eRural resilience

The attractiveness of living in the countryside has grown over the past years (specially pushed by COVID). Even businesses are being attracted with the perspective of combining green with digital transition, especially with the advance of telework. However, BSR rural areas still battle with problems that prevent people from staying there, so the divide between urban and rural keeps growing. Rural authorities, and business promotion bodies in BSR, are promoting local businesses that can convert renewable biological resources into higher valued products, but the limited local market is not big enough in clients, so this new bio-businesses promotion has to be linked to digitalization, with the focus of covering urban or international markets. We call them e-bio-businesses. However, local authorities are facing challenges when supporting SMEs or individuals in the transition to bio-producers but keeping a strong digital profile. The whole knowledge to provide: from benchmarking of bio-products, thematic selling platforms, marketing channels, logistic, packaging, etc. is seen as a complex combination, which is usually not covered by the current competences of local business centres. eRural Resilience offers a holistic solution, with a group of tools which will both, convert target groups into fully competent e-bio-business supporters, and allow fast-launching of e-bio-businesses. SMEs and individuals, not being target groups, will be the final beneficiaries of the solutions.