RUBIZMO

RUBIZMO aims at stimulating investments in various rural economic sectors, with a special focus on the valorisation of rural assets and the exploitation of underutilised resources. The project will identify and promote business opportunities to diversify economic activities in rural areas that can generate added value, job creation and a more sustainable use of resources.

RUBIZMO brings together 16 leading organisations from 11 countries, achieving a balance between East-West and North-South Europe, focusing on European countries with large rural populations. RISE coordinates the project consortium, in which ZABALA Innovation participates. The project has been financed by H2020 and ended in April 2021.

CHALLENGE

RUBIZMO’s objective is to stimulate the large-scale adoption of successful and innovative business models in the food sector, bio-based value chains and ecosystem services. By establishing new links between sectors, companies, producers, consumers and markets, RUBIZMO will generate common values among local communities and improve rural resilience through diversification. This implementation will foster the modernisation and sustainable growth of rural economies, while providing great potential for generating jobs, creating added value, social cohesion and resilience and contributing to a more sustainable use of human and natural resources.

SOLUTION

RUBIZMO supports modernisation and sustainable growth in rural economies, while offering great potential to create added value and help communities contribute to the sustainable use of resources. To this end, RUBIZMO will identify 50 successful business cases and 20 new business models, exploring the conditions for their replication through the development of four practical user tools: a virtual library of business cases to inspire and inform potential entrepreneurs about business opportunities, as well as guidelines on generating favourable conditions for the implementation of innovative business models. These tools will help rural authorities and networks create the right conditions for rural innovation, through a toolkit for cluster and network development in rural areas and a transformation support tool, to help individual entrepreneurs identify the business models best fit their situation and how to implement change.

RESULTS

RUBIZMO will support existing rural entrepreneurs and networks by providing them with better tools and guidelines to improve entrepreneurship in rural areas. This will enable the development of innovative value chains that generate competitive products and services in rural areas and contribute to making rural communities more resilient to global economic and environmental changes. The main expected impacts of RUBIZMO are to develop tools that improve entrepreneurship in rural areas, to improve knowledge about emerging business models in rural areas, to increase rural economic diversification, value addition and job creation in rural areas, to make rural economies and societies more resilient to global changes and to improve the provision of ecosystem services as a result of innovative forms of valorisation.