ProCCS has aimed to support the overall Cultural and Creative Sector by reinforcing the competences of professionals active in the CCS and connecting them with the business and microfinance sector, supporting cultural entrepreneurs in the implementation and financing of their business ideas. Furtheremore, the project paid special attention to the strengthening of digital skills as a tool to promote professional activities and to exploit new learning opportunities. Specific Objectives (SO) of the project are: SO1 - To create a European community of Tutor who are specialized in providing complete online training and mentoring to professionals active in the Cultural and Creative Sector; SO2 - To support the development of sense of initiative, managerial and entrepreneurial skills of CCS professionals; SO3 - To support the development of microbusiness ideas in the CCS by easing the access to credit and funding opportunities; SO4 - To support financial intermediaries in better understanding of specificity and peculiarity of the CCS and to reininforce their awareness on the economic potential of the sector itself.
It is a well-recognised fact at EU level that the Cultural and Creative Sector (CCS) is amongst the fastest growing sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, the challenges in accessing finance is one of the most critical obstacles to its growth and, as stated in the “EENC- Opportunities for CCSs to Access Finance in the EU”, access to finance is prevented by specific characteristics of CCS organisations. Among them: ● Characteristics of CCS activities: lack of tangible assets, high uncertainty of market demand, generation of value over long and uncertain periods of time, lack of knowledge of funding opportunities; ● Characteristics of CCS organisations and entrepreneurs: perceived lack of business skills, CCS entrepreneurs’ fear of losing control of their business, etc. ● Specific market conditions: lack of good market intelligence, pressure on existing business models (due to digital shift, among others), etc. For these reasons, it's crucial for the entire CCS to bridge the skills gap of professionals in the sector and facilitate access to credit by creating dedicated channels and providing solid information on the economic potential of the CCS to financial intermediaries.