On 30 October, the Government of Moldova and the European Union announced a new series of grants to be provided to 43 local entrepreneurs through the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development (ODA).
Of these companies, 27 SMEs will receive funding from the European Union, amounting to nearly MDL 7 million. The Moldovan government will financially support an additional 16 companies, with a total amount of MDL 7 million.
The largest investments are allocated to the industrial sector, with approximately 50% of beneficiaries from this area. Another 30% of entrepreneurs will invest in acquiring technical equipment for developing the services sector, such as professional, scientific, technical, accommodation, food services, and education. Approximately 20% of beneficiaries operate in the agricultural sector, where they will direct funds toward re-technology and greening their businesses.
“The EU will continue to support SMEs as a key driving force for a stronger economy of Moldova,” said Adam Grodzicki, Deputy Head of Cooperation, EU Delegation to Moldova. “Due to the new EU-Moldova Growth Plan, by 2027 over 5,000 new businesses, including small family ones will be created and other 25,000 existing companies will be supported.”
The grants are distributed through a series of programmes managed by ODA, including the Women Entrepreneurship Support Programme, the START for Youth Programme, the ‘PARE 1+2’ programme, the Digital Transformation of SMEs Programme, and the Greening Programme for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises.
Throughout this year, the Organisation for Entrepreneurship Development has facilitated 479 companies in accessing grants totalling over MDL 197 million. Of this sum, nearly MDL 143 million came from the state budget, while 40 million lei were provided by the European Union through the ‘EU for SMEs’ project.
