From Good Practices to Solutions: Partner Meeting in Chisinau

On 17–18 September, the IMPACTA project will bring together its full network: partners from seven countries, alongside more than a dozen external stakeholder organisations meeting in Chisinau, Moldova.

It's the first large-scale gathering of the IMPACTA Multi-stakeholder Action Group, and it marks a shift in the project's rhythm. Partners have been collaborating closely across borders since the start, building the groundwork of the project. In Chisinau, that groundwork comes together: partners and stakeholders will compare what they've learned, and start deciding what actually gets carried into IMPACTA's upcoming pilot activities.

Who's in the room

The meeting opens with a fast-paced round of introductions: every organisation gets a few minutes to explain who they are and what they could contribute. It's a small format with an ambitious goal: helping twenty-odd organisations across seven countries actually find each other.

What's worked elsewhere

The heart of the first day is a practice-exchange session, where each country presents one concrete example of how it supports women starting or growing a business. Rather than staying descriptive, the session is designed to ask a sharper question: which of these approaches could be adapted and tested elsewhere in the Danube Region?

That question carries into the afternoon's joint workshop, where small groups will work through what could realistically transfer into the IMPACTA's project elements.

A local story, not just a discussion

On the second day, all participants visit Madaline Wood Bag, a Chisinau-based business founded by Maria Bumbu. It is a chance for everyone to hear directly from an entrepreneur about her own journey, rather than talk about entrepreneurship in the abstract.

Why it matters

IMPACTA's premise is that women entrepreneurs across the Danube Region face similar barriers - access to finance, networks, confidence, caregiving demands - but the solutions that work best are often local. The Chisinau meeting is where that tension gets worked through directly: not just sharing what's worked in one country, but pressure-testing whether it could travel to another.

We'll share the outcomes of the meeting and what it means for IMPACTA's pilot activities in the weeks that follow.