With the support of the European Union, today, July 20, in Singerei took place the inauguration of a regional hub to support social entrepreneurship. Therefore, within the Hub, social enterprises will obtain support through training, consultancy and qualified expertise, which will guide social entrepreneurs in the process of initiating and expanding social affairs, which will benefit as many people from their community.
In the next period, the hub will provide support for 20 young people to develop their ideas of social entrepreneurship, and another 10 enterprises will be supported in order to orient their existing businesses in areas of community interest.
Social entrepreneurship is a continuous activity of manufacturing production, execution of works or provision of services to solve social problems, therefore, supporting social affairs will generate new jobs, including for people from various vulnerable groups.
At the same time, the employment of disadvantaged people – young people, people with special needs, immigrants, Roma, the elderly – will contribute to improving their living conditions and provide them with professional opportunities. Thus, the development and expansion of social affairs will increase social inclusion, job creation, involvement of people from disadvantaged groups in economic activities and facilitate their access to social resources and services available in their local community.
“The European Union supports social entrepreneurs in business development and expansion. Social entrepreneurs are those who contribute to solving social problems in the community they belong to, creating equal and inclusive development opportunities. This regional hub for social entrepreneurship, inaugurated in Singerei, will contribute to improving the quality of life of people in the northern region. We will provide all the necessary support for the creation of social enterprises, which will generate new jobs, including for people from vulnerable groups. The project comes with a new innovative approach that will strengthen the capacities for the development and expansion of social affairs for the benefit of local communities “, mentioned Jānis Mažeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova.
The regional hub for social entrepreneurship in Singerei was created inside the Business Incubator in Singerei and is equipped with all the tools and equipment necessary for a business at the beginning of the road or to expand. The hub was inaugurated within the project “Valuing the potential of civil society for the promotion and development of social entrepreneurship in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the European Union, co-financed by Sweden and implemented by the Eastern European Foundation in partnership with Keystone Moldova and the Contact Center.
The hub was opened through a grant, worth 45,000 euros, obtained through a competition opened by the CONSENS Socio-Economic Policy Center in Singerei and the Singerei District Council.
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“The Singerei local council offered free space for three years. The contribution of the incubator is technical – the necessary computers and equipment. We have 28 companies that are incubated, we know the business environment in the region and we will achieve our goal “, said Ludmila Prociuc, administrator of the Singerei Business Incubator and the CONSENS Socio-Economic Policy Center in Singerei.
The European Union and Sweden will provide grants totaling € 140,000 for the development of four similar regional hubs, which will be launched by 2024 and will apply the same operating mechanism. The hubs will be opened with the support of four organizations from the north, center and south of the Republic of Moldova, as well as in the Transnistrian region.
The Regional Business Support Centers of Social Enterprises and the hubs created with the support of the European Union will provide support through offline and online mentoring sessions, exchange of experience, facilitating connections with other organizations, access to e-learning platforms, applicable smart solutions in business, digital solutions and e-commerce. Finally, 15 social enterprises are expected to be launched, which will provide new jobs for disadvantaged people. The products manufactured and delivered by them will be sold both online and in the local market.
The project “Valorizing the potential of civil society for the promotion and development of social entrepreneurship in the Republic of Moldova”, funded by the European Union and co-financed by Sweden, aims to provide economic and social opportunities to disadvantaged people through social entrepreneurship with active involvement of civil society. The project aims to strengthen the capacities of civil society in the Republic of Moldova in creating social enterprises, which will contribute to the economic and sustainable growth of communities. The project has a budget of over 1,123,000 euros and is to be implemented by December 2024.