Success Stories

“Crear flower” SRL it’s a the Social Employment of the Răzeni, the Ialoveni raion – one of the first social-impact businesses in the Republic of Moldova. Sergiu Gurău, founder of social affairs decided to launch in this area to solve several social issues such as; youth unemployment and migration, informal economy and young people without professional training, etc. You operate in the company for persons with disabilities

“I see where I operate in rural areas, we have observed problems that will have dramatic consequences for social and economic development in the near future: youth unemployment and migration, the informal economy and young people without training, an increasing number of young people in disadvantaged, economically inactive and more risk of social exclusion. This “opportunity” has actually led me to have a more innovative approach and we have seen great potential to launch a social business that meets both the emerging needs of young people and harnessing the resources with economic potential in the region.”

To launch the social business, Sergiu Gurău was supported by international organisations as well as by public authorities. As social entrepreneurship in the Republic of Moldova is not yet developed, founders have inspired those of overseas. It was initially supported by people in the community, who engaged as volunteers and then became employees.

“The business model designed it in 2012 with the partners of the organisation, in particular donors and public authorities. First of all, the image of the organisation as an active social actor, with a portfolio of dozens of projects, has helped us to position us as a reliable partner for all actors with whom we have initiated this social impact collaboration. It has greatly helped us to analyse the experiences and lessons learned by other social enterprises abroad working in similar areas, study visits and exchange of experts are essential for a social business. The investment project was supported by several donors providing grants for the development of the idea of social business.”

The business idea and model was further designed in 2012 and more than one year launched on the market in 2013 with catering services.

“Our services consist of serving the breaks of tea/cafea, lunch and Swedish buffet, including equipment, towns and utensiles, as the case may be, furniture. This includes a diversity of traditional moldovenești and bucast bucates from the European menu”.

Within the enterprise “Closing shale” they are active in persons with disabilities and non-professionally qualified young people who are able to do so in the workplace. In the future, they have plans to expand, increase the number of employees in disadvantaged groups. It also plans to identify solutions that would help minimise negative environmental impacts. One of the actions is the launch of the bakery bakery bakery.

“We are at the development stage and we are planning in the near future to grow the social business: expand the customer segment and launch new products on the market. In addition to the financial indicators we want to continuously improve, in the medium term we aim to double the number of employees in disadvantaged groups, provide job-based training opportunities for more young people, increase the number of beneficiaries of the Cantina Social Aid Service. We are also concerned about identifying and applying solutions that would help to minimise the negative environmental impact of our company, including exploring as many renewable resources as possible and local raw material.

We proposed for 2022 to set up a artisanal bakery mini, to produce with the help and through the direct involvement of people with other skills in Răzeni, a diversity of traditional, nutrient bakery products that we can deliver responsibly to the community. The bakery will produce bread and grapes produced manually modelled, more natural, without drojed, preservative and breeders, using fresh and chosen ingredients with the utmost care.”

Currently, within the company works more than 150 women and men, including persons with disabilities. Also because of you “Closing shale” SRL, 36 people in the wheel receive lunch at home three times a week.

The ‘first catering social enterprise in the Republic of Moldova – SRL’s ‘cyred passer kit’ provides vocational training and employment in the field of work for young people in disadvantaged groups, in particular with disabilities, in the rural environment.’

Moreover, the social enterprise supports 36 single people in the wheel and poor people in the Răzeni village by delivering at home three times a week of lunch. In 2018 and 2019, around 5 % of the money paid by SRL Citigation Flow customers for catering services was directed towards ensuring the functioning of thezen’s canteens service.

In the founder’s view “Closing shale”the social activity it carries out is intended to support disadvantaged young people, to help them become active members of the community, and not least to inspire other entrepreneurs in the country.

“Social enterprise is also a way to diversify funding sources for our organisation’s programmes. The social responsibility of companies is a growing need in our society, for it to be a firm that inspires other economic operators, to be an undertaking that inspires other economic operators, to show that you may be involved in solving the company’s problems, and that this ensures that your business grows. Street flowers provide hope, training and support for young people with disabilities, allowing them to change their lives and become active members in communities. The social enterprise currently employs 23 people: 12 women and 11 men, including eleven young people with disabilities.”

Launching a social enterprise entails certain risks, but it has not stopped Sergiu Gurău launch an activity with an impact on the society they live in.

“Social entrepreneurship is an area less explored in the Republic of Moldova but with enormous development potential arising from the social and economic context. As an organisation with a focus on social innovation and is concerned about harnessing the potential of the young generation, we understood that addressing societal problems is a sustainable solution for them. From the outset I am aware that social entrepreneurship entails both economic and social risks, but with the rich experience in the social field and the support of the various partners, I have been confident that our business idea is likely to become successful.”

The founder considers that social entrepreneurship is future in the Republic of Moldova, as government institutions, NGOs and economic operators are interested in this area.

For Sergiu Gurău, social entrepreneurs are attractive unobscured with opportunities to contribute to the sustainable development of society.

Campaign initiated and supported by the Transnational Finance4SocialChange project, co-financed by European Union funds (ERDF, IPA, ENI). The aim of the project is to promote social impacts and stimulate the development of companies interested in resolving Community problems. ODIMM is a partner, together with 19 other institutions from 15 countries in the Danube region.

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