Second annual conference held for women entrepreneurs in Moldova

Over 100 women entrepreneurs from Moldova and abroad shared their experience at the National Conference of Women Entrepreneurs of the Republic of Moldova. This year’s theme was "The Dream Takes Flight: Female Resilience. Power and Prosperity in the Age of Crises." 

Supporting women’s entrepreneurship and economic livelihoods is an important tool for empowering women, ensuring their resilience and promoting women's voices at all levels of decision-making. "Women in rural areas have far fewer employment opportunities and are more exposed to gender stereotypes and unpaid work,” said Carolina Bugaian, President of the AFAM Council and organizer of the conference. According to her, cooperation between public authorities and support organizations is vital in this regard. 

Deputy Prime Minister Dumitru Alaiba, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, said that developing women's entrepreneurship and economic empowerment are priorities for the government. According to him, the programme to support women’s entrepreneurship, approved by the government, aims to increase the number of women entrepreneurs and improve the economic performance of micro-enterprises led by women. The budget of the programme is 30 mil. MDL (approximately EUR 1.6 million) for an implementation period of three years, with the goal of facilitating access to finance for at least 90 women.

Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women Moldova’s Country Representative, stressed the idea that economically empowering women refugees and forcibly displaced people helps them integrate into Moldovan communities. "UN Women has supported a range of activities aimed at developing the basic skills of women, both refugees and from Moldova, helping women and young people to access the labour market more easily and develop entrepreneurial skills," she said. 

Women in Moldova earn on average 14 per cent less than men, and at retirement age this difference widens to 37 per cent. According to Germany’s Ambassador to Moldova, Margret Maria Uebber, this statistic shows that women do not fully participate in the social and economic life of countries. "Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure to speak at the launch of the Ukrainian Network of Women Refugees in Moldova, which is funded by the UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund,” she said. “It was an excellent initiative to empower women from Ukraine and at the same time give them a platform to connect and develop a common voice to formulate their needs in front of the host government. Empowering women, strengthening their capacities and ensuring their participation in decision-making is the special focus of the German government.”

This event was organized by AFAM within the project "Empowering women affected by crises for a richer and more stable society" and implemented with the support of UN Women and funding from the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund.