Since 2018, UP Collective has been led by DELITELABS - an inclusive start-up school who offers experiential learning programs and a support system to aspiring entrepreneurs - and Ben and Jerry's, an ice cream company with a real social mission.
UP Collective is a European program run in the Netherlands, the UK and France, which aims to enable newcomers and aspiring entrepreneurs to explore and develop their ideas and to build networks that drive them forward their vision of success.
The program follows the "Design Thinking" methodology - meaning it concentrates on ideas, creating models of how they could work and testing them with actual users to ascertain their value. It also follows the Lean Startup method and the (Personal) Leadership Development methodology.
Delivered by
Funded and supported by
How does the UP Collective work?
The UP Collective, first launched in 2017, serves as a training and employment initiative, bringing together displaced entrepreneurs to seek business opportunities, gain professional experience, and build networks. Their vision, if summarised into a sentence, is essentially "a world where newcomers can achieve independence, no matter where they are from".
The 14-weeks program offers newcomers the tools and skills to enable them to better integrate into the country, understanding the local market and ensuring financial security and independence. The program is currently hybrid, and while most workshops are online, certain events are held in person in Amsterdam or Rotterdam.
Throughout the program, participants will gain:
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A series of seminars, allowing them to immerse into the world of entrepreneurship
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Workshops from business experts
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An opportunity to connect with like-minded newcomers, creating opportunities to grow their network
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Personalised mentorships, to guide and help them with the development of their business ideas
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Access valuable resources and materials
"I see entrepreneurship as a life skill. Whether it’s starting a business, making a career shift, or living in a new country, when you have to start from scratch, entrepreneurial skills and mindset are very useful and effective for those situations".
Hanna Wieten, Managing Director and facilitator of the program
Partner with us
There’s so much more we can do to support and empower refugees when we work together.
The UP Collective always looks to partner with new organisations to make UP Collective better and better, and to increase its reach and impact. Partners can come on board to:
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hire or contract participants and graduates;
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scouting graduates and their business for their incubator programme and startup finance;
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delivering up the UP Collective programme in a new city;
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funding UP Collective to grow and go to new cities and communities.
If interested, send us an email to: hw@delitelabs.com
