Three women-led businesses receive financial support through the Ellevator programme, a Women Startup Accelerator by Yep! Moldova

On 20 July 2023, the final pitching session took place for Ellevator programme, a Women Startup Accelerator by Yep! Moldova. During the event, 17 finalist teams presented their pitch deck in front of a jury of five members. Out of these, three teams with the greatest potential for growth and development were declared winners. At the same time, a historic moment took place for the entrepreneurial community of Moldova: The founder of Yep! Moldova, Viorica Cerbușca, and UN Women Moldova’s Country Representative, Dominika Stojanoska, signed a collaboration agreement to support women-led businesses.

The three winning teams that were each awarded with a financial support voucher are: Guga Gaga, a wooden toy creation atelier (60,000 MDL voucher); Recycline, a community that transforms recycled plastic into jewelry and art objects (30,000 MDL voucher); and Mămica alăptează, a platform to support breastfeeding for future and new parents (30,000 MDL voucher). The financial support vouchers were granted within the project “Support for women entrepreneurs in increasing resilience during crises and achieving business development goals,” which is being implemented by Yep! Moldova and Generation Nika, in collaboration with UN Women Moldova and with financial support from the Government of Sweden.

Women’s entrepreneurship in Moldova has made great progress in recent years, but the country is still far from achieving gender equality in the economy. The aim of the project is to encourage the country’s women entrepreneurs, especially those from different regions.

Under the Ellevator programme, 17 teams reached the final stretch after four and a half months of active participation, which included individual mentoring, group workshops and work on the development strategy of their own projects. Their businesses focus on a range of specialties, from hotels, food services and livestock industries to wine production, plastic recycling, interior design and a platform for overcoming anxiety, among others.

Marcela Mastac, the founder of Guga Gaga, which was the winning team, expressed her appreciation for the support, guidance and people she met through the programme. “It's definitely just the beginning,” she said. “I am grateful to Viorica Cerbușca for her well-pointed insights and questions and to Margarita Ursu for her energy. From now on, I know what's important in a pitch."

Tatiana Chironda, a participant from Conday Media, said the programme helped her overcome certain fears. "I learned to ask myself the right questions. I understood how important it is to have mentors and not to do everything by yourself, as you like,” she said. “I am very proud of myself. I hope you are too, dear colleagues. I'm so glad I met you."

The event’s audience had the opportunity to test the products and services that the participants exhibited in the Demo Area. In total, during the pitching session, 17 teams presented their projects: Happiness in Growing, Corn Line Pet Food, Recycline, Aspect Engineering, Laen Studio, Conday Media, Moro Pastry Atelier, Back Home, Artplan, Guga Gaga, Alterego, Mămica alăptează, Levănțica, Anximind, SpeakUP, Aufpet and Tandem. Although only three teams from the programme won vouchers, all those who participated in the programme will benefit from support in the future.

The Ellevator programme, a Women Startup Accelerator, brought together participants from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The programme is being implemented by Generation Nika and Yep! Moldova, with support from UN Women Moldova and funding from the UN’s Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund.