Efim Cazac “Beehives are like gold-mining equipment for us.”

Do you know that to produce 1 kilogram of honey, a bee needs to visit about 5 million flowers? In addition to being the only insects that produce food for humans, bees play an important role in the process of pollinating plants and preserving the natural balance. For Efim Cazac, a fourth-generation beekeeper, bees have been a passion of his life since his early childhood. He’d grown up at his grandparents’ and parents’ apiaries, and today he managed to realize his “sweet” dream, caring for hundreds of hives in 8 villages in Soroca district, producing tons of honey annually, and raising dozens of new bee families.

He started his business in 2015, and today he has more than 1200 hives.

In the Republic of Moldova, beekeeping is a very popular occupation, with a rich history and hundreds of beekeepers who share it. In addition to managing the peasant farm that he created and developed, Efim Cazac is also the president of the Association of Beekeepers from Soroca Plain (Asociației de Apicultori din Câmpia Sorocii), and for several years a loyal customer of Microinvest. With the support of the Company, the beekeeper was able to expand his apiary to the maximum and get a taste for the agricultural business.

“The history of our family business began with our great-grandfather, Tudor, who raised bees and produced honey. From him, his love of the apiary has been passed on from generation to generation so that we could follow his lead with pride and passion. After studying in an entirely different field, architecture, I decided to return home and become a beekeeper. My grandfather and father had left me 40 family hives, after which I applied for a project and bought another 150 hives. Thus, year after year, we began expanding our apiary, and today there can overwinter 1,200 bee families, and we have contracts for the entire 2021”, confessed the young beekeeper, showing us one of his apiaries, located in his native Hristici village.

“Regarding the first credit, everyone told us that we’d be left without a house and food.”

The Soroca beekeeper firmly states that once you fall in love with the apiary and honey, it’s hard to part with them. Moreover, beekeeping turns into a passion. In the Cazac family, all decisions about running a small business, which has become quite large over time, are made together. The formula for success is simple – making the most of any support. So far, they have applied for more than 50 projects, 13 of which have been successful. The good results have prompted them to resort to loans, which they believe have become a real rescue, and without which it is virtually impossible to develop a small business, especially in the agricultural sector.

“If we had listened to others and had not taken our first credit, today we wouldn’t even have 100 hives. It is almost impossible to start a business from scratch, without financial support. Nothing just falls from the sky. What’s the secret to good credit? Nothing complicated, just make a business plan as objective as possible and do not dream to the fullest. When I took the first credit, I was still with my head in the clouds and reality was a bit different. When I took the second one, I was more experienced already. Why would I invest my own resources when I could invest the resources of a credit institution, calculating them very well and responsibly,” says Efim Cazac, who today can boast not only fairly rich credit history but also good results in his business.

“Beekeeping doesn’t wait! Microinvest came to us just in time.”

Like any other branch of agriculture, beekeeping is a seasonal activity, but one that requires investment all year round. The year for beekeepers begins in August when they start preparing bee families for wintering, with which they can come out in the spring, when the acacia honey harvest season begins, the most sought-after and valuable type of honey. The main investment goes on hives and equipment, and as Efim Cazac told us, in beekeeping it is necessary to act strategically and quickly to get a good harvest. This is why he appealed to Microinvest.

“In 2017, we needed money during the season, and we visited all lending institutions in Soroca to analyze the offers available. It didn’t take us long to return to Microinvest because they treated us with trust and respect and even took our situation into account. In addition to favorable interest and commissions, it was important to us that everything was as quick and easy as possible. We got a loan in three days, which is almost impossible in the banks. Microinvest considers credits as cooperation, respects each client, and offers really suitable solutions. For banks, a hive is not an investment but just a cardboard box, but for us beekeepers, a hive is a real treasure. I can firmly say that if I had not gone to Microinvest, I definitely would not be where I am today, and I am very grateful that they believed in me and my intentions,” admits a young beekeeper from Soroca.

In 2021, they have grand plans: to create a Masterclass Center and their own brand of honey

The pandemic affected not only large- and medium-sized businesses but also the agricultural sector, especially beekeeping. However, despite the challenges, the Cazac family remains optimistic and maintains new plans and projects. The first one is to build two more apiaries in Soroca and to raise new bee families, which have become quite a sought-after product on the Moldovan market. Another important goal, which I have been suggesting for a long time, is to educate the consumption of honey in our country and to promote local honey under our own brand name.

“Being a beekeeper is like a lottery, and you never know for sure how much honey you will have. Bees are living creatures, too, and they feel when you do it wholeheartedly or for profit. For us, beekeeping is more than just a business. With credits, we dream about things we didn’t even think about a few years ago. We want to create our own brand of honey, package it up and put it on the shelves of gas stations to teach people to consume honey like sugar. We’re also looking to bring a new beekeeping product to the market – honey cream. We already have special equipment for its production, which we are now testing. We really want our honey to be valued in our country so that it doesn’t need to be exported. Today, 90% of our harvest is exported to Europe in bulk, where prices are lower, and nobody knows that this is Moldovan honey, produced with love and hard work. Moldovan beekeepers know how to produce good honey, we just need to know how to promote it here at home,” says optimist Efim Cazac.

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Client's Name
Client's Surname
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Term
Rate
Amount
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Purpose
Comments

1. Name and Contact Information of the Creditor
Creditor
Address
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3. Costs of the credit
Rates related to the credit
Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APR) This is the total cost expressed as an annual percentage of the total amount of credit. The APR is there to help you compare different offers	%
In order to obtain the loan in accordance with the agreed terms and conditions, it is mandatory to conclude an insurance contract to guarantee the loan or a contract for another ancillary service.
Related costs
Any other costs deriving from the credit agreement	Fee for services rendered in relation to usage of credit, calculated and paid as follows: of the credit and paid by the Debtor on the date of granting the credit from own sources or is deducted by the Creditor from the amount of the credit The negotiation / prolongation of the credit can take place by mutual agreement of the parties, by signing an additional agreement, the Creditor being entitled to request an increase in the interest rate within the limits provided by the legislation in force. In case of negotiation / prolongation of the loan, the Borrower shall pay to the Creditor, at the date of the negotiation / prolongation a commission in the amount of 2% from the credit balance at the time of negotiation / prolongation.
Conditions under which the costs related to the credit agreement can be changed	The Sides can change the costs related to the credit by written agreement signed by both parties; For the non-constitution of the guarantees within the agreed term, the Creditor is entitled to calculate, and the Client will pay to the Creditor an Interest of delay in the amount of 5% annually, applied to of the daily balance for each day of delay, starting with the date following the term established for the constitution of the guarantee/ s and until the date of the proper execution of the respective obligation.
Obligation to pay for notarial fees / mortgage registration fees / fees for noting the prohibition of pledge in the Transport Register related to the pledge of means of transport (agricultural machinery)	Paid by the Client , except as otherwise provided in the pledge / mortgage agreement.
The cost for the valuation of real estate proposed in pledge	Paid by the Client directly to the Evaluator
Costs in the case of late payments Missing payments could have severe consequences for you (e.g. forced sale) and make obtaining credit more difficult
The repayment of the loan is free of charge in the secondary offices of the Creditor, as well as at the discretion of the Debtor through the representatives authorized to collect loan payments. The list of which and their fees are published on the website of the Creditor (www.microinvest.md/cum-achiti-creditul/). In case the Debtor use payment methods with fee, the Debtor cover all the costs of repayment of the loan and undertake to make the payments in such a way that the Creditor receives the agreed repayment amount and without any deductions by third parties processing the refund payment.
In accordance with and arising from the provisions of art. 15, para. 7), lit. a) from Law no. 202/2013, any payments related to the granted credit (commissions, taxes, penalties, late interest and any other type of payment), except interest, will be applied and collected within the limit of the ceiling of 0.04% of the total value of the credit per credit day multiplied by the number of days of actual use of the credit (hereinafter 'Ceiling'). Therefore, the Lender will be entitled to apply and collect the costs, excluding interest, exactly in the fixed or percentage amount established in the contract if the said ceiling allows, and if the ceiling is lower than the value of at least one cost, excluding interest, then the Lender will be entitled to reduce the fixed/percentage amount and apply and collect any of the applicable costs only within the limit of the ceiling value. When calculating the ceiling, the costs already applied and collected will be taken into account, with the exception of interest, which reduces its value. (Representative example: if the amount of the penalty is 20 MDL per day, and the ceiling value at that time is 16 MDL, then a maximum of 16 MDL will be collected).

4. Other important legal aspects
Right of withdrawal You have the right to withdraw from the credit agreement within a period of 14 calendar days	Yes
Early repayment You have the right to repay the credit early at any time in full or partially	Yes
The creditor is entitled to compensation in the case of early repayment The Debtor may repay the loan in full or in part in advance, notifying the Creditor in writing 3 days in advance, and paying an early repayment fee of:	% from early repaid amount, if the period of time between the date of early repayment and convened maturity exceeds one year; % from early repaid amount.The early repayment can be made only if the Debtor has no outstanding debts on interest or other amounts to be paid in accordance with the Contract. % from early repaid amount, if the period of time between the date of early repayment and convened maturity does not exceed one year.
Database usage The creditor must inform you immediately and without charge of the result of a consultation of a database, if a credit application is rejected on the basis of such a consultation. This does not apply if the provision of such information is prohibited by law or is contrary to objectives of public policy or public security The parties may agree on additional terms and conditions, which will be included in the credit agreement.	Yes
Right to a draft credit agreement You have the right, upon request, to obtain a copy of the draft credit agreement free of charge. This provision does not apply if the creditor, at the time of the request, is unwilling to proceed to the conclusion of the credit agreement with you	Yes
The period of time during which the creditor is bound by the pre-contractual obligations	This offer is valid for 15 calendar days after it is issued.
In this regard, I subsequently declare that: I was provided with the necessary information, the essential characteristics of the above-mentioned credit product were explained (interest rate, number of commissions, credit costs, early repayment conditions, total amount to be paid), as well as the consequences of non-compliance with contractual clauses; the costs included in the total cost of the loan were explained to me, including the costs for ancillary services related to the credit agreement; I was offered the possibility to negotiate individually the contractual clauses in the credit agreement that I intend to sign, I negotiated individually the granting commission, the monthly commission, the amount of penalties and I mention that its clauses do not disadvantage me, being fair in the report mine with the creditor; I was asked by the creditor about the probable importance of the information provided and whether essential circumstances that I expected to be provided were not omitted in order to make an informed and rational decision about concluding the potential credit agreement. the information provided and the corresponding explanations allowed me to assess, including the personal analysis of other offers of third party creditors, whether the proposed credit agreement is tailored to my needs and financial situation; I know the content of the contract and all its conditions have been explained to me, I have understood and accepted them, and the documents and information underlying the conclusion of the contract are complete and accurate; I know the law, the normative acts that will govern the contract, as well as the lack of consumer quality; I have no ambiguities or misunderstandings regarding the terms of the contract; the credit product corresponds to the purpose described above and will be used according to the destination and the economic activity carried out. The assets procured/resulted/constructed/repaired from received loan sources will be registered/transmitted in the social capital of the company where my business activity is carried out and/or will be used jointly by the members or individually however strictly for running my business activity. (Signature)