EGNATIA-VAE, as a multifaceted approach to the stregthening of entrepreneurship and competitiveness in eligible regions adjacent to the Egnatia Motorway vertical road axes, involves an integrated intervention programme that not ony exploites the new emerged opportunities but also faces several recorded local problems. The specific needs and challenges to be addressed through the project's implementation concerns the increase and revitalization of business activities, specially of those in border regions relatively remoted from major urban and economic centers, the human recourses' upgrading, as a valuable mean for the enhancement of employability conditions & the sustainable economic development, and the integration of innovation in the business sector, through both networking between academic and business support institutions and the indroduction of mechanisms and tools of business management and innovation support. Expected Results: The project stimulates special social groups to undertake business initiatives and the potential entrepreneurs' and the local business communities to stregthen their competences, providing to them the necessary preconditions (training, specialization, business activities' proposals, business methods and tools, mentoring & consulting services, etc). Particular, it's going to be developed an extensive knowledge platform with data (2 studies), currently scattered among research centres and business organisations, leading to a list of proposed innovative business activities suited to the special local youth and women's needs, with the relevant job descriptions and specifications. The information data will be mostly useful to business support bodies, while the proposals' implementation will directly benefit not only the new youth & women entrepeneurs but also the total border area's population by revitalizing the regions' economic activities, enhancing the employability conditions.