75 women entrepreneurs from Moldova and Ukraine take part in a relief program supported by the German government to counteract the impact of the war

75 female entrepreneurs from Moldova and Ukraine take part in a relief program supported by the German government to counteract the impact of the war

• The FEMEIE program by enpact is supported by GIZ on behalf of the German Government
• The program provides access to a support center and 3,000 Euros in direct financial support over a period of six months to 75 female entrepreneurs
• The program aims to support women entrepreneurs in recovering and growing beyond the severe repercussions of the Russian war of aggression on their work and personal livelihoods

The Female Entrepreneurship in Moldova – Emergency Initiative for Economic Empowerment (FEMEIE) program was launched in 2023 to provide direct support for women entrepreneurs from Moldova and Ukraine, living in Moldova, to counteract the severe economic and social repercussions of the Russian war of aggression on their personal livelihoods and businesses.

The program, implemented by enpact with the support of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) provides a physical support center in Moldova, direct financial support of 3,000 Euros per participant, access to global network and resources for services, training, and EU market access support.

The participants are working in diverse sectors: Nataliia Oleatovschi, works to provide safe and inclusive access to reproductive healthcare for women in Moldova. Svetlana Pinzaru, works to create prosthetics and rehabilitation services for people with disabilities in the country. Hanna Pavlova, a Ukrainian entrepreneur who moved her family to Moldova at the onset of the Russian war of aggression, has now set up her physical store in Moldova and is using the support of the program to keep the store going and grow in the Moldovan market. Others are working in retail, agriculture, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and support services.

Through the program, the 75 participants were able to collectively maintain 400 jobs, improve their operations and increase their revenue by 87% throughout the six months, and take concrete steps towards EU market expansion. On the 21st of September, 75 female entrepreneurs from Moldova and Ukraine commemorated the completion of the emergency support component of the program. The milestone event took place in the program’s support center in Chişinău.

“I congratulate the graduates of this program on successfully completing it. The German government is proud to support this project as it supported women in business, a group that needs more attention: The financial grant helped to overcome immediate difficulties in accessing finance. Courses taught you new skills that will benefit you and your businesses in the long-term. And the network that you built here will hopefully be a basis for success also in future.” – H.E. Margret Maria Uebber, Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Moldova.

“Direct financial support ensures that founders can focus on maintaining their business operations and keeping the jobs that they have created, rather than worrying about how to keep their business afloat. This crisis relief and resilience approach, combined with tailored workshops, 1-on-1 mentoring, and market access opportunities is a powerful and impactful vehicle. Not only does it support them to maintain their employees – it also equips them with learning opportunities and access to peers, while simultaneously adapting to rapidly changing circumstances.” – Matthias Treutwein, Chair of the Executive Board, enpact.

Accompanying the graduation event was a roundtable discussion attended by representatives of local and international development organizations in Moldova. It centered around three themes: Economic empowerment in conflict-affected areas, the role of support communities, and access of Moldovan and Ukrainian businesses to the EU market.

Moving forward, the FEMEIE support center will continue to build ongoing collaborations with organizations and ecosystem builders in Moldova. This includes hosting development workshops and training sessions for entrepreneurs and local and international networking events over the upcoming months for the entrepreneurship community.

To take part in future events or workshops, join the community, find out more about the program, or connect with the participants; get in touch with femeie@enpact.org