Berlin, 8 September 2020

Launch of the first German emergency aid programme for innovative tourism enterprises in developing and emerging countries

  • Together, enpact and the TUI Care Foundation support 150 teams of entrepreneurs in the tourism sector with mentoring and financial assistance
  • The programme is part of the Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative of enpact, which supports young, innovative companies during the Corona crisis
  • The initiative focuses on strong crisis management, job preservation and sustainable economic development

enpact and the TUI Care Foundation today announced the launch of the first emergency aid programme for innovative tourism businesses in developing and emerging countries. The COVID-19 Relief Programme for Tourism is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für Wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ). A total of 150 teams of innovative, young businesses in Mexico, Kenya, Indonesia, and Jordan will be supported with international workshops, a mentoring programme and financial support.

"Extensive protective umbrellas, such as those currently being set up in Europe, rarely exist in developing and emerging countries. For this reason, there is a great need to support local entrepreneurs with training, mentoring and financial support. In many of our partner countries, tourism accounts for an above-average share of economic performance – which is why it is prudent for this sector to be the focus of the programme," says Norbert Barthle, Parliamentary State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

The programme is part of the Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative by enpact. It supports the participating businesses in coping with the Corona crisis. A combination of mentoring, workshops, network-building and financial support aims to establish good crisis management, preserve jobs and create long-term prospects.

"We are proud to implement our programme to support young, innovative companies and to help directly where help is urgently needed. Together with the TUI Care Foundation, enpact focuses on promoting entrepreneurs and companies as a way of sustainable development cooperation. We look forward to helping young, talented people to take their future into their own hands," explains Dr Sebastian Rubatscher, one of the Founders and Managing Directors of enpact.

The Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative is divided into two programmes, each running for six months with different thematic focuses. The first programme is open to 180 companies from all sectors, while the second part focuses on 150 companies in the tourism sector.

Thomas Ellerbeck, Chairman of the TUI Care Foundation: "Tourism builds the livelihood of millions of people. TUI Care Foundation and enpact support innovative entrepreneurs in emerging and developing countries to help them emerge stronger from the crisis. Thus, we give the tourism industry in the participating countries access to international support measures, and thereby help to maintain structures that are also essential for international tourism. With our expertise and a global network in tourism and the digital economy, we will support innovative, young local companies and contribute to the success of the initiative."

International tourism has come to an almost complete standstill during the Corona crisis. This threatens the livelihoods of millions of people working in the sector. The tourism sector employs about one in ten people worldwide. This sector thus offers people of different qualification and education levels an income opportunity, especially in developing and emerging countries.

In recent years, the German development cooperation has increasingly focused on supporting entrepreneurs in emerging and developing countries. Innovative young businesses find local solutions to local problems, create jobs, increase future prospects, and make a significant contribution to employment and economic upturn. This work of recent years is threatened by the short- and medium-term consequences of the Corona pandemic.

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Obligatory funding information:

"Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative: COVID-19-Relief Programmes & COVID-19- Relief Programmes for Tourism"  

The Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative was developed by enpact e.V. The COVID-19 Relief Programmes are funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). enpact implements the programmes and coordinates the implementation with the Strategic Partnership Technology in Africa (SPTA). The tourism programme is implemented by enpact together with TUI Care Foundation.

About enpact e.V.

enpact is a Berlin-headquartered non-profit organisation empowering entrepreneurship, ecosystems and international cooperation. The organisation was founded in 2013 with the goal of promoting entrepreneurship in emerging and developing countries. enpact supports young entrepreneurs and ecosystem actors from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America through a variety of products clustered in three business areas: entrepreneurial support, organisational support and data & research. Among its flagship products are mentoring programmes, capacity building programmes, coworking spaces, delegations, data-based consulting, as well as analysing and evaluating the founder-friendliness of cities. At present, enpact’s network consists of 2500+ startups, 600+ mentors and experts and 150+ support organisations in 30+ countries. 10000+ jobs have been created as a direct result of enpact’s work with startups.

The Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative was developed by the non-profit organisation enpact e.V. and was launched in 2020 with two programmes designed to deliver economic relief from the COVID-19 crisis. The Tourism Recovery Programme is the third standalone programme of the initiative, aimed to support the resilience and recovery of businesses in the tourism sector. The COVID-19 Relief Programme is supported by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and is implemented together with enpact and TUI Care Foundation.

About TUI Care Foundation

Building on the potential of tourism as a force for good, the TUI Care Foundation supports and initiates partnerships and projects, which create new opportunities for the young generation and contribute to thriving communities all over the world. Connecting holidaymakers to good causes, the TUI Care Foundation fosters education and training initiatives to open up new opportunities and perspectives for young people, the protection of the natural environment in holiday destinations and sustainable livelihoods in thriving destinations where local communities can benefit even more from tourism. TUI Care Foundation works global and acts local – it builds on strong partnerships with local and international organisations to create meaningful and long lasting impact. The charitable foundation values transparency and the efficient use of funds. Therefore 100% of the donations go to destination programmes with all administration costs of the foundation covered by TUI. TUI Care Foundation was founded by TUI, the world’s leading tourism business, and is based in the Netherlands.

Matthias Treutwein

Enpact
Contact details
+49 176 7842 6343
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