More companies from rural settlements of Moldova to be backed in digitalizing businesses

Chisinau, 1 November /MOLDPRES/ - The external committee on supervision of the instrument of support as to the digitalization of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) today summed up the results of the third contest of investment projects. The projects were submitted by companies from Moldova, in order to improve or transform the business process through the use of digital technologies.     

Thus, 18 businesses will benefit from grants worth up to 200,000 lei each, amounting to about 3.3 million lei in all. The money will be allocated from European Union’s funds (2.8 million lei) and the state budget (513,000 lei). The implementation of investment projects will generate investments in the economy worth about 7.2 million lei and will create 137 jobs. So far, through this support instrument, 293 native companies have been financially backed through Grants and Business Vouchers.    

“We appreciate the continuous interest in the modernization of the production processes, capacity of innovation and marketing strategies. We are confident that the use of information technologies and digital ones will significantly enhance the competitiveness of the companies, both on the domestic and the external markets,’’ the head of the aforementioned committee, head of directorate at the Economics Ministry Andrei Cusca said.   

In  the context, the director general of the Organization for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Sector Development (ODIMM), Iulia Costin, stressed that ‘’through the support of the SMEs’ digitalization, the organization was set stimulate the use of new digital technologies during the entire process of business management, to train entrepreneurs in the field of use of information technologies, including the implementation of the e-Commerce platforms and provide unlimited access to free of charge entrepreneurial education in the digital environment.’’  

About 17 per cent out of the 18 companies approved for financing are from the sector of providing services, 33 per cent – processing industry, 39 per cent – agriculture, 6 per cent practice activities in the field of information technologies and communication and 5 per cent are from constructions.  At the same time, one third (33 per cent) our of all companies are placed in the country’s northern region, 39 per cent –in the Centru region and 29 per cent are from the southern region and the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia.    

The instrument of support on the digitalization of SMEs is financed from the state budget, supplied from funds of the European Union and GIZ Moldova, with the financial support of the government of Germany. It is implemented by ODIMM, in partnership with GoOnline of the COR Association, Startup Moldova programme, developed by the TEKWILL project, with the support of United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Sweden and UK aid.     

Photo: ODIMM