Events

On Thursday 5 March, the final conference of the ‘Black Sea BI-Net’ Business Incubators’ Regional Network project started.

The overall objective of the event was to present the totals of activities in the project as well as to promote international cooperation between SMEs and Business Incubators. The conference brought together participants from the 6 project partner countries – Moldova, Romania, Ukraine, Greece, Armenia, Türkiye. Representatives from partner countries, ministries, supporting institutions and organisations, managers of Business Incubators and interested companies were also present.

In his welcome speech, Ms Iulia IABANJIDirector-General of the Organisation for SME Sector Development, said that this event was yet another step towards SME internationalisation in Moldova. “Together with partners in the countries of the Black Sea Basin region, we can achieve results with considerable impact. Moldova’s experience with this project has been positive and the creation of our Business Incubators Network is a practical tool to develop the economy”stated Ms IABANJI.

Present at the event, Deputy Minister for Economic Affairs, Mr Tudor trees stressed the importance of creating such a platform for cooperation between partner countries, which is an effective tool for promoting SMEs at regional and international level. “The Ministry of Economy shall support the development of SMUs in the Republic of Moldova through various financial and advisory support instruments, through the implementation of National Support Programmes, dedicated to the development of the SMUs sector. In this context, the Business Incubators Development Initiative in the country’s regions, which provides support and facilities to start-up entrepreneurs, directly contributes to the development of the economy and the creation of new jobs. Through its Network of Start-Up Business Incubators, its members and incubated companies have the opportunity to exchange best practices, find partners and internationalise”.

In addition, Ms Speranta Olaruproject manager of the Delegation of the European Union to Moldova welcomed the project partners with the achieved results, highlighting their impact for the final beneficiaries in the participating countries: representatives of business incubators, local public authorities and business support organisations, through the establishment of the Black Sea Basin Regional Cooperation Platform, with a focus on internationalisation.

During the event, representatives from partner countries presented the results of the project activities, their own experience with the creation and development of Business Incubators.

The cross-border cooperation programme in the Black Sea Basin is an opportunity for the development of the economy of the countries in this region, for these reasons it is necessary to make use of it through cooperation and partnerships, said the representative of Romania, Ms Natalia BUDESCU.

“Identifying effective tools for the internationalisation and development of MSMEs and submitting them to the European Commission will be an opportunity for continued support in the development of the Bi-Net Collaboration Platform” also supports the Greek representative, Mr Nikolas PETROUPOLOS.

The conference will conclude on Friday 6 March with a brokerage event, which aims to establish partnerships between companies from Moldova and partner countries in different areas:
— Agriculture,
— Construction,
— Surgical instruments,
— Production of plastic and metal materials;
Business and environmental consultancy,
Textiles,
— Processing industry.

We reiterate that on 23 March 2013, the Organisation for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (ODIMM) as applicant and leading partner, together with partners from Greece, Romania, Armenia, Ukraine and Türkiye launched the project “Black Sea Business Incubators Regional Network “Black Sea BI-Net”.

The project is financed through the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument (ENPI) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA) under the Black Sea Basin Cross-Border Cooperation Programme.

Results of the Programme:
• 3 study visits were carried out (Moldova, Greece, Türkiye) and training sessions were organised for representatives of business incubators, local public authorities and business support organisations from partner countries;
• Mapping (analysis) of business incubators in the Black Sea region has been carried out;
• An action plan to promote Business Incubators has been developed;
• Seminars in the field of business internationalisation for incubated enterprises and enterprises with export potential have been organised in each partner country;
• International Black Sea BI-Net Collaboration Platform created;
• The Guide “How to create a network of incubators” has been developed.