On Thursday, July 20th, the final pitching session within Ellevator Women Startup Accelerator by Yep! Moldova took place, with 17 finalist teams presenting their pitch decks to a jury composed of 5 members. Three teams with the highest potential for growth and expansion were declared the big winners. Also on Thursday, it was a historic moment for the entrepreneurial community in Moldova, as the founder of Yep! Moldova, Viorica Cerbușca, and the regional representative of UN Women, Dominica Stojanoska, signed a collaboration agreement to support women-led businesses.

The three winning teams are: "Guga Gaga" (a wooden toy manufacturing business) - receiving a financial support voucher worth 60,000 MDL, "Recycline" (a community transforming recycled plastic into jewelry and art objects) – receiving a financial support voucher worth 30,000 MDL, and "Mămica Alăptează" (a platform supporting future and new parents in breastfeeding) – receiving a financial support voucher worth 30,000 MDL. These financial support vouchers were granted within the program implemented by Yep! Moldova and Generația Nika, in collaboration with UN Women, with the financial support of Sweden as part of the project: "Support for women entrepreneurs in building resilience during times of crisis and achieving business development goals."

Despite significant progress in women's entrepreneurship in Moldova in recent years, there is still much to be done to achieve gender equality in the economy. The project's aim is to encourage women entrepreneurs in our country, with a focus on various regions.

After actively participating for 4.5 months, including individual mentoring, group training, and working on the development strategy of their projects, 17 teams reached the final of the Ellevator Women Startup Accelerator program by Yep! Moldova. These teams specialized in diverse fields such as HoReCa, pet food, wine production, plastic recycling, interior design, anxiety overcoming platforms, and more.

Marcela Mastac, Guga Gaga (winner of the 60,000 MDL voucher): "Support, guidance, I am grateful to the people I met here, and I am sure this is just the beginning. Grateful to Viorica Cerbușca for insightful and well-pointed questions, and to Margarita Ursu for the energy. From now on, I will know what is crucial in a pitch, and not just that."

Tatiana Chironda, Conday Media (participant): "I overcame some fears, learned to ask myself the right questions, understood the importance of having mentors and not doing everything alone, solely relying on my own thoughts. I am very proud of myself, and I hope you are too, dear colleagues. I'm so glad I got to meet you all."

The audience had the opportunity to see and test the products and services presented by the participants in the Demo Zone. In total, 17 teams presented their projects during the pitching session: HAPPINESS IN GROWING, CORN LINE PET FOOD, RECYCLINE, ASPECT ENGINEERING, LAEN STUDIO, CONDAY MEDIA, MORO PASTRY ATELIER, BACK HOME, ARTPLAN, GUGA GAGA, ALTEREGO, MĂMICA ALĂPTEAZĂ, LEVANȚICA, ANXIMIND, SpeakUP, AUFPET, TANDEM. While only three were declared winners, all participating teams in the program will receive support in the future.

Ellevator. Women Startup Accelerator by Yep! Moldova brought together participants from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The program is implemented by Generația Nika and Yep! Moldova, with the support of UN Women, funded by Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund.

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