SPARK and PUM join forces
The Hague/Amsterdam – Last week SPARK and PUM signed a cooperation agreement that aims to support entrepreneurship and increase the number of sustainable job opportunities in developing countries. Both parties believe that strong entrepreneurs are key for achieving sustainable economic growth and poverty alleviation. By joining forces, more impact can be created.
Joint activities focus on a number of areas. On the one hand SPARK will support PUM’s customers with incubation services and entrepreneurship training. On the other hand PUM will provide SPARK’s Ignite Fund investees with technical assistance and business support. The cooperation also entails joint programme development and fundraising.
Both directors are excited about the cooperation. “Although we’ve already worked together on various occasions, this agreement allows us to take sustainable steps in guiding our customers towards growth”, says Thijs van Praag, CEO of PUM. Yannick Du Pont, Director of SPARK, agrees, and adds that “PUM and SPARK are fully complementary, offering a variety of services in the growth path of an entrepreneur.”
About SPARK – www.sparkonline.org
SPARK is an independent, dynamic international development organisation with 15 offices in Amsterdam, Southeast Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Myanmar. It develops higher education and entrepreneurship so that young ambitious people are empowered to lead their post-conflict societies into prosperity. In order to achieve its mission, SPARK has created various technical assistance facility measures as well as the Ignite Fund.
About PUM Netherlands senior experts – www.pum.nl
PUM Netherlands senior experts (PUM) is a non-profit organization with an office in The Hague and local representatives in 70 countries around the world. PUM provides technical assistance to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), business support organisations and cooperatives, through sending out senior entrepreneurs and experts as volunteers, contributing to the increase of sustainable economic growth.