Vowoco Newsletter 30/6/2026
Dear Partner,
the VoWoCo project is moving forward, and in this newsletter we would like to focus on one of our key results in development: the Skill Matrix. Built on focus group findings, labour market insights and expert validation, the Skill Matrix helps us understand which skills matter most for women entrepreneurs and how these skills can be strengthened through learning and mentoring.
Women entrepreneurs do not succeed by fitting into a universal model of entrepreneurship; they succeed by adapting their competencies to the realities of their context.
The VoWoCo Project has reached an important milestone:
on 31 May 2026, Work Package 2: ‘Evidence-based situation analysis of women entrepreneurs’
was successfully completed.
Focus groups: the voices behind the matrix
The Skill Matrix was shaped first and foremost by our focus group work: across Hungary, Italy, Portugal and Turkey we met and listened to women entrepreneurs, women returning to the labour market and women in career transition who generously shared their experiences, challenges and practical insights. Finding participants in every partner country according to the project design and receiving their committed participation was crucial — their time and testimony directly informed the structure and priorities of the final matrix.
The Skill Matrix is one of the main tools of the project
The Skill Matrix is now finalized and available as an evidence-based framework built on focus group research, labour market insights and expert validation across the four partner countries. It captures the wide range of competences that support women entrepreneurs, including relational, behavioural, operational and strategic dimensions.
The Skill Matrix shows that women’s entrepreneurial success is strongly connected not only to business knowledge, but also to relational, behavioural, operational and strategic competences. It gives us a practical framework for turning research into action and for designing the next steps of the project, including the online learning platform and mentoring tools.
From research to dissemination
With the completion of Evidence-based situation analysis of women entrepreneurs the project is now focusing on the dissemination of the Skill Matrix and the broader research results. These outputs are being shared with professional audiences, partner networks and stakeholders who work in entrepreneurship, adult learning and women’s empowerment.
Our goal is not only to present the findings, but also to help make them understandable, visible and usable in practice.
Project Small News
Transnational Project Meeting
In March, the partnership met in person in Veszprém for the project’s first physical transnational meeting. After many online meetings, it was a valuable opportunity to work together face to face, review where we stand, discuss the bigger project topics and plan the way forward. The 1.5-day meeting was intensive and productive, but there was also time for some informal moments, including a shared dinner, a walk around Veszprém, and for some partners, even a short visit to the shores of Lake Balaton.
public presentation of the project
VoWoCo Presented at the HRFest in Székesfehérvár, Hungary
On February 24, 2026, the project was presented to the public for the first time at HRFest in Székesfehérvár, we were not only able to discuss the project’s goals with interested visitors at our own booth, but during a roundtable discussion, the project manager and lead expert from our Hungarian partner organizations, along with two female entrepreneurs, shared their insights from the focus group survey on entrepreneurship and the project’s objectives.
VoWoCo Presented at the International Seminar on Gender Research
On 24 March 2026 the VoWoCo project was presented at the international seminar Gender Research at the European Level: Insights from Ongoing Projects, hosted by the University of Macerata. Representing the University of Macerata, Gigliola Paviotti and Melanie Sara Palermo delivered the presentation “VoWoCo Project: Women’s Careers and Co-Creation”, introducing the project’s objectives, research approach, and ongoing activities. The seminar brought together researchers involved in European-funded projects, providing a valuable opportunity to exchange knowledge, foster dialogue on gender equality research, and strengthen collaboration within the European research community.
VoWoCo Presented at the BusinessFest in Budapest, Hungary
In June, we (at the BENT Association’s booth) presented the project at BusinessFest, one of Hungary’s largest business-focused events. The focus there was on presenting the research findings; we incorporated a small game linked to the Skill Matrix, in which we asked visitors about their own skills.
collaboration with other projects
VoWoCo has signed a cooperation agreement with the TASK4ISI project. Through this collaboration, we will support each other in making our results more visible and in exploring how our outputs can be used and shared across projects.
What has started now?
While dissemination of the Skill Matrix is ongoing, the project has already moved forward to the next development phase. The work on the online learning platform has started, and the mentoring programme is also being shaped on the basis of the research findings and the completed Skill Matrix.
These next steps are important because they transform the research results into practical support tools for women entrepreneurs and women in career transition.
Please share the project website and the Skill Matrix with your networks and professional communities. Your support helps us ensure that the results of VoWoCo reach the women, experts and organisations who can benefit most from them. Thank you for your continued cooperation!
Best regards,
Vowoco Project Team
info@vowoco.eu
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