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UniCredit and NESsT support three social businesses from Romania with EUR 50,000
NESsT Romania Foundation, in partnership with UniCredit Foundation, UniCredit Bank and UniCredit Services, rewards the winners of the “The Power of Social Enterprises – Strategic Financial and Capacity Building Support Program for High Impact Social Enterprises in Romania” competition. The three winners of EUR 15.000 grants each are:
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The “Curtea culorilor” Association – a cheese factory that produces 11 different varieties, according to Italian recipes: Sarbova, Tomasar, Tondello, Caciotta, Caciotta with flavours (pepper/chilli/caraway), Fresh, Baked, Ripe Ricotta and Strachino.The purpose of the association is to provide housing, human, cultural and professional training to young women without a family.
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MamaPan Bakery– a bakery that produces sourdough bread and healthy homemade pastry (without industrial yeast, from additive-free flour, without preservatives, additives or flavor enhancers), as well as bread and pastry for special diets (gluten or sugar-free diet). The business provides qualifications and jobs for women from economically and socio-professionally vulnerable groups, single mothers, Roma women who did not have access to education or dropped school and who are in difficult life situations.
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Cosanzeana – a social business which produces creative sets of sewing on wood and decorative objects hand-stitched on wood.The mission of the organization is to inspire people in the city to keep the tradition of sewing and, at the same time, create decent jobs in the village in particular for long-term unemployed mothers.
Additionally, MamaPan Bakery receveid another 5.000 euros prize, within „Your Choice, Your Project” initiative, throughout which the UniCredit Group employees voted their favourite social business.
“We are happy to reward three winners that have demonstrated, through the business solutions they have presented, their contribution to economic and social integration of disadvantaged people. Each of them has valuable performance-related and social impact growth plans and we are delighted to support them in this process,” said Maurizio Beretta, Chairman Funda?ia UniCredit.
Alongside the grants they received, the three businesses will benefit from business incubation support and mentoring offered by specialists from NESsT and UniCredit, for a year.
Marco Cravario, Deputy CEO UniCredit Bank, explained the bank’s involvement in the program:„We have been organising this social businesses competition for 6 years in partnership with NESsT. The reason we go on is that, after all this time seeing social businesses developing, we are confident in the great potential of these entrepreneurs to generate value in their communities and support the local economy.”
„The Group’s employees were delighted to contribute again this year to the selection of the 5.000 euros prize winner trough <>. Over 340 persons from inside the Group got involved in the selection process, and have once again shown us that these social causes also motivate them to take action,” added Girolamo Antonucci, Branch Manager of UniCredit Services Romania.
27 social businesses set up and run by NGOs (associations, foundations), cooperatives or various types of commercial entities (PFA, SRL, II), which aim to solve a social problem registered in the program.