15 April 2022 – The National Programme to Promote Entrepreneurship and Increase Competitiveness for 2022-2026 and the Action Plan were presented today at the Advisory Council for SMEs. The document, developed in the framework of the EU project “Rural SME Policy Support Window” at the request of the Ministry of Economy, focuses on 5 directions: a favourablebusiness environment for the creation and operation of SMEs; Strengthening entrepreneurial culture and capabilities; Improving SMEs’ access to finance; Improving competitiveness and market access; and Facilitating technological exchange and innovation.

To achieve the objective of creating a business environment favourable to the functioning of SMEs, the authors of the project propose a series of actions including providing for arbitration and commercial dispute resolution, creating the possibility of online registration of companies, digitisation of customs procedures and implementation of an early warning system to prevent company bankruptcy, implementation of the “Second Chance” programmefor SMEs.

The objective of strengthening entrepreneurial culture and skills involves the implementation of actions such as the promotion of female entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship among migrants and young people, the development of the family business support programme and the social entrepreneurship programme.

According to the expert team of the Rural SME Policy Support Window project, the following recommendations need to be implemented in order to implement the third principle of Improving SMEs’ access to finance: Strengthen the capacity of SMEs and future entrepreneurs in financial education to encourage responsible borrowing and lending and Increase SMEs’ awareness of the financial resources and instruments available for the different stages of SME growth.

To achieve the fourth objective Improving competitiveness and access to markets, the Programme calls, among other things, for promoting SME access to export markets, supporting clustering initiatives and SME upgrading.

Facilitating technology exchange and innovation requires the development of a Technology Transfer Programme for SMEs, the creation of additional capacity in science and technology parks and research incubators, and raising SMEs’ awareness of the protection of intellectual property rights.

Attending the meeting, the Head of the Working Group of the Economic Council SME Advisory Board, Minister of Economy Sergiu Gaibu, said that the proposals presented by the experts are very valuable in the context in which the Ministry is promising a series of measures to support the business environment in Moldova.

Representatives of the business community welcomed the elaboration of the National Programme for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship and Increased Competitiveness for 2022-2026 and the Action Plan, asking for further proposals on the document to be considered and presented in the coming period.

Vice-Chair of the Advisory Council for SMEs Executive Director, Employers’ Association Alliance of Small and Medium Enterprises of Moldova Liliana Busuioc concluded at the end of the debate that all proposals of the business community on this topic will be collected through the Secretariat of the Economic Council, which will then be examined by experts in the process of finalizing the Programme. Once finalised the document will be sent to the Ministry of Economy and the Government for approval.

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 International Finance Corporation’s Investment Climate Reform Project funded by the Government of Sweden’s International Development Agency.