Workbenches with tools, machinery and even a forge are some of the resources available to entrepreneurs who wish to “venture” in the area of jewellery, in a project of the Câmara de Gondomar and the National Association of Young Entrepreneurs (ANJE).
[dropcap type=”background”]T[/dropcap]he project was launched this month and brings together four pioneering artisans/entrepreneurs, but the shared workshop set up at the Gold Park technology centre can receive “at least 12 people at a time“, told the agency.
“We want to boost the entrepreneurial fabric linked to goldsmithing, which is the sector that has the greatest cultural and social significance in Gondomar. It is not the only one, but it is the most emblematic,” said Carlos Brás, councillor of the Câmara de Gondomar, Porto district.
Meanwhile, ANJE’s director general, Francisco Mendes, added that Gold Park’s shared gold and silver workshop is a ‘coworking’ space in which entrepreneurs have access to materials and resources “important for their activity in a more economical way“.
Both estimate that for a craftsman or young entrepreneur to launch in this area of business need about 50 thousand euros to set up a small workshop.
And it was from this estimate that the Câmara de Gondomar and ANJE decided to create the workshop that is divided into two rooms: one with benches and individual stations with tools and a second with machinery.
“It is a pioneering project and the existing resources are dedicated to the various processes of goldsmithing from casting, moulding and polishing. It is possible to make a piece by passing all phases, from mould to cleaning, “said Francisco Mendes.
“They only need talent and get down to work,” added Gondomar’s councillor who manages the areas of economic, financial and heritage development, explaining that it is in the interest of the autarchy that “the gold and silver industry be kept alive and active through new entrepreneurs and new generations “.
Carlos Brás recalled that it is in Gondomar that the “Cindor – Centro de Formação Profissional Industria Ourivesaria Relojoaria“, the only public goldsmith school in the country, “lives“.
Asked about the target audience of this project, both the Chamber and ANJE pointed out to young entrepreneurs, graduates in the final stage of formation, synthesizing the description in the expression “people willing to risk and with creativity”, but promising that the doors of Gold Park’s new shared workshop “do not close to anyone or any age.”
Another of the particularities of the project is the location and facilities.
It is that Gold Park has an exhibition space, parking and other hatcheries linked to other sectors, which in the opinion of Francisco Mendes can “foster the creation of synergies and partnerships.”
ANJE provides an on-site administrative and a consultant who can provide support in aspects such as setting up the business plan, preparing applications or monitoring the management and the candidates to use the space can use the resources by paying a monthly fee of fewer than 50 euros.
“It is an asset for a young entrepreneur who has just finished his or her training, or someone who has interned or worked in a company and decides to launch himself,” said the director of ANJE, an association that adds, at a national level, 11 incubators.
