Organised by the Rural Pact Support Office, this Good Practice Webinar explores how rural businesses can contribute to a more competitive and resilient Europe by improving access to finance and business support, creating greater value from territorial assets and strengthening locally rooted and collective business models.
The session opens by setting the European policy context, looking at EU initiatives and funding opportunities supporting rural competitiveness. Contributions from the European Commission will address enterprise support, regional innovation, Cohesion Policy, bioeconomy and circular value chains, as well as the opportunities offered by the Social Economy Action Plan for rural business ecosystems and entrepreneurship.
The discussion then moves from policy to practice through three parallel thematic exchanges. The first focuses on access to finance and business support for rural areas, with examples of citizen investment, integrated business incubation and financing mechanisms for rural enterprises. The second explores how rural territories can create greater value from their assets and identity, including local wood value chains and sustainable rural tourism. The third looks specifically at social economy models for rural competitiveness, highlighting cooperative entrepreneurship, tailored financing for rural social economy initiatives and cooperative investment in village businesses and services.
The webinar closes by bringing the lessons from the three exchanges together in a stakeholder panel asking a central question: what is needed to strengthen rural competitiveness and economic diversification? Gianluca Pastorelli, Executive President of Diesis Network, will contribute to the discussion alongside representatives of the Enterprise Europe Network, the European Microfinance Network and the Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking.
The webinar is aimed at:
- Business support organisations and organisations working with rural entrepreneurs
- Social economy organisations, cooperatives and networks active in rural areas
- Financial intermediaries and actors working to improve access to finance
- Local, regional and national public authorities involved in rural economic development
- Civil society organisations, researchers and project promoters
- Practitioners and policymakers interested in resilient, diversified and locally rooted rural economies
The event takes place online on 17 September 2026, from 09:00 to 13:00 CEST.
Express interest to participate by 28 August 2026: https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/deb73579-d0d2-d2d6-241b-94572103f9cd