The Program
The Business Empowerment Programme (BEP) is a 30-hour, hybrid qualification program by MacoopA Academy, specifically designed to professionalize solo self-employed professionals in Germany and strengthen their long-term economic stability. The program teaches practical competencies in the areas of digitalization, financial organization, marketing, project management, resilience, and particularly business normalization, to make participants eligible for German funding programs (e.g., KOMPASS, ESF+, BAfA). The BEP meets all criteria of the federal program KOMPASS – Compact Help for Solo Self-Employed Professionals: • Minimum scope of 20 hours (BEP includes 30 hours) • Qualification character with clear learning objectives • Strengthening of entrepreneurial stability • Modular structure • Hybrid and flexible format • Fully documentable
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0. Orientation & Business Positioning
Get oriented with the KOMPASS programme, assess your current business status and challenges, and define clear goals and development paths aligned with programme scope.
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1. Business Model & Value Creation
Understand your business model logic, define your value proposition, identify target groups and value chains, and discover improvement potential in how your business creates value.
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2. Organisation & Internal Structures
Define roles and responsibilities, streamline internal processes, establish effective decision-making and communication practices to improve internal clarity and strengthen operational capability.
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3. Finances & Business Steering
Understand cost and revenue structures, develop liquidity and financial planning, learn key figures and basic controlling to strengthen financial understanding and enable informed business decisions.
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4. Sustainability (Sustainable Business Practice)
Learn sustainability basics including ESG and SDGs, understand environmental and social responsibility, supply chain and governance principles, to integrate sustainability into daily business practice and identify concrete, feasible sustainability measures.
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5. ECG / Common Good Economy
Learn values-based business and ECG principles, understand the Common Good Matrix, work with stakeholders, transparency and participation, and create an ECG Mini-Report to apply ECG logic to your company and create transparency and value-based orientation.
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6. Digitalisation & Working Tools
Understand digital foundations, explore tools for collaboration and documentation, implement simple digital workflows to improve efficiency through digital tools and establish transparent working structures.
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7. Implementation & Guided Transfer
Review all measures developed throughout the programme, create your individual implementation roadmap, and define realistic next steps and follow-up actions to secure transfer into practice.
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Lesson 1
Digital Foundations
Understand the essential digital foundations for modern business operations, learn about key technologies and platforms, and establish your digital infrastructure.
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Lesson 2
Tools for Collaboration & Documentation
Explore and implement digital tools for team collaboration, document management, and knowledge sharing to improve efficiency and establish transparent working structures.
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Lesson 3
Simple Digital Workflows
Design and implement simple but effective digital workflows that streamline your business processes, reduce manual tasks, and improve overall efficiency through digital tools.
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Lesson 4
Documentation Obligations & Compliance
Learn what documentation you must maintain, understand compliance requirements, and establish systems to ensure you meet all legal and regulatory obligations.
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Lesson 5
Digital & Financial Organization Systems
Establish integrated digital and financial organization systems that ensure transparency, traceability, and compliance with German business standards and funding requirements.
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Lesson 6
Funding Criteria (KOMPASS, ESF+, BAfA, State Funding)
Understand the specific criteria and requirements of major German funding programs including KOMPASS, ESF+, BAfA, and state-level funding opportunities.
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Lesson 7
Funding Eligibility Checklist
Use a comprehensive checklist to assess your funding eligibility, identify gaps in your business setup, and prepare for successful funding applications.
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Lesson 8
Creating a Personal Business Normalization Plan
Develop a personalized action plan to normalize your business according to German standards, address compliance gaps, and position yourself for funding eligibility and business growth.