Business ideas with European money for the farmers

A barber’s, a Xerox, a kindergarten. These are a few ideas which an entrepreneur from the village can put into practice. Only that the initiative misses, as also the money. That’s how an inhabitant from the countryside, which can start a business on his own, without having at least financing it’s a case almost impossible. There miss the ideas for a “start-up”, but also the solutions for obtaining the money. It’s the reason for which a group of associates has started a project, through which offers consulting for the inhabitants of the rural environment in order to start an investment.

The “caravan of ideas” it’s a project of the Association for Integrating and Communitarian Development Iasi, in partnership with the Consensual Association and the Geneza Association, and in partnership with the National Agency for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises and Co-operatives (OTIMMC) Iasi. The project aims to set up full business training with the inhabitants from several villages from Moldavia, which prove that have a minimum entrepreneurial aptitudes. There were chosen eight villages, from three counties from Moldavia (Iasi, Vaslui and Botosani), selected according to the statistic data, concerning the standard of living and of the population. “Our intention is to inform you and to come up with business ideas, which can be put into practice in their villages, where the incomes are quite low”, Adriana Vasile, president of the Consensual Association stated.

Apathy and lack of inform

For each community there were made evaluations, regarding the potential of developing a certain business. “We’ve noticed that there were villages with over 4.000 inhabitants, without any barber’s. The investment can’t be too big, because the rent is almost inexistent. We’ve also recommended a business with copying machines for documents. Here there aren’t also kindergartens, especially in the villages where there is a higher standard of living”, Adrian Vasile explains.For the bolder entrepreneurs, there is also the variant of a pension. Many of the localities in which the caravan stepped by, have in the area an accumulation lake and an area of entertainment. Moreover, the infrastructure road has improved, and the tourists can easy get to the destination. “What surprised us is that many people from the rural environment have the money to start this type of projects. Many have relatives in foreign countries and from which receive money. However, they are characterized by a big apathy and complain of the fact that they aren’t informed”, the president of the Consensual Associations says.

Non-reimbursable financing for young persons

For the entrepreneurs which can’t assure the financing, the solution comes from the Office for SME. “Through the START program, the young persons till 35 years old can obtain till 50% of the value of a project. To this project can subscribe with a business plan natural persons, which then have to set up a company, and also companies can subscribe. We don’t know yet the maximum value of financings, because the project hasn’t been officially launched, but in a short while we’ll be able to receive files”, Laura Craiciu, intermarry director of OTIMMC Iasi stated. The official from Iasi has précised that in these terms the program START was simplified. There isn’t anymore an imposed loaning element; the money can be obtained from the family or from other sources. Moreover, it was dropped out to the business training. The co-financing is the “nail” of projects. The cash settlement is achieved at the end, but this is a natural thing. It’s a defining fact for the entrepreneur to give all the interest in order that his business to work”, Adriana Vasile says.

The bureaucracy annihilates the initiative

Till to become employers, the peasants fear of bureaucracy, setting up a company being risky, and realizing a “business plan”, an unknown element. “We’ll offer a full package of services, we’ll help the young persons to set up a company but we’ll also show them which are the financing solutions”, Adriana Vasile says. In Vaslui district, where the caravan ended, 30 persons have required training. “The estimated results forecast to prepare in the entrepreneurial domain 72 persons. Among these, a maximum of 15 persons we would want to realize successful businesses”, Adriana Vasile ended. In July the “Caravan of ideas” will go in eight villages from Botosani, and in August in another eight from Iasi.