January 5, 2018, it was early morning and I was sitting on a bench outside the Alghero-
Fertilia Airport, waiting for a bus to Sassari. It was the official beginning of my Erasmus for
Young Entrepreneurs program, I felt excited and curious.
Sassari is Sardinia’s second most populated city and has a considerable amount of cultural,
touristic, commercial and political importance in the island. It is also a hometown of the Mine
Vaganti NGO, which will be hosting me for 4 coming months.
MVNGO promotes intercultural dialogue, social and green entrepreneurship, social inclusion
through Formal and Non-Formal Education including less privileged target groups as
migrants and people with disabilities. As an aspiring entrepreneur, I was excited to start my
cooperation with an experienced project manager Maria Grazia, who is also one of the
founding members of MVNGO.
It’s been nearly a month since that morning, and I never looked back. January is a very busy
month in the organisation like this, as the deadlines for Erasmus+ project application is
constantly on the agenda (between other daily activities). For me, it’s a great learning
environment.
During the first days in the office, I and my host entrepreneur Maria Grazia had a chance to sit
down and talk about our expectations, concerns, rules, roles. I also got my first feedback
regarding the business plan. First week was dedicated to on-boarding & introduction to
MVNGO activities, work plan, internal structure and procedures.
I started familiarising with the current projects, Erasmus+ Guidelines and general tools,
finding my place in the office, meeting my new colleagues and fellow Young Entrepreneurs.
One of the highlights this month was the possibility to attend a project kick-off meeting. It
was a great opportunity to meet potential partners for my future ventures as an independent
entrepreneur. Networking possibilities are always on the list of my top priorities. Furthermore,
I might get a chance to get involved in the trainings that will take place in Sardinia later on
during my stay here.
Looking back, it’s been a great and valuable time so far and I am looking forward to the
coming months.
Rimante is one of the New Entrepreneurs supported by the German intermediary organisation
BUPNET GmbH, Göttingen.
