300 new businesses in Moldova will be supported financially by the European Union

300 small and medium-sized enterprises in the Republic of Moldova, mainly in rural areas, will receive European grant funding through the “EU for SMEs” project (EU4SMEs) to create, develop, expand or internationalise their businesses. For this purpose, the European Union has allocated €8 million in non-reimbursable funding to co-finance seven state programs, implemented by the Organisation for the Entrepreneurship Development (ODA).

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, Dumitru Alaiba, has thanked the EU for offering the support to the development of entrepreneurship in Moldova, the business sustainability and the support for integration into the European Economic Area.

“The European Union continues to support entrepreneurship in the Republic of Moldova, for the development of the support infrastructure in the regions and support Moldova’s integration into the European Economic Area. With the help of assistance programs and constant dialogue, we promote good practices, transparency and respect for democratic principles in the process of economic development. Through our joint efforts, we are building a better future for citizens and entrepreneurs,” said Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization, Dumitru Alaiba.

Jānis Mažeiks, Ambassador of the European Union to the Republic of Moldova, mentioned, “The new €8 million grant to support SMEs in the Republic of Moldova – EU for SMEs – will improve access to non-reimbursable funds and provide opportunities for the much-needed productive investment. We are pleased to contribute through this grant to the implementation of government support programs for SMEs and are confident that the ODA team will make every effort to make this a success. The European Union will continue to support the Republic of Moldova to develop a stronger economy”.

ODA Director, Dumitru Pîntea, reiterated the impact of European support for local entrepreneurship: “European Union support contributes essentially to meet the real needs of the business environment, to increase competitiveness, modernization, to implement European quality standards and increase business resilience. We are witnessing today a business that has accessed European assistance to invest in modernisation and become more environmentally friendly”.

The launch of the European assistance project took place at one of the first beneficiaries of EU assistance – the Cabigrup SRL company from Băcioi, which specialises in the production of wine, bottles and decorative boxes for alcoholic products.

“Our company was created in 2003 with the production of packaging for alcoholic products as its main activity. We supply packaging for well-known local brands of spirits and liqueurs.  In the meantime, we have acquired a local winery to produce wines under our own brand. We have accessed a European grant of about 2 million lei through the Retechnologization and Energy Efficiency Program, to modernise the machinery, automatizate the process of sterile filtration, bottling and labelling of wine bottles,” said company representative Vladimir Cernat.

We remind you that on 24 May 2023, a direct EU Grant Contract was signed with ODA for the allocation of €8 million, over the period 2023-2026, to supplement the state budget for 7 non-reimbursable funding programs: PARE 1+2, Start for Youth, SME Greening Program, Digital Transformation Program, Retechnologization and Energy Efficiency Program, Women Entrepreneurship Program and Rural Tourism Program.

The objective of the EU for SMEs project is to contribute to resilient, sustainable and inclusive economic development and to support the green transition in the Republic of Moldova.  It will also improve the investment climate, employability and a favourable business environment for SMEs, especially in rural areas.

Video footage from the event.