MFI Report

Since Moldova became independent in 1991, over 25% of it population have left the country for better job and personal opportunities abroad. Often, families are torn apart as wives and children are left behind, and the husband may never be heard from again. Economically, Moldova is Europe's poorest country, with 40% official unemployment and a wealth/standard of living gap that is staggering even compared to developed, well-capitalized economies. Official remittances from abroad account for 37% of our GDP, but unofficial remittances likely push this statistic over 50%. Further, as a former member of the Soviet Union, Moldova retains the attitude that doing business and making profit for oneself is greedy and unethical, so we see it as a strong challenge to help educate them about the compatibility of business with ethical living and about using one's success in business as a means to not only help oneself rise up to a decent standard of living, but also to invest in the community and help others. We have a unique opportunity to provide trainings on agricultural development, financial management, business start-up and marketing, and more, but since such trainings must be offered at no cost to reach those who really need it, preparing for them requires using money that would otherwise go to loanable funds for more businesses. These are a few of the contextual, mental, and financial challenges we face in our daily business, but we know that with the support of our current loyal partners and new partners to come, our scope and outreach will improve greatly in the years ahead. Cacher