Investors who want to develop a business in Moldova will no longer have to physically go to the government counter – in the country. The state wants to digitise to the maximum all the processes of setting up a business, its administration, the entrepreneur’s interaction with employees and other companies, with authorities and control bodies, CNAM, CNAS, etc.

This is what Iurie Țurcanu, Deputy Prime Minister on digitisation, Chairman of the Advisory Council for the Digitisation of the Economy – iConsiliu, within the Economic Council under the Prime Minister, announced.

According to Iurie Țurcanu, over the years, Moldova has been digitizing several processes and services, but those essential for business are not completed “end-to-end”, their adoption is lower than it should be, and marketing has not been well developed.

Scanning the whole spectrum of public services for business in terms of their digitisation and digitising those that have been “forgotten” will be done in the framework of the Contactless Business in Moldova Initiative, launched at the iCouncil meeting. In this process a team of experts, with the support of Economic Council members and Moldova’s development partners, will “scan” the missing elements in the whole business digitization process that will allow investors, including from the diaspora, to open online and manage a business in Moldova from any corner of the world.

First, it will remove impediments to granting INDP to foreign investors (essential for remote business registration and management). Next is to ensure the applicability of eKYC and MobiSign for diaspora and foreign investors, which means electronic customer recognition and the possibility to apply for e-business services remotely. Provide notarial services in digital format and linguistic accessibility of public services for foreign investors – forms, incorporation documents, permit documents, interaction with the Public Services Agency, etc. – all in English.

Another set of amendments concerns remote employment relations and employee protection. Priorities include the legalisation of telework by clarifying salary regimes, the abolition of the residence permit in the Republic of Moldova, the payment of taxes, including VAT, and social security contributions for those who will work remotely, including from abroad, etc.

Dumitru Alaiba, Minister of Economy, who attended the event, said: “These objectives can be achieved in Moldova. In Estonia it was possible to bring all services for entrepreneurs online and these best practices can be taken up. With the digitisation of many services, Estonians are saving about 2.5% of GDP annually”.

“The proposals to digitise the economy that have already been promoted and those that are being proposed make Moldova a very attractive destination for investors,” said John Riordan, USAID Deputy Chief of Mission in Moldova. This economic digitisation package is crucial for the development of the economy in the uncertain situation that persists in the region.

“Digitization of business administration is imperative for Moldova. We have war in the region, we don’t have a labour shortage, we don’t have energy or natural resources. For these reasons, in order to become competitive in terms of investment destination, Moldova needs to simplify its business regulation as much as possible. This means having as few restrictions as possible in the process of starting and running a business,” said Ion Lupan, Head of the Secretariat of the Economic Council.

The Contactless Business initiative is part of the Roadmap for boosting the digitisation of the national economy and the development of e-commerce.

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.

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.