Technical Assistance Project Steering Committee ‘Support for SMEs in rural regions” EU-funded, which supports the Ministry of Economy and the Organisation for the Development of Entrepreneurship (ODA) to support rural small and medium-sized enterprises, assessed progress during the fourth reporting period.

Project Steering Committee members ‘Support for SMEs in rural regions” chaired by Minister Sergiu Gaibu, they reviewed at a meeting the progress and results achieved by the project during the implementation period March – August 2022.

Among the activities successfully completed were reported: a) support to the Ministry of Education/ODA for the development of the new “Rural Tourism Programme for SMEs”, b) support to the Ministry of Economy for the development of policy formulations on ensuring a more favourable business environment for SMEs by promoting legislation on removing the administrative burden for the operation of micro-enterprises and promoting amendments to the Domestic Trade Law protecting small producers from unfair trading practices, c) support to the Management Information System of the ODA Guarantee Fund (GF-MIS) to become operational and functional and to apply the new “portfolio guarantee product” to SMEs, d) support to the Ministry of Economy for the development of the new “National Programme for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship and Increase of Competitiveness 2022-2026”, e) support to ODA in the reform process (from ODSME to ODA) through the development of the new “Basic Regulation and the Internal Operating Framework”, f) support to ODA in the revision of the PARE 1 + 1 programme and extension with the PARE 1 + 2 funding scheme.

“We are grateful for the assistance and expertise provided by the European Union to the Republic of Moldova. We have many policies in place to increase support for small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas. With the support of the EU, we will continue to work on finding the best solutions to overcome the challenges and provide help to small, family-run businesses, especially in rural areas’, stated Sergiu Gaibu, Minister for the Economy.

“We appreciate the support provided by the project to strengthen the institutional capacity of ODA, especially in the current process of institutional reform, and look forward to continuing our cooperation, our greatest expectation being to be equipped with new innovative financial instruments providing growth opportunities for rural SMEs.”, stated Dumitru Pintea, Acting Director of the Organisation for the Development of Entrepreneurship (ODA).

“This project is an important part of the EU4Business Initiative, which helps SMEs recover and grow. The next implementation period will be of paramount importance to achieve the expected results of the project. We are confident that the beneficiaries of the project will make every effort to make the best use of the technical assistance provided“, said Boris Filipov, EUD Programme Officer for Economic Development and Market Opportunities in the Republic of Moldova.

Technical Assistance Project ‘Support for SMEs in rural regions”it is part of a wider EU programme – “Development of rural areas in the Republic of Moldova” with a total budget of EUR 60 million. The Technical Assistance project was launched in September 2020 with the support of the European Union and will run until June 2023. The next report will take place in March 2023. The Project Steering Committee includes representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Finance, ODA and the Delegation of the European Union.

For more information about the project/event/activity, please contact Mr Panagiotis Patras, Project Team Leader ‘Support for SMEs in rural regions” email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. + 373 68573399.

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