The number of self-employed home workers is on the increase. This trend can be explained to a great extent by the progress made in information and communications technologies. Many active, self-employed workers are now looking to enjoy the quality of life that can only be found in the country, far from the stress and noise of big cities. Moves to the Gers are made all the more appealing by the quality of life and the warm welcome that is extended to all home workers looking to set up a business there.
What does SOHO SOLO mean? ?
SOHO: Small Office Home Office: a category of self-employed people who work at least partially from home.
SOLO: self-employed people of all nationalities, working in the country.
Thus, "Soho Solo" refers to self-employed people who can work from home in the country.
Soho Solo in The Gers
It is the ambition of the Soho Solo project to make The Gers the ideal destination for this new generation of e-business entrepreneurs, by providing them with all the support services they need.
The project includes a range of services designed to:
- Facilitate the move and integration of self-employed home workers in the Gers and promote their skills to local enterprises.
- Support the villages with projects to welcome home workers.
Not any old where!
The Gers offers a warm welcome, a rich history and heritage, fine food and drink and a wealth of cultural activities.
You're connected to the world from home!
Almost all of the Gers is covered by the broadband network and the highways network is being modernised for quick and easy access to the nearby cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux.
Infrastructure for a healthy and comfortable life is present : schools, hospitals, social and cultural amenities, etc.
Alone yet together!
Support services: welcome guide, customised support, a network of seven telecentres, partner villages, etc.
A professional network: passport to enterprise, the Gers Soho Solo directory, meetings, training, etc.
See the Made-to-Measure Assistance page.
Soho Solo : a project history
The Soho Solo project benefits from European Interreg III B funding to encourage the installation and integration of independent home workers in the rural regions close to the Atlantic coast. By bringing together five European Business and Innovation Centres (the CorkBIC in Ireland, the CIEBI in Portugal and the CEEI Bahia de Cadiz and ITC Canarias in Spain), the project has better identified the expectations of these new professionals and created genuine local reception structures for professionals seeking to move to the country, while promoting the partner regions on a national and Europe-wide scale.
The Soho Solo project in the Gers has now become a concrete reality.
The many self-employed home workers who live and work in the Gers are contributing to the area's reputation and renown. These independent home-based professionals also increasingly contribute to the local economy and the vitality of the social fibre in a durable manner.
More...
The notion of sustainable growth is quite naturally one of the main preoccupations of self-employed home workers on both the professional and personal level.
Sustainable growth involves a new vision of society, raises new economic challenges and imposes respect for the environment. These three fundamental and inter-dependent issues will help to solve current needs and meet current expectations without comprising the needs and expectations of future generations.
A responsible and active initiative.
Sustainable growth is rooted in fair action and the respect for all.
While sustainable growth is a response to worldwide issues, it remains first and foremost a responsibility as well as an individual commitment that we all must make.
Through their lifestyle and the way they work, self-employed home workers are excellent ambassadors for sustainable growth who revitalise the rural social and economic fabric through the balanced development of national territory. They also contribute to the protection of the environment by making good use of new information and communications technologies and significantly reducing the use of transport.
In the shape of the ambitious Agenda 21 initiative in the Gers, sustainable growth is actively contributing to the changes we have to make for a better present and future.
In cooperation with the Gers Gascogne CEEI, and with the support of the Gers Departmental Council, the Gers Chamber of Commerce and Industry launched the SOHO SOLO GERS project, that many localities have already joined as they understand the benefits of attracting new and active professionals to their villages.
Together, they provide self-employed home workers with the ideal conditions for a professional and private move to the region.
Press review
- Settling as Self-employed in the Gers - French Accent Magazine, June-July 2008
- Home workers in the Gers benefit from EU help - French News, Februrary 2008
- Rural charm and business success -The Connexion, January 2008
- "Solos" repopulating the Gers - La Dépêche Gers, Press conferences, June 5, 2004
- The Gers at the heart of Europe - La Voix du Gers, Press conferences, June 3, 2004
- Lifestyle as an attracting force - Sud Ouest, May 26, 2004
C.C.I du Gers
Place Jean David -
BP 181
32004 AUCH Cedex |
Tél. 05 62 60 16 12
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