Moldovan entrepreneurs receive grants to support business development
The Organization for the Development of Entrepreneurship (ODA) has approved 54 grants for Moldovan entrepreneurs to support the development, modernization, digitalization, or greening of their businesses.
The total value of the grants is approximately 13 million lei, of which 10 million lei are from the state budget, with co-financing from the European Union and the World Bank.
Gheorghe Ciumașu, a fruit dryer in Țipala, Ialoveni, says he received a grant of 500,000 lei from ODA. He will use the grant to purchase a new electric forklift and marketing services to help him expand his business.
“I wanted to win this project to internationalise our company, expand our exports, and acquire new equipment and services to increase our competitiveness,” Ciumașu said. “We currently only sell to export markets, but we want to enter the local market as well.”
The financial support varies from 200,000 lei to 600,000 lei and is provided to entrepreneurs through government programs, such as:
- The Program for the Digital Transformation of SMEs
- The Start for Youth Program
- The “PARE 1+2” Program
- The SMEs Greening Program
- The Program for Increasing the Competitiveness of SMEs in Export and Internationalisation
Ecaterina Rudco, a cereal flake producer, said she received a grant to purchase equipment to process waste from her production.
“We are a business with smart management, we think about environmental protection, we think about our planet in the future,” Rudco said.
Dan Mereacre, an event hall owner, said he received a “PARE 1+2” grant to purchase a ventilation and air conditioning system.
“This gives us the opportunity to be more competitive and have more efficient equipment with less money, with the help of the state,” Mereacre said. “We plan to create seven new jobs.”
Dumitru Pântea, director of ODA, said the organisation is working to make it easier for entrepreneurs to access grants.
“We have understood that the problem is often the own contribution, to have the money, so we will come with changes and we will grant the grant in advance,” Pântea said. “We want to identify those entrepreneurs who are performing, who can implement investment projects quickly, because it means they have a market, they have room to grow, and they can generate taxes back to the state budget, jobs, and well-being.”
In 2023, 465 entrepreneurs accessed grants from ODA for a total of 192 million lei.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
