The pilot focuses on NEET youth (16-29) in the Košice metropolitan area, with a priority on the Luník IX neighbourhood. NEET youth from low-income and socially disadvantaged neighborhood face high barriers to employment and entrepreneurship opportunities, such as limited access to professional spaces/equipment, gaps in certifications, low institutional trust, and discrimination.​

The pilot will co-design and launch a shared professional hub that bundles critical services for aspiring young entrepreneurs from vulnerable groups. This includes providing a safe and high-quality workspace, shared business services (accounting, legal, marketing), learning tracks for market-relevant certifications (e.g., driving license, photography), and mentoring for soft skills. The space and hub’s operational model willbe co-designed along with relevant actors (e.g., community members, policymakers, artists, business mentors/ associations, NGOs, academia) to be sustainable and inclusive, with a diverse revenue mix and a subsidized pricing model to ensure accessibility. In activating the space for the public, series of events such as pop-ups and workshops will also be conducted in the hubs, enabling market access and public outreach.​

The hub will engage at least 20 local NEET youth in co-design and training phases. It will support the development and testing of at least five new youth-led entrepreneurial concepts, creating new economic pathways for a highly marginalized group. The primary outcome will be a validated, replicable model toolkit for a low-barrier support hub that fosters social inclusion and economic opportunity in disadvantaged communities. Additionally, the hub serves as a catalyst for empowerment, inclusion, and visibility of the marginalised NEET youth in the neighbourhood.​

TUKE (Co-Lead, Research & Methodology), CIKE (Co-Lead, Local Coordination & Creative Hub), ETP Slovakia (Community Facilitation Partner)​