• The National Rural Network (RRN) has organized a workshop on youth entrepreneurship in rural areas focused on the creation of small industries.
• Making the leap from local to regional commerce is one of the main challenges facing small industries.

For this reason, the RRN organized the conference "Youth Entrepreneurship in Rural Areas on the Subject of Small Industries," which featured experiences from the autonomous communities of Aragon, Catalonia, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands, and La Rioja, and brought together 126 participants.

The main objective of the event was to learn about business projects and best practices promoted by young people in the small-scale industrial sector in rural areas. These experiences will serve as inspiration and connect other young entrepreneurs from different autonomous communities.

“Passion and tenacity”

"The world is open, open to my business. That's why communication and outreach are key." "Getting started requires passion. To continue, tenacity. Then, the project consolidates. And then it'll be time to ask for grants." These personal experiences correspond to some of the participants in the two roundtable discussions that structured the event. A guest expert participated in each, alongside the young entrepreneurs.

Xiomara Villanueva, a technician from AIDER Gran Canaria, participated in the discussion panel on the agri-food industry and shared her experience advising on the subject with:

• Carlos Mazo, founder of Vinos en voz baja , a winery and wine bar in Aldeanueva del Ebro, Alfaro region, in La Rioja.
• Brenda Rodríguez, from Granja Los Tumbitos , in Barlovento (La Palma, Canary Islands).
• Victor Lanau, creator of the La Rondadora craft beers (La Cabezonada, Huesca, Aragon).

Participating as a guest expert in the panel discussion on other industries was Luis Pérez, head of the Customer Information and Management Unit at the Economic Development Agency of La Rioja (ADER, Logroño, La Rioja). Pérez shared his experiences with:

• Isabel Valiente, from the online clothing store in Navarrete (La Rioja).
• Tarah Mirbaha, from Ibiza Microgreens , dedicated to organic sprouts in Sant Miquel de Balansat (Ibiza, Balearic Islands).
• Ekaterina Kulikova, manager of Maybeez (San Sebastian de La Gomera, La Gomera, Canary Islands).
• Maria Piñol, responsible from Llueix Vida Rural , a business dedicated to rural development through the sale of clothing and creative workshops from El Bergadá (Barcelona, Catalonia).

The event will soon be broadcast on the RRN's YouTube channel. All the event material will also be posted on the channel. web of the event.

Rural youth

The NRN is focusing its Action Plan these months on the topic of youth , through a series of activities designed to respond to the needs identified through a survey and a meeting of the thematic group of experts specifically established for this purpose.

The main need identified is to ensure the employability of youth in rural areas.

In this context, this was the fourth day of the rural entrepreneurship cycle by sector organized by the RRN and aimed especially at young people. This cycle has a territorial focus and will review different economic sectors, each with special importance in certain regions but of interest to rural areas across the country.

Thus, the next scheduled session, which concludes the series of meetings, will focus on organic production (next November 24).