In the recent years, more and more young female entrepreneurs have managed to turn their passion into a successful business. The fields preferred by women are countless, proving once again that female entrepreneurship is gaining more and more ground. This is the case with Valeria Zelinscaia, a young woman from Tiraspol, who turned her childhood dream into a profitable business.
Her passion for creating clothes started at a young age and grew through the years.
„It all started from my childhood – I was passionate about making clothes for dolls. Gradually, my hobby turned into the real love for tailoring,” confesses Valeria.
Today, the young woman owns the showroom in Tiraspol under the „L`emone” brand – a place where the most daring outfits take shape. Moreover, the workshop offers customers not only clothes and accessories, but also custom embroidery services.
Throughout her work, Valeria noticed that embroidery services are in great demand on any type of fabric. Considering the interest in such products, she decided to expand the business in this direction.
„We produce uniforms and work equipment. Since we wanted to personalize them, we were looking for a solution,” confesses the young woman.
„There is a high demand in the market. Everyone who wants personalized products use our embroidery services."
In order to establish the showroom, the young woman applied to the grant competition „Mentoring in business – 3. Start for Youth”, carried under the EU’s „Confidence Building Mesures” programme, financed by the European Union under its EU4Business Initiative and implemented by UNDP Moldova.
„I spent a lot of time searching for information about equipment types, specifications and prices. And when the time came to write a business plan, I had all the necessary information,” says Valeria.
Within the „Mentoring in Business – 3. Start for Youth” grant competition launched in June 2020, 57 new enterprises have been created and more than 300 jobs generated on the left bank of the Nistru river and in the security zone in Moldova.
The financial support from the project allowed Valeria to purchase the necessary equipment for the development of the workshop.
„We bought a multi-tasking embroidery machine, which applies embroidery on different types of fabrics: cotton, knitwear, sequin. Moreover, the equipment allows us to apply embroidery on the shoes as well,” says the entrepreneur.
„With the new equipment, we managed to automate business processes, increase work efficiency and improve the quality of the product.”
In addition to the already existing range of products, the young entrepreneur wants to launch a line of school uniforms and overalls with custom embroidery. The expansion of production will contribute to the creation of 8 new jobs.
Moreover, Valeria plans to sell her products both on the local market and enter the new markets as well. However, the company's plans do not stop there.
„For the development of business in the Transnistrian region, EU-funded projects like „Mentoring in business – 3. Start for Youth” are extremely important. There are so many talented young people who want to put their ideas into practice and turn them into successful businesses. With the financial support and mentoring activities, young people can confidently step into the world of entrepreneurship”, says the young woman.
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In Moldova, 26 young entrepreneurs have opened and developed their own companies with the help of the business support project for young entrepreneurs on the left bank of the Nistru river and the security zone. The project, called „Mentoring in Business - 3. Start for Youth” is being carried under the EU’s „Confidence-Building Measures” programme financed by the European Union and implemented by the United Nations Development Program.
