January 28, 2019 – The representatives of the SME sector met at the first meeting of the Advisory Council of Small and Medium Enterprises, whose functions are exercised by the Economic Council to the Prime Minister.

During the meeting to set up the working group dedicated to SMEs, the representatives of the business community stated a number of problems they are facing.  These included the still large number of state controls on enterprises, which has a negative influence on small companies in particular. Another problem is the lack of markets. Businessmen say that in the process of signing bilateral trade agreements with other countries, the state authorities must take into account the full spectrum of the types of activity of SMEs in Moldova.

Another challenge for small entrepreneurs is access to information and reduced responsiveness of public authorities. The interaction with the retail networks in the country is complicated for the small entrepreneurs, who hardly face the competition with the imported products.

The chairman of the Working Group “Consultative Council for SMEs”, the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, Anatol Usatîi, mentioned that the SME represents a priority for the ministry. The relaunch of the activity of the SME Advisory Council in a new format is a confirmation in this regard. Through it, the ministry, as well as other state institutions, will receive more operationally and structured problems facing this sector, which will allow them to be solved faster.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, 98.7 percent of all companies operating in the national economy are SMEs. The same data shows that over 60 percent of the Moldovan labor market employees work in SMEs.

All the proposals set out in the meeting, but also those that will come along, will be systematized by the Secretariat of the Economic Council.

By the modifications made on 23.08.19 to the Regulation on the organization and functioning of the Economic Council with the Prime Minister, platforms exercise the powers of the Advisory Council for small and medium-sized enterprises, in the form of a permanent working group, headed by the Minister of Economy and Infrastructure, which is also Vice-President of the Economic Council.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is  supported  by  the  European  Bank  for  Reconstruction  and  Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund, and the World Bank Group project “Investment Climate Reform”, funded by the Sweden.

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.