The Councilor for Employment and European Funds, Francisco Rueda, has inaugurated the first meeting of entrepreneurs of the CIEES Foundation, an event that has been held at the Hotel María Cristina and which has included the Councilor for Social Services and Equality, Ana Abellán, and with the president of the foundation, Andrés Martínez, among other public representatives, from the social sphere and from the business sector.

Francisco Rueda has shown that this initiative to promote projects by entrepreneurs with disabilities arose within the framework of the European Capital of the Social Economy that the city of Toledo held in 2020, a proposal that has received funding from Europe and the City Hall, specifically 55,905.18 euros have been invested, the City Council has reported in a press release.

"The City Council and the CIIES Foundation are 'partners' in the execution and development of the 'Social Business Factory' project", commented the mayor of Employment and European Funds, to highlight that the objectives of this proposal include consolidating competitiveness and the sustainability of social economy companies and promote access to the labor market and the employment of people at risk of exclusion for reasons of disability through self-employment or entrepreneurship.

For Francisco Rueda, the best result of the European Capital of the Social Economy «we owe it to the CIEES Foundation and the CECAP group for this project since they knew how to take advantage of that opportunity to devise and launch an innovative proposal for social entrepreneurship, and it also offered us the opportunity to do it hand in hand with the City Council».

The pillars of the project, as explained by the municipal head of Employment, are specialized and adapted training, advice and monitoring or mentoring of socially inclusive businesses, always based on the need to generate self-employment opportunities for groups vulnerable or at risk of social exclusion.

“With this approach adjusted to people, we help to position them before employment or entrepreneurship opportunities, but also to promote the positioning and visibility of inclusive entrepreneurship as a strategy for the employability of young people with disabilities or at risk of exclusion, as well as raising awareness of social and business agents", pointed out Francisco Rueda.

Thus, adapted training in entrepreneurship and business management has been offered to 30 people from Toledo with disabilities, and the design of business plans has been supported in order to favor the incorporation and implementation of entrepreneurship initiatives and projects led by these people, validating their plan and promoting a collaboration network to guarantee the viability and consolidation of these new businesses.