They set out to help about 80 people from disadvantaged groups find employment. This is the goal set by 14 social enterprises in our country, which obtained the grant certificates in a ceremony organized by the Eastern European Foundation. The action is part of the project “Civil society contributes to the inclusive and sustainable economic development of the country”, funded by the European Union and co-financed by Sweden.
Within the project implemented by the Eastern European Foundation, over 700 socially vulnerable people will benefit from free services and products. The coordinator of the project, Ana Ciurac, stated that the 14 Public Associations will develop social enterprises on both banks of the Dniester.
“14 representatives of civil society submitted projects, won to create or develop social enterprises in Moldova, both on the right and left bank of the Dniester. In total, these 14 projects will help 78 people to be employed, and another over 700 people will benefit from free services or products from them. Social enterprises are the same as traditional enterprises, only they have a social impact, which means that 90 percent of the profit they get is invested in the business itself or in solving a community problem, including hiring people from vulnerable groups. ” , mentions Ana Ciurac.
The President of the Eastern European Foundation, Sorin Mereacre, congratulated the grant holders and wished them success in implementing the projects. “The Eastern European Foundation, and I personally, encourage the development of civil society in the Republic of Moldova. I thank the European Union and the Swedish Government for their support. We have started to support social entrepreneurship and organizations that promote this type of business in order to make people’s lives better. Social entrepreneurship is a means to improve the lives of disadvantaged people “, says Sorin Mereacre.
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The project is funded by the European Union and co-financed by Sweden. “It is very important for the European Union to support the development of civil society because it is a very important tool for the modernization of the Republic of Moldova. The European Union and its member states have mobilized all their resources to support the development of this sector in the Republic of Moldova. The EU’s portfolio of civil society projects includes 32 contracts. At the moment, 431 sub-grants have already been subcontracted, and the total budget of this contribution is approximately 279 million lei “, says Gintautas Baranauskas, Deputy Head of the Operations Department within the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova.
The two rounds of the grant competition took place in September 2021 and February 2022. More than 70 NGOs submitted bids to the competition, of which 14 were selected.