Ford to open social entrepreneurship hub in Craiova, Romania this fall

Ford Romania will open its first European incubator for innovative projects in Craiova, in partnership with local authorities, starting September. The incubator will be available for school and university students in the area.

The incubator will be called Ford Resource and Engagement Center (FREC) and is part of a series of projects by Ford Motor Company Fund, the philanthropic division of Ford Motor Company, and it will focus on social entrepreneurship.

“FREC Craiova is a collaboration with the SV Oltenia Education Association (EDUCOL), a local non-profit that aims to maximise opportunities for training, development and employment for young people, and with the Craiova City Hall, which is providing the building. Supported by an investment of over USD 1 million offered by Ford Motor Company Fund in partnership with GlobalGiving, the new FREC will act as a social entrepreneurship incubator that should lead to social and economic progress. The purpose is to have a positive impact on jobs, on economic potential and on the quality of life of people in the Oltenia region,” says Ford Romania in a statement.

FREC Craiova is Ford’s fourth center of its kind globally and will bring together local non-profit partners, Ford volunteers, mentors and educational leaders who can offer employment and community programmes, helping locals develop new skills and strengthen community values.

Besides the multiannual deal between EDUCOL and GlobalGiving, Ford says an extra USD 100,000 will be provided for refurbishing the building, so that it satisfies the needs of this type of center. According to Ford, refurbishment works have already begun.

Students will be invited to present their social entrepreneurship proposals by the beginning of September, and the first winning teams will be announced in October, at the inauguration ceremony. Each team will receive a starting amount and have access to FREC facilities.

The first FREC was opened in 2013 in Detroit, and since then Ford Fund has opened another center in South Africa and a second one in Detroit, with plans to expand to Asia and open a center in Bangkok at the beginning of 2019.