Microinvest: reliable partner for business

Corina and Gheorghe Vicol get up at five in the morning. They go to bed well into the night. Seven days a week. Without the right to stop and take time out for a break. That happens when you are the parents of a fledgling business, your mind is full of ideas, and the funds lag behind. The couple found a way out with the help of a company with years of experience. For Microinvest their story is one of the hundreds and thousands. For 15 years, the Company supported a lot of bold ideas and innovative solutions, and has always helped the clients to find the most appropriate solutions. Here they know, if to provide customers with a timely support, let them lean on your shoulder, then any obstacle may be overcome, and the goal of conquering new heights will be reached . Then they will immediately take new challenges…  The market demands it. The challenge was accepted…

“We started with the production of feeding for quails and chickens,” says Gheorghe, “but prices have fallen, it was not worth the efforts, therefore we decided to raise poultry by ourselves. We opened a farm. We were not looking for easy ways. We produce only natural poultry feed,  for us this is essential. It is more difficult, of course, but the quality of meat is quite different. And quality means the health of people and our good name. It is more than doubtful temptation to get additional quick profit”.

Chickens grew together with the hassle. Meat must be sold. We decided to open a company store in the capital. The first of its kind. With fresh products on the counter. So the buyer could evaluate personally the taste, color, smell and always knew where to find everything for his loved ones. Then the idea came to market on-line, offering buyers a home delivery. For busy citizens, it’s a royal opportunity. We started to develop the Cocorigo website. We started to think about increasing the product assortment; in addition to the quail and chicken meat, we decided to offer pork, lamb, beef, and eggs.

“The store became an obsession for Gheorghe and me,” smiles Corina. “We knew exactly what it should be, and we had everything for it to be liked by the buyers. There were two problems: Firstly, for two months we could not find the suitable premises for us.  Secondly, we had the idea, but no money to implement it. At that time all of our funds went for the development of the farm and repayment of the existing loans.”

“Besides that, we needed money for store equipment, purchasing of special refrigerator truck for delivery, launching the website, advertisement, well, we could not do without it”, added Gheorghe.  “But to jump into taking a new loan we also did not want. However, when we found premises for our store, we certainly could not lose this opportunity. And then one of the relatives advised us to address to Microinvest“.

At the time, Gheorghe and Corina resigned to the need to take a new loan, however financial institutions could not stand the thought of lending a growing customer already encumbered with the loan. And the conditions were… to put it mildly, inappropriate. First and foremost, due to the fact that we had to lose a lot of time on documents, information, and conversations. And the money was needed, so to say, here and now. This was the case when time was money, in the most literal sense.

Microinvest has 12 offices in 10 cities. The Vicols have chosen the closest one – in Chisinau at Botanica.  “We were greeted by Anisoara, a very friendly girl,” remembers Corina – “we sat down and talked. She went into many details, and then came to us.”

Microinvest’s loan officers are unusual people. It seems that the financiers have to be very serious, non smiling, breviloquent people,  on first name terms with the numbers, and on formal terms with the clients, spending their time from eight in the morning until five in the evening in the office, as it should be for office workers, not leaving the radius of their tables. Forget it.

Firstly, they are movable, like mercury. They are inspired by everything that captures their attention, and excited by the good ideas of the clients.  It’s too little to hear, they must see it with their own eyes. They will not silently reconcile to indifferently throw rejection. While realizing that the situation is risky they will not keep silence.   They have enough experience to tell the client how to adjust course to success. It is the philosophy of the Company which completely refuses to be like the rest of the credit institution, as two drops of water.

“We are growing with our clients“, explains this specific approach to lending Dmitri Svinarenco, Executive Director of Microinvest. His area of responsibility is the development of the Company and HR management. “We give the customer an opportunity to switch off from the search of money and focus on business; our loan officers, unlike, entrepreneur dragged into the routine, can look at his situation from the outside. Maybe they look young, however they many and frequently communicate with businessmen, they breathe it and can see what those have missed. We do not give consultations, it is not our profile, but we can and should recommend how to make it more profitable. And we say directly if the applied loan is unsustainable. It’s important. One of our rules is to invest in improving the professionalism of the staff. They understand how important it is to evaluate the capabilities of the client, to warn him of the risks and save from unnecessary stress.”

Anisoara, the loan officer, got quickly acquainted with the situation in the Vicols’ enterprise. The rapid growth of the company – 2 years from the prime producer to the farm and wholesale and retail meat trade – said in their favor. The existence of another outstanding loan did not bother her. A day and a half have passed since the moment when the Vicols walked into Microinvest office at Botanica district, not really hoping for luck, – until they were said Yes.

“I was captivated”, smiles Gheorghe – “Everything was very fast, we were not expecting. When other companies and banks told us how many documents we need to collect and provide, our head was spinning. Here everything was lightning fast. One conversation with Anisoara, then her visit to us, a few calls and the situation was resolved, we could drive up and sign the agreement. And the most important was that we were clearly informed about all loan costs; we know exactly how much to pay each month, without pitfalls and surprises.”

“To simplify the situation with the loan, Anisoara suggested transferring the loan for the car in Microinvest. Now we are due not to the several companies, but only to one, and this greatly simplifies the task,” says Corina. “Of course, one loan is difficult too, and it was hard to decide, on the other hand, thanks to Microinvest we saved the time, and thus won the opportunity. We were looking for store premises for two months and spent the same time for seeking funds to open it. And everywhere we were told, that we’d need from two weeks to one month for loan formalization until our loan application would be examined and approved. Here it all happened in a day and a half. In other words, two days later, we fully plunged into repair and purchase of refrigeration equipment. And we meet customers already.”

“A day and a half is not a record,” says Dmitri Svinarenco, “it happens we’re copping faster”. Arguments in the morning, money in the evening. We understand that we are dealing with energetic people. In business, to win the time means to win the place under the sun. It means that a stitch in time saves nine. It means that entrepreneurs have enough trouble with documentation, they have no time to get the runaround and rectify countless references. Our loan officers know their business well while going to a site they can assess the situation, hear, see, understand, and formulate arguments for the Committee, so the process of loan approval is going fast. It is important for customers to trust us, but it is equally important that we trust them, believe them and in them.”

The Vicols appreciated this trust in their business and ability to get it off the ground. Moreover, the Company not just allocated the desired amount to Corina and Gheorghe, but approved a credit limit, that exceeded their needs at the time of the store opening. So far they spent as much as they needed specifically for this project. But before a certain date, if they suddenly have ideas, they can freely use the remaining amount. And the ideas emerged. There is a demand for cooking. After the first successful experience of communication with Microinvest, the Vicols are ready to go further.

“It’s so important when there is someone to rely on,” says Corina. “We highly appreciated their support, and the fact that it all happened so fast, without paperwork, they are so accommodating, make advances in many issues and advise how to do better, if necessary. We really hope that they will support us again with this new idea.  We shall grow. Because there is a demand for good meat, food, and delivery. We will develop. We shall succeed with such partner as Microinvest. It turned out that a loan is not a terrible thing, and now we believe in ourselves and in them.””Of course, ideally it would be nice to consider ourselves, but this never happens” – lifted his hands in dismay Gheorghe. “One soldier does not make a battle, and it is very important to have someone besides on whose shoulder you can lean on. I have an idea to raise more chickens without harmful additives. To exclude cases when you cook one kilogram of meat and get only 200 grams. To produce normal, healthy meat, we need to purchase own facilities for a farm;  poultry needs space and air to grow in good conditions. I’ve got it all figured out and I have two options. I hope that Microinvest will support us again.”