Two participants from the Republic of Moldova were selected as part of the Training, Mentoring and Matchmaking Program on Intellectual Property for Women Entrepreneurs from Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities in the Central European and Baltic States (CEBS) with the main title “Tradition Meets Business: A Woman Entrepreneur’s Journey” , launched by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

It is about Diana Rosca, the representative of the Public Association “Sezatoarea Ciocarlia” and Cristina Dan, the representative of the “Sezatoarea Basarabiei” Community. Diana and Cristina represent two communities of women who take several actions to get to know the traditions as well as possible, to make clothes according to traditional models and to respectfully wear the shirt with a top in the traditional costume.

The aim of the mentorship is to encourage woman entrepreneurship related to tradition and culture and to popularize and promote traditional textiles both in the country and abroad.

The program has a practical approach, consisting of two phases:

1. The training phase which consists of a practical workshop that includes a mixture of short presentations, case studies and group work. During the training phase, participants will acquire basic knowledge of the main principles, systems and tools of the intellectual property system as they relate to traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions.

2. The mentoring phase where the participants, under the guidance of mentors, will implement the intellectual property components of their projects and businesses.

The program will conclude with a final event, which will be held in Geneva, where the achievements of women entrepreneurs will be presented.

We should mention that the contest to select the participants in the WIPO Program: “Tradition Meets Business: A Woman Entrepreneur’s Journey” was launched on November 16, 2022, on the AGEPI website.

The activities of the Program will be carried out during 2023 and will take place in a hybrid format.

Since 2019, the Program has supported more than 50 women entrepreneurs from around the world.

More details on the WIPO Training, Mentoring and Matchmaking Program on Intellectual Property for Women Entrepreneurs from Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities can be found here: https://www.wipo.int/tk/en/women_entrepreneurs/.