How Three Women Entrepreneurs Turned Opportunities into Thriving Businesses

Behind every successful business are often months or years of hard work, adaptation and continuous learning. For Olesea Plăcintă, Veronica Negruță and Elena David, growing their businesses has meant identifying new opportunities for expansion—from digitalizing educational services and developing innovative products for children to investing in dairy processing. Today, the results of that journey are reflected in stronger businesses and ambitious plans for the future.

Seeking new opportunities to grow their businesses, the three entrepreneurs joined the Ellevator. Female Founders Accelerator. Over the course of six months, they benefited from mentorship, practical training and tailored business development support, transforming ideas and expansion plans into concrete growth strategies. At the end of the program, they pitched their businesses alongside 12 other teams during the pitching competition held at the Ellevator. Female Founders Conference. Among the 15 finalist businesses, their ventures impressed the jury and were named the winners of this year's edition.

Olesea Plăcintă's Journey: From a Family Farm to “Biolactis”

For Olesea Plăcintă, founder of Biolactis, every stage of her entrepreneurial journey has brought new challenges that she has turned into opportunities for growth. After years of processing milk on the family farm, she took the next step by establishing a goat's and sheep's milk processing facility, investing in infrastructure, expanding production capacity and meeting the standards required to launch her own artisanal cheese brand.

Participating in the Ellevator. Female Founders Accelerator encouraged her to view the business from a more strategic perspective. Analysing costs, revenue streams and the overall business model helped her define clearer development priorities and plan the next phase of expansion.

“The knowledge and mentoring sessions helped us strengthen our business and develop a clear growth strategy. The funding we secured enabled us to build, equip and prepare a processing facility for goat's and sheep's milk, which is currently undergoing certification. This year, we hope to launch our products in line with all required standards and introduce them to the HoReCa sector in the Ungheni region,” says Olesea.

Today, Biolactis is entering a new stage of development. With the processing facility completed, Olesea is preparing to obtain the necessary operational authorizations before launching a local artisanal cheese brand that will showcase high-quality dairy products made to the highest standards.

How Veronica Negruță Transformed a Speech Therapy Practice into a Growing Educational Centre

Business growth is not always measured by expanding production. Sometimes, it means making services more accessible, building multidisciplinary teams and developing solutions that better respond to the needs of children and their families. For Veronica Negruță, founder of the Logopici Educational Center in Orhei, that journey began with the desire to provide her own child with the support they needed. Over time, it evolved into a comprehensive educational center dedicated to children and families.

Today, Logopici supports more than 250 children and brings together a multidisciplinary team of ten professionals. From speech therapy and early childhood development to school readiness and emotional development programs, the center has continuously expanded its services to respond to the changing needs of children and parents. As the initiative grew, Veronica sought new opportunities to scale its impact by investing in digital learning solutions and strengthening her multidisciplinary team.

“We joined the accelerator because we wanted to expand the center’s activities. One of our main goals was to digitalize the learning process. During this period, we managed to reach more children, grow our team and, most importantly, achieve meaningful results in teaching and learning,” Veronica shares.

Recently, the Logopici Educational Center moved into a new facility designed to better meet the needs of both children and staff. For Veronica, the next stage is not necessarily about expanding further, but about strengthening existing services and continuing to invest in the quality of education the center provides.

Elena David's Entrepreneurial Journey: From a Family Workshop to a Brand Ready to Grow

Every entrepreneur builds a business from a personal experience or a need that eventually resonates with others and gradually develops into an impactful business idea. For Elena David, co-founder of Oli.Lioli, that journey began after returning to the Republic of Moldova and welcoming her first child. Looking for toys and activities that would stimulate children's imagination and development, Elena and her husband decided to create their own products, laying the foundations of a family workshop that has since grown into a brand with ambitions to expand across the region.

Inspired by the Pikler philosophy, Oli.Lioli products are designed to encourage children's development through play and exploration. The brand's first product a multifunctional play center reimagined the original concept with new features and a design adapted to modern homes while remaining true to the philosophy's core principle: creating a safe environment that supports children's healthy development.

“Participating in the Ellevator. Female Founders Accelerator helped me see my business from an entirely new perspective. I realized that passion alone is not enough to grow a business. It also requires strategy, clear objectives and the courage to think bigger. Today, Oli.Lioli is no longer just a creative workshop it is a brand with the potential to expand across the region and enter international markets,” says Elena.

In the coming months, Elena plans to expand Oli.Lioli’s presence in Romania and prepare the company's first products for export, further strengthening the brand's position in international markets.

The entrepreneurs' journey concluded with their participation in the third edition of the Ellevator. Female Founders Conference, which brought together more than 100 women entrepreneurs, business founders and leaders from diverse sectors and marked the conclusion of the Ellevator. Female Founders Accelerator. Following the pitching competition, Olesea Plăcintă, Veronica Negruță and Elena David were announced as the winners of this year's edition and each received a voucher worth MDL 50,000, awarded by UN Women Moldova with financial support from the Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund.

The Ellevator. Female Founders Accelerator was organized by Yep!Moldova in partnership with UN Women, with financial support from the Women's Peace & Humanitarian Fund. The Ellevator. Female Founders Conference, which marked the conclusion of the programme, was organized by Yep!Moldova in partnership with UN Women, with financial support from the Women's Peace & Humanitarian Fund and Sweden.