Moldova to get 8 million euros from EU to support entrepreneurship

Chisinau, May 24. /MOLDPRES/- The Republic of Moldova will receive a grant worth 8 million euros from the European Union to support entrepreneurship. Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Dumitru Alaiba and EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova Jānis Mažeiks were present at the grant contract signing event.

Alaiba thanked the European partners for support saying that our country must move with alert steps towards European integration. "One of the fundamental priorities of this government is economic development, we have an extremely intense agenda. We are talking here about creating business opportunities, ensuring an enabling environment, without bureaucracy, without obstacles, without paperwork and corruption, and with modern tools. We cannot afford the luxury of growing by only 2-3 percent per year, because we will remain at the tail of Europe. We need accelerated economic growth, and that is what the SME sector can give us, because in fact the SME sector is the heart of a healthy economy. The money from the grant will be used to finance seven state programs, which are meant to directly support entrepreneurship. It is an honor for us to have this collaboration with the EU", said Alaiba.

He noted that the programs will focus on rural localities, where there is great growth potential. "In the next period we will offer even more freedom to the business environment. This objective is on the agenda of the ministry and the Government. We will think and try to adopt a new way of surveillance and intervention only where it is needed. We need to turn the page and go headfirst towards the European Union, and our entrepreneurs chose this direction a long time ago. A few years ago, our trade was 70 percent with Russia and the CIS, and now almost 60 percent of our trade is with the European Union," he said.

Jānis Mažeiks said that on May 21, at the European Moldova National Assembly, our country confirmed that it aspires to become a member of the European Union. "Today we come with support for SMEs, which have a direct role in the well-being of the country. Already two-thirds of Moldova's exports go to the European Union and this is an area where SMEs can play an even greater role in the future. We will support more than 50 thousand entrepreneurs, which will have a major impact on the real sector in the next three years", he said.

The financial resources of 8 million euros granted by the European Union will be directed to support the implementation of seven grant programs currently administered by the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development.