75 entrepreneurs to receive grants worth 37.7 million lei

Chisinau, Oct 11 /MOLDPRES/- A total of 75 small and medium-sized Moldovan companies will benefit from grants worth 37.7 million lei. 46 enterprises will receive non-reimbursable financial support from the European Union and 29 from the state budget. The grants were announced in Chisinau on 10 October.

The grants have been accessed through programs managed by the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development /ODA/, including the Women Entrepreneurship Support Program, START for Youth Program, PARE 1+2 Program, the Program for Digital Transformation of SMEs, the Re-technologization and Energy Efficiency Program, the SMEs Greening Program.

Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Dumitru Alaiba said that in the last three years, more than 2,100 entrepreneurs have received financial support through ODA programs, both from the state budget and from external partners, primarily the European Union. "We are proud of your success and we try to be as close as possible to you when you need help, either through reform actions, new opportunities and new markets, or financial support for initiatives that have a chance to succeed. Entrepreneurs are the first to grow the economy. Together we will grow the economy and create new opportunities. We have support, we have markets like never before and we have financial backing to help businesses. We need much faster growth rates," he said.

ODA Director Vadim Codreanu noted that since the beginning of the year, the organization has approved 431 grants and a similar number of applications are still under consideration. "The grants awarded today will generate investments of about 80 million lei in economy. Some ODA programs need to be revised to optimize and facilitate access to grant funding. We are under identifying resources to supplement the funding," Codreanu said.

Attending the event, Miroslav Bozic, Program Officer at the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova said that most grants are directed to the industrial sector, which means that the country's economy is moving towards value-added sectors.

Since the beginning of the year, the ODA has supported 431 companies, facilitating the access to grants worth more than 180 million lei, financed by contributions from the European Union and the Moldovan government.