The winning ideas of the “Seeds of Change” Hackathon, held on 3-5 April 2026, have been selected. The event was organized by UNDP Moldova in partnership with Impact Hub Bucharest, with financial support from Sweden and Norway, under the project “Resilient communities through women empowerment.”

The hackathon brought together 21 women from 11 localities across the Republic of Moldova, representing fields such as entrepreneurship, education, and research.

Participants worked in five teams to develop ideas inspired by the challenges and opportunities within their communities. With the support of mentors, they refined and advanced practical concepts focused on transforming organic and agricultural waste into valuable resources.

At the end of the event, teams presented solutions aimed at reducing waste while creating economic opportunities at the local level.

“The hackathon provided a collaborative environment where participants could test ideas, learn from one another, and strengthen their teamwork and applied thinking skills,” said Silvia Pana-Carp, Programme Specialist at UNDP Moldova.

The winning ideas include:

• Bioagricultura team (Olesea Nemerenco, Corina Glibiciu, Maria Zavatin), 1st place: transforming organic waste into animal feed using insect larvae;
• Reciclare Organică Mixt team (Aliona Lupan, Olesea Plăcintă, Marina Ionița, Ludmila Carteră, Ana Balîc), 2nd place: producing natural fertilizers from plant, organic waste, and wool;
• Liloc team (Olesea Cebotari, Iulia Ivcenco-Cornea, Lilia Bălănuță, Liudmila Strahoteanu, Cristina Kifa), 3rd place: producing fuel from plant and wood residues for community use.

These solutions were recognized for their practicality, their relevance to real community needs, and their potential to contribute to environmental protection and more sustainable agriculture.

All participants received composters to enable them to test some of the proposed solutions at home and apply the ideas developed during the hackathon.

The winning teams will continue to receive support through a two-month mentorship programme aimed at further developing their ideas and bringing them closer to implementation.