EU grants for the development of social enterprises in Cahul and Ungheni: In which projects the money will be invested
Three social enterprises in Ungheni and Cahul will benefit from grants totalling €60,000 from the European Union under the project "EU for Moldova: Key Regions", implemented by UNDP and UNICEF. Educational and personal development courses will be organised in Cahul, and an online shop will be launched in Ungheni and an inclusive sports hall will be set up.
The European Union, through the grants offered, contributes to the development of small and medium-sized enterprises and social enterprises in the Cahul and Ungheni regions. Local economic development and the creation of new jobs are supported, said the EU Ambassador in Chisinau, Janis Mazeiks.
UNDP Moldova's interim resident representative, Andrea Cuzyova, stressed that the three social projects implemented thanks to the European grants of €20,000 each will ensure a better quality of life in rural areas.
"We handed out three grant certificates to three social enterprises that will be developed. We see, through the participation of a large number of entrepreneurs, that there is interest. Of course the process is a difficult one, but we can see some changes already and we can see development," said Andrea Cuzyova.
The project launched by Elizaveta Dulgheri from the village of Todiresti in the Ungheni district focuses on three social segments. The grant will help them diversify the range of services provided.
"The grant received now will help us to further promote the shop, to develop our services for producers who will sell their products in the online shop. It's enough for us to get to the stage where we can become self-financing, cover all our costs and start generating income that will cover our operational costs and start implementing the social projects we have in our plans," said Elizaveta Dulgheri.
Maria Pasat from the town of Cahul said she would use the money provided by the EU to expand the space of the IT and robotics centre for children.
"It used to be just an IT and robotics centre, but now we are a centre that also offers an afterschool programme, and a kind of 'mini-garden' for younger children and day camp programmes. Thanks to the grant we have been able to diversify our services. We will run an afterschool programme for parents in Cahul who have school children. The idea of running this programme specifically in the city of Cahul came up because there is no such programme", said Maria Pasat.
The project "EU for Moldova: Key Regions", implemented by UNDP and UNICEF, has a total budget of €23 million and runs from 2019-2024. So far €1.4 million has been leveraged by 55 entrepreneurs from Cahul and Ungheni regions.
