs participated in a workshop of behavioral economics, focusing on elements of irrationality in decision making. The workshop is supported pro-bono by Dan Ionescu, consultant with over 20 years of experience in training, facilitation and organizational development consultancy.

“Behavioral economics workshop attempts to complete the more rigorous part of the program – financial aspects – with softer information which certainly will be useful to any entrepreneur. The overall objective of this part is to familiarize entrepreneurs with the relativity of decisions to be taken, to understand how our decisions are influenced, apparently objective and logical, and convincing us as well as to advise with one another. The need for teamwork is apparently supported by everyone, but the reality is far from this goal, especially in what concerns the entrepreneurs who largely have the qualities of being obstinate, egocentric and live quite comfortably with the idea of being unpleasant to many. In fact, these are truly entrepreneurial qualities that make businesses prosper “(Dan Ionescu, Danis Consulting)

At the end of the workshops, the entrepreneurs with the most realistic and comprehensive financial plans will receive prizes worth 5,000 lei. Prizes will be used by small entrepreneurs for investment necessary for developing their own businesses.

“Your Drive for Better Community” is a project funded exclusively from individual donors, people who believe in the value and importance of entrepreneurship. About 150 people have chosen to support the project Danis Foundation through two initiatives to mobilize resources. One of the initiatives was a fundraising event organized by Danis Foundation as a test drive, in partnership with Toyota Cluj-Napoca and Tokyo Japanese Restaurant, attended by entrepreneurs and managers Cluj. The second initiative was the inclusion of the project in Cluj Swimathon, a fundraising event organized by Cluj Community Foundation. At Swimathon, the project was supported by 7 swimmers, which in turn are supported by friends, family and acquaintances, who contributed financially to the development of entrepreneurship in Cluj.