Women in Moldova build sustainable livelihoods

Location: Moldova

In Moldova, Pro-Business Nord (PBN) provides business skills, sustainable livelihood training and job placement at no cost to women who lack professional opportunities due to poverty, limited education and gender-based stereotypes. Two years ago, PBN turned to FHI 360's Capable Partners Program (CAP) for technical assistance to build and enhance the systems and processes necessary for serving its own beneficiaries and, in turn, bolstering the performance of the nongovernmental organizations and small businesses it also advises and assists. CAP collaborated with PBN to identify challenges and opportunities using its Institutional Development Framework, a capacity-assessment process and tool that has proven effective in over 50 countries. PBN launched a distance-learning web portal and is now engaging community leaders in program planning. By the end of 2011, PBN had improved its operations, financial management and fundraising capacity, enabling it to become more efficient and have greater impact on the communities it serves.