EU4Youth: discussion club with youth from Călărași on the benefits of developing social businesses in Moldova

One of society’s major problems is the lack of jobs for people from vulnerable backgrounds and for those with special needs – is the conclusion of another discussion workshop with young people on social entrepreneurship. Discussions were held with youth from Călărași, who have learned about the role and purpose of social entrepreneurship in a community. They learned about the differences between traditional and social businesses, discovering how the latter can contribute to the well-being of society and of the people around them.

The young people also learned how they can benefit from the services of a social business, discovered success stories of social entrepreneurs in Moldova, discussed among themselves and offered their own definitions of what it means to be a good businessman, who can make a profit, but also get involved in solving problems of the community.

Andriana Chimingir, one of the participants, mentioned that the discussion was interesting for her, as she did not know what a social business meant.

„It’s an important topic because many young people don’t know about it. Now that I know about it, I would like to have a social business myself so that I can help others, like Credem Eco did, for example. It’s nice to know that there are entrepreneurs out there who also think about others.”

During this discussion workshop, young people learned how social entrepreneurs have managed to help Ukrainian refugees, how their ideas can help society, how they can contribute to the community – all in a warm and friendly environment.

„We hope that the young people who participated in this discussion today will learn a lot of useful information. We always encourage them to be receptive, so we encourage them to get involved in this type of entrepreneurship as well. We are glad that we were chosen to host this event, as our beneficiaries are people who really need to know these things, which are useful for them”,

said Rodica Stratan, director of the „Desire” Association in Calarasi.

Gheorghe Batcu, another young participant in the discussions in Calarasi, explained that it is harder for people with disabilities to get a job, which is why social businesses are important for our country.

„I knew how you can open a traditional business, but I learned about this kind of entrepreneurship today. I had the opportunity to learn about social entrepreneurs in Moldova and the services they provide”, said the young man.

Andrei also believes that one of the biggest problems is the lack of job opportunities for people with disabilities.

„I would like to have a business like this in the future, but I know you have to work hard to open one.”

The discussion club was organised as part of the information campaign „Social Entrepreneurship, close to the needs of refugees”. The campaign is part of the project EU4Youth – Unlocking the potential of young social entrepreneurs in Moldova and Ukraine” (EUnlocking), funded by the European Union through the EU4Youth Programme.

The project is implemented by Gustav-Stresemann-Institut (GSI) from Germany, Pro NGO! (Germany), AXA Management Consulting (Moldova), ECO-RAZENI (Moldova), CONTACT Centre (Moldova) and Egalite International (Ukraine).