Success Stories

Victoria Mușinschi is an ambitious, intelligent, energy-full woman who has managed to develop a business in her small town – s. Molovata Nouă, Dubăsari district. He is the founder of a guesthouse symbolically called ‘Vila dorului’, located just 50 km from Chisinau, in the picturesque area on the bank of Nistrului.

The foundation of the business has been laid thanks to the European support, obtained through the “PARE 1 + 1”, “Women in Business” and the “Support Instrument for the Digitalisation of the SMI” programmes.

The Vila dorului bed-and-breakfast establishment was established in 2019 with the provision of holiday accommodation and tourist assistance as its core activity. Today, the guesthouse has 10 apartments with balcony, restaurant, aqua zone, wellness centre, yacht club, tennis pitch, beach, car and boat parking, conference room, children’s pitch.

Victoria tells us that the idea of starting a business arose when he visited the guesthouse, then – abandoned and misappropriated. Working in the hotel sector for more than 15 years, he wanted to make good use of his experience in his own business. And her love of her home village motivated her to invest there.

“I wanted to create an unprecedented place, a poison for tourists who want to know our country, our culture and our traditions,” said our entrepreneur.

Victoria Mușinschi also said that the road from idea to launch was challenging, as it coincided with the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the difficulty in identifying funding, restrictions in the area of tourism have been faced. It was even more complicated to develop the business on the left side of the Dniester, due to a lack of interest from investors.

When she realised that the money she borrowed to start the business was insufficient and that she would not be able to open the doors of her guesthouse in time, she turned to ODA programmes and received European support, through the “PARE 1 + 1”, “Women in Business” and “Support Instrument for the Digitalisation of the HMM” programmes.

“We, women, are endowed with enormous potential, which we do not always have the courage and determination to harness. ODA programmes have given me confidence that you can also develop a business in the Republic of Moldova, and European grants have been a cornerstone of my business,” said Victoria Mușinschi.

Applying to these programmes, to his great surprise, has been very straightforward. He was also advised on the application. This resulted in a cumulative support of RON 435.000.

Through the ‘Women in Business’ programme, the entrepreneur obtained support in the amount of RON 165.000. Through ‘PARE 1 + 1’, she received a grant of RON 250.000 and obtained a digitalisation voucher of RON 20.000. EUR 4.000 is still to be accessed through the European CENTOUR project.

The businesswoman also wants to implement digitalisation projects to install a video monitoring system. To this end, it has applied to the SME Digital Transformation Programme.

Thanks to the European support, the entrepreneur developed the restaurant’s services, procured all the kitchen machinery, which is modern and econome. He managed to create an attractive playground for children, he modernised the outdoor swimming pool area, he also managed to procure furniture for the green space.

Its ODA investment increased sales by almost 50 %. 4 new jobs have been created and the guesthouse now has 10 employees.

The Dream Vila is visited and hosts guests from Germany, France, Belarus, Ukraine, Romania. We have partners in France and Germany.

The plans are large. The businesswoman works to attract tourists from such countries as Italy, Czechia, Greece, Türkiye, Israel.

“We have development plans to provide the best conditions for our guests. But the support we have from European programmes makes us confident about the future of a business in the Republic of Moldova,” said Victoria Mușinschi.

The Women in Business programme was launched in 2018 and co-funded by the European Union with EUR 1 million and EUR 85 million through the ‘Support for SMEs in rural areas’ project. A total of 284 female entrepreneurs benefited from EU financial support between 2018 and 2020, creating 474 new jobs.

Programme It appears to have been implemented by the ODA (Organisation for the Development of Entrepreneurship) since 2010 and aims to mobilise the human and financial resources of Moldovans working abroad in the sustainable economic development of the Republic of Moldova, while incentivising cash transfers through official channels. The applicants to the programme follow courses in the field of entrepreneurship, so that they can then obtain a grant of up to RON 250 thousand at the financing stage. The ‘PARE 1 + 1’ phase provides for each leu invested from remittances to be replaced by a leu from the programme. At the same time, beneficiaries who have successfully implemented the investment project under Rule 1 + 1 and intend to increase their production capacities, diversify their products and expand into new market outlets may benefit from non-repayable financial support from the State under Rule 1 + 2 (for each leu invested through remittances, the State will allocate an additional RON 2). In the years 2018-2020, 184 applicants benefited from EU-funded grants under the PARE 1 + 1 programme, with a funding budget of EUR 2.25 million.