Collective entrepreneurship offers an opportunity to transform the economy, but turning an idea into a viable project is not always easy. It requires knowledge, resources, guidance, and a network of people with whom to share the challenges that arise along the way. With this vision in mind, Olympe Emprende was launched in 2020 as an initiative to promote collective entrepreneurship led or co-led by women, strengthening women’s leadership, fostering economic independence, and transforming local communities.
At Tandem Social, we wanted to extend the impact of our experience supporting entrepreneurship beyond Catalonia. However, expanding into new regions meant understanding different socioeconomic realities and connecting with local ecosystems. That is why Tandem chose to build partnerships with other cooperatives that shared the same vision of the social economy.
This is how Olympe Emprende was born, a project named after Olympe de Gouges, a pioneer of modern feminism. Its initial stages focused on supporting women and entrepreneurial teams from the development of an initial idea through to the establishment of a social economy organization.
Intercooperation at the Heart of the Program
From the beginning, Olympe Emprende has been built on a commitment to intercooperation. This approach combines expertise in supporting entrepreneurship with an understanding of the needs and opportunities of each region.
Today, the Hub operates in Catalonia, Galicia, and Andalusia through a partnership between four organizations: Tandem Social, Albeluria, Creaccions, and Genera+. Each brings its own expertise and local knowledge, while sharing a common goal: enabling more women to launch and consolidate social economy initiatives.
Within this collaborative effort, Tandem Social has played a driving role from the outset. Its experience in developing entrepreneurship programs has provided one of the foundations on which Olympe was built. From designing the program pathways and training content to developing mentoring methodologies, Tandem contributes technical expertise and participates in the coordination and management of the program alongside the other partner organizations.
This partnership has made it possible to develop a shared model that remains flexible enough to adapt to the specific characteristics of each region and the needs of participants.
Support Tailored to Every Stage of Development
Not all projects enter the program at the same stage or require the same type of support. That is why the Hub offers two pathways: the incubator, designed for women and teams looking to turn an idea into a viable social economy project, and the accelerator, aimed at initiatives that have already taken their first steps and need to strengthen their business models.
Both pathways combine personalized mentoring, training through the Olympe Virtual Academy, and opportunities for participants to connect. The goal is to ensure that each project has the tools it needs to move forward, while also becoming part of a community where participants can share experiences, build partnerships, and establish relationships that extend beyond the program.
In this way, the Hub not only supports individual projects but also helps build a network of women entrepreneurs and organizations united by shared knowledge and a common commitment to social transformation.
An Evolving Model with Ambitions to Grow
Since 2020, Olympe Emprende has completed five editions and gradually expanded its reach to respond to the needs of women entrepreneurs at different stages of development. This journey is also reflected in the figures:
Olympe Emprende (2021–2023) | Galicia and Extremadura
- 64 women entrepreneurs supported, including 24 who were unemployed.
- 30 feasibility plans developed.
- 10 social economy enterprises established.
Hub Olympe Emprende (2024–2026) | Catalonia, Galicia, and Andalusia
- 146 program participants.
- 62 social and solidarity economy enterprises created.
- 21 projects supported through the incubator in Catalonia.
- 27 projects and enterprises supported through the accelerator across the three regions.
Beyond the numbers, Olympe Emprende demonstrates how intercooperation makes it possible to share knowledge, reach new regions, and create opportunities for women-led collective entrepreneurship. It is a model that not only helps launch new projects but also contributes to creating the conditions they need to become established and continue transforming their communities.
