Embracing a "Culture of Second Chances" in the Danube Region (DanubeChance2.0)

In Europe, failure in business is often stigmatized, with insolvency seen as the end rather than an opportunity for a fresh start. Recognizing the need to shift this mindset, the EU-funded DanubeChance2.0 project set out to support entrepreneurs in the Danube Region who had experienced business failure, helping them to restart and thrive once again.

The project aimed to create a more supportive environment for these "second-chance entrepreneurs" by improving the legal and political framework across the Danube countries. Through a broad-based dialogue involving political players, research institutes, universities, and entrepreneurs affected by insolvency, new concepts were developed to facilitate entrepreneurial restarts.

One of the key components of DanubeChance2.0 was a comprehensive 130-hour training program, designed to prepare re-starters for their new ventures. The project provided personal support to around 60 previously failed entrepreneurs, guiding them through the re-start process. Additionally, a transnational pool of experts was established to offer ongoing counselling to second-chance entrepreneurs, ensuring that support would continue even beyond the project's duration.

Steinbeis Europa Zentrum played a pivotal role in the project, leading the development of a coherent strategy to improve the framework conditions across the Danube Region. This strategy, unveiled at the final conference in Budapest, Hungary, in November 2021, presents 15 concrete recommendations aimed at easing market re-entry for re-starters. The and other project outputs are available on the official project website: .

Thanks to the project's successful implementation, it drew the attention of the European Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (EASME) and contributed to the Europe-wide Early Warning Network.

The project, aimed to bring about a lasting positive change in the climate for second-chance entrepreneurs in the Danube Region, ultimately unlocking the economic potential of second-chance entrepreneurship.

DanubeChance2.0 was funded by the EU within the framework of the INTERREG Danube Programme, with a budget of round 1.8 million euros. Coordinated by IFKA, Public Benefit Non-Profit Ltd. for the Development of Industry, the project involved 17 partners from 13 countries.

Participating countries: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine

Project duration: 07/2018 - 12/2021