“The idea for our business came when we were deciding whether to emigrate or try to start some business of our own in this country,” – Alexandru Hariuc, an entrepreneur

Behind every business, there is a story or a situation that gave birth to it. The Hariuc family faced the choice of emigrating to Russia or trying their luck at home and starting a business in trade. They were not afraid of hardships and opened in their native town Stefan-Voda the Luminița homewares store, which they built from scratch on a recently acquired land plot.

Microinvest company supported their business idea development which was very inspiring. At the beginning of this November, the Hariuc family opened a new store, and it doesn’t plan to stop there. It’s hard to be an entrepreneur, but it’s so nice when your work pays off and loyal and satisfied customers appear over time. Let’s find out how it managed to start a business in Moldova from scratch and what its goals are for the next year.

Alexander, what prompted you to return home and start your business here?

I worked in Russia for a while. We were already planning to move there, but something stopped us. One evening in 2011, my wife asked: “What are we going to do next?” It was a turning point, especially for me, because it was possible to earn quite different money abroad. We decided to return home, buy a land plot we found at a good price, and lay the foundation for our future business. The foundation in the literal sense – we built the building of this store from scratch with our own hands.

What can customers from Stefan-Voda find in Luminița and Regal Textil stores?

Luminița is a one-stop shop that has almost everything you need for your home and household. There is a great need for such stores in the regions. Among the most important categories of goods we sell are textiles, tableware, household chemicals, kitchenware, bathroom accessories, and much more. We have a lot of regular customers, especially women, who speak positively about us. As a joke, they say they don’t want to come to us because they need everything in the store. We recently opened a second store, Regal Textil, specializing in the sale of textiles, to expand our product range and increase our floor space.

How difficult is it to run a family business? What problems do you face and is such a business profitable in the region?

Having a family business is not easy in any sector; it takes time, effort, investment, planning, and proper management. Even if the business seems small, we devote almost all our time to it, including free time, in order to organize everything as efficiently as possible. In the family, we joke that I am the Minister of Foreign Affairs and my wife is the Minister of the Interior. I’m in charge of delivering goods, managing finances, investments, paying for services. My wife takes care of the stores, comes up with ideas for improvements, works with employees and customers. We do everything ourselves, in small but sure steps, plus a few employees who work as salespeople. In the face of the pandemic, we took an important step – we launched an online store. There is still work to be done, but we already have orders from several regions: Stefan-Voda, Causeni, and even Chisinau.

How did you start working with Microinvest?

When we started construction of the store building, we worked with another financial institution, where we ended up getting rejected. There were doubts that our business would work and we would cope. Microinvest was recommended to us and it became our salvation. The expert came to us, we talked, and they refinanced our loan. Since then, we have had very fruitful cooperation. We also applied to Microinvest when we decided to open our second store. We very much appreciate their responsiveness, courtesy, and the fact that they offer individual solutions for each client, without unnecessary bureaucracy. Most recently, with the support of Microinvest, we managed to buy a new car, also for business, we really need it. It is important to have a partner you can rely on and who understands you, such as Microinvest.

What advice would you give to those who are still wondering if they should try their luck at home and open a business here?

If you don’t try, nothing will work. Since the moment I decided to return home, and up till now, our family has gone through many phases: some easier, some more difficult but I have never regretted making that decision. Nothing is simple, everything takes time and effort. Business is like a second child for us. It takes a lot of time, but we are also proud of the work done and the results obtained. Since we have satisfied customers and partners who support us, then we are on the right track.

Microinvest is the only NBLI in Moldova that holds SMART International Client Protection Certificate. It implies a responsible and transparent lending process, based on international principles of customer service.

By subscribing to the newsletter, you express your free and unconditional consent to receive news, messages, promotions and other informative messages from Microinvest at the indicated e-mail address. For more details, access the privacy policy.

Other news

Stay on top of all the action

responsAbility Investments AG and Microinvest announce a EUR 10 million loan transaction to expand access to finance 24 April 2024 To learn more

"Lending opens doors to new opportunities and business development" – Aliona Tiskovskii, founder of Azalia flower store in Balti, Microinvest client. 5 April 2024 To learn more

"If you have the desire, you will find the way to success" – Ina Rusu, founder of Vestiti brand, Microinvest client 28 March 2024 To learn more

"Entrepreneurs are increasingly informed and responsible about investing" – Daniela Crețu, Office Coordinator at Microinvest 22 March 2024 To learn more

Cauți un job ca să-ți începi cariera? Află istoriile de succes a 3 tineri care au făcut primii pași în carieră la Microinvest 19 March 2024 To learn more

Client's Name
Client's Surname
Personal Identity Number
Currency
Term
Rate
Amount
Monthly payment
Amount to receive
Purpose
Comments

1. Name and Contact Information of the Creditor
Creditor
Address
Phone number
Email Address
Web page

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)