Business Academy for Starting Entrepreneurs (BASE) is а training program designed to enable small business owners and budding entrepreneurs from under-served communities to obtain financial success by starting and operating successful businesses that provide jobs and improve communities. 

Inspired by US training programs for small-business owners, BASE shortens the distance from idea to implementation by relying on volunteer mentors with an entrepreneurship background and on learning by doing. During the three-month program, participants master the basics of starting a business, as outlined in ABF’s Practical Handbook on Entrepreneurship: they learn how to develop their business ideas, why it is important to do a market study, how to talk to potential customers and suppliers, where to get start-up capital, how to price their goods and services, and much more. With the help of their mentors, they develop business plans that compete for funding at the program’s end.

Since 2019 ABLE has been a local partner for the Sofia editions of the program. We started BASE Mentor as a follow-up program for the most promising and ambitious BASE alumni who get the chance to work with individual mentors for a period of 6 months. Currently, we run the Sofia editions of the program, BASE Mentor as well as coordinate BASE seasons with local partners around the country.