Two years have passed since the launch of BASAFUL, a unique concept, student-run digital services agency. The year 2020 ended with a turnover of EUR 14 000, this year the turnover has increased by 614.29% and exceeds the significant threshold of EUR 100 000.

The digital agency "BASAFUL" was established within the framework of the Ventspils University of Applied Sciences bachelor study programme "Start-up Management". The essence of the study programme is to provide an opportunity to acquire knowledge and develop skills through practical application of theory in a business environment. Therefore, on the initiative of the students, a digital services agency was created, which serves as an 'Ideal Internship', where students can get an internship, get to know the business environment, understand their strengths and weaknesses, build their portfolio, make a profit, thus also providing a greater motivation to learn theory and have a better understanding of the studied topics. Students are accompanied by mentors who are professionals in fields such as start-up management, marketing, sales and customer relations, service design, etc. 

The range of services provided by BASAFUL mainly consists of website development, sales activities, process automation, digital marketing and SEO optimisation. More than 40 projects have been completed during the year and the range of clients has been noticeably expanded, providing more and more opportunities for students to acquire future competencies and skills. BASAFUL's competitive advantage in the digital services market is firstly the ability to provide a relatively high quality service at a lower cost, as the primary objective of the organisation will always remain to provide learning opportunities for its members, not profit. Secondly, companies that care about the Agency's noble objective - to provide growth opportunities for young talents and to promote the quality of higher education studies have the opportunity to be part of it by using the agency's services.

“Currently BASAFUL brings together 25 students from the "Start-up Management" programme as well as from other study programmes, including students from the computer science specialization. In the next two to three years, we believe that we can grow our team to at least 150 students and help to introduce this concept to other universities, which will significantly improve the study experience and the quality of the gained knowledge", comments the new elected head of the organisation, Luīze Dārta Sietiņa. 

Students have the opportunity to learn skills not only while working with clients, but also while improving the organisation's own processes, communication, culture and business model.