The Program is intended for women who plan to start a business or who own and manage an enterprise defined in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 179/2016 on small and medium-sized enterprises, excluding state and municipal enterprises.

Beneficiaries of the non-reimbursable financial support provided under the Program are only micro, small and medium-sized enterprises registered in the Republic of Moldova, as defined in Article 4 of Law No. 179/2016 on SMEs.

• women who plan to start a business or who own and manage an enterprise defined in accordance with Law No. 179/2016 on SMEs, excluding state and municipal enterprises;
• an enterprise where the woman is a founder (for sole proprietorships) or a member/shareholder (for legal entities), holding at least 51% ownership (including jointly with other women members) and acting as administrator;
• enterprises that are not affiliated within a group of enterprises whose cumulative indicators (number of employees and sales revenues or total assets) exceed SME criteria defined under Article 4 of Law No. 179/2016.

* A woman who is a founder/member in multiple enterprises may apply for non-reimbursable financial support under this Program for only one enterprise.

* Applying for financial support under Measure 2 is not conditional upon applying under Measure 1.

1. payments for covering loans, provisions for losses, and debts;
2. interest payments and leasing costs;
3. payments of fines and financial penalties;
4. costs of goods and services or portions thereof covered by other assistance programs/projects and/or state subsidies;
5. purchases of goods/works/services made before the submission of the application form. Advances exceeding 50% of the purchase value and made more than 6 (six) months prior to the application submission are not eligible;
6. exchange rate differences;
7. expenses for transport services and the purchase of vehicles intended for the transport of up to 7 persons, inclusive;
8. expenses for salary payments, contracted accounting services, training, etc.;
9. taxes and duties, except VAT for beneficiary enterprises that are not VAT payers in accordance with the provisions of the Tax Code of the Republic of Moldova;
10. purchase of second-hand equipment, except for cases provided in the operational manual;
11. consumables, maintenance and servicing of production or commercial premises;
12. cash payments;
13. expenses for obtaining state permits;
14. insurance services;
15. gambling equipment;
16. expenses related to activities involving virtual assets;
17. purchase, rental, or leasing of real estate, except for cases provided in the operational manual;
18. purchase of agricultural equipment eligible for subsidization from the National Fund for the Development of Agriculture and Rural Environment, as listed in normative acts approved under Law No. 71/2023 on agricultural and rural subsidies, except for purchases made by SMEs carrying out economic activities not eligible for financing from that fund.

• SMEs lacking sufficient own financial resources to implement the approved investment project may benefit from financial guarantees issued by the Credit Guarantee Fund for SMEs, in accordance with Government Decision No. 709/2022.
• Women-led enterprises in the growth stage may benefit from a dedicated lending product supporting female entrepreneurship, provided through the Fund for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth of Moldova (FACEM), in accordance with Government Decision No. 94/2023.