A total of 12 new entrepreneurs opened their own business and generated employment for themselves and others after participating in the Entrepreneurship Project of the Equal Initiative Programme. Administered by Malta Enterprise, the project served to promote entrepreneurship among the unemployed and provided training on the fundamentals of entrepreneurship to all applicants.

The first phase of the EQUAL training programme, was conducted by Ernst &Young, while the second phase was conducted by M. Fsadni & Associates together with a number of training professionals. The training comprised all the salient aspects deemed essential in setting up a successful business, namely, Business Planning, Personal Development and HR Management, Sales and Marketing Management, ICT, Finance Management, Taxation and Health & Safety.

The programme addressed both theory and practice, and the training methodology adopted was highly practical, informal and interactive, thus encouraging class participation and discussion. Moreover, the programme also introduced the participants to real work-related scenarios by way of case study analyses, role-play exercises, teamwork presentations, self-assessment exercises and site visits.

The programme also included testimonials from a number of local entrepreneur guest speakers, two of whom were participants in a preceding EQUAL Entrepreneurship Training Programme organised by Malta Enterprise. These entrepreneurs shared their experience of setting up their own successful business with the training participants

Each EQUAL Training participant was given a complete Training Pack comprising course material, applied case study literature and textbooks on 'entrepreneurship'. At the end of the programme, the participants were presented with a Training Certificate of Attendance.

EQUAL is part of the European Union's strategy for more and better jobs and for ensuring that no one is denied access thereto. Funded by the European Social Fund, this initiative has been testing, since 2001, new ways of tackling discrimination and inequality experienced by those in work and those looking for a job.