Events

On 31 January this year, the Organisation for the Development of the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Sector (ODIMM), in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of the Republic of Moldova, organised the conference “Together we create the future at home!”, dedicated to presenting the results of the Discharge Programme “PARE 1 + 1” for the year 2013.

The event was attended by Prime Minister Iurie Leancă, Head of the EU Delegation in Chisinau, Pirkka Tapiola, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazăr, beneficiaries of the “PARE 1 + 1” project, representatives of financial institutions, state institutions, donor organisations, etc.

Opening the event, Minister of Economic Affairs Valeriu Lazăr reiterated the role and importance of the Organisation for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (ODSME) as an institution implementing policies and programmes for the development of the SME sector. In his opinion, the MSMEs are an interface between the Ministry of Economy and the business environment, which is why they have not been given the task of solving one of the biggest challenges – creating the conditions for Moldovan migrants to develop their businesses at home.

The PARE 1 + 1 programme aims at mobilising the human and financial resources of Moldovan migrant workers in the sustainable economic development of the Republic of Moldova by stimulating the creation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises by both migrant workers and remittances beneficiaries.

“The three-year experience in implementing the programme demonstrates the creation of a promotion of entrepreneurs with new entrepreneurial skills and capabilities, which are a key driver of economic growth”, said Valeriu Lazăr.

Prime Minister Iurie Leancă welcomed the programme partners, in particular the Delegation of the European Union, which finances this project.

In his speech, the Premier highlighted the remarkable results of the PARE 1 + 1 programme, which aims to bring Moldovan migrants back home and encourage them to set up businesses. It is important to attract not only financial but also intellectual remittances.

“There is no doubt that the PARE 1 + 1 programme is a success. Cour citizens, when returning home, bring with them not only money, but also innovative ideas, skills, knowledge and another attitude towards work "highlighted the official.

The Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola, welcomed the successful “PARE 1 + 1” programme and reiterated the importance of supporting small businesses in the context of visa liberalisation. “Tourism is tourism, but the future can only be built at home” mentioned the Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova.

The ceremony continued with the award of graduation diplomas for successful entrepreneurs, who received non-reimbursable funding and were supervised by ODIMM over 24 months.

The second part of the event was dedicated to networking activities. The beneficiaries of the Programme had the opportunity to get to know each other, discuss and jointly identify opportunities for cooperation. They acknowledged that there are a number of impediments to partnering, but at the same time they saw that together they can do much more.

As part of the training, they called for proposals for collaboration in various fields. Pellet producers could join together to import the metal needed to manufacture spare parts that are rapidly used and frequently imported. Farmers of chinchilla and rabbits supported the idea of purchasing together the necessary equipment for dusting fur.

Thus, a platform for communication and collaboration between economic operators has been set up, which could be exploited by creating business partnerships between entrepreneurs active in common or related fields.

We would point out that the ‘PARE 1 + 1’ programme for drawing up remittances in the economy was launched on 18 November 2010 by Government Decision No 972.

The objective of the programme is to mobilise the human and financial resources of Moldovan migrant workers in the sustainable economic development of the Republic of Moldova by stimulating the creation and development of small and medium-sized enterprises.

The results achieved during 3 years of implementation of the “PARE 1 + 1” programme are remarkable.The ODIMM team consulted more than 8000 migrants and their first-degree relatives, 33 entrepreneurial training courses were organised, involving approximately 600 migrant workers and/or first-degree relatives.

More than 1500 people were employed or maintained their jobs in companies created with the money invested by Moldovan migrants, of which around 40 % are women and 35 % are young people.

The investments planned to be carried out by the beneficiaries of the ‘PARE 1 + 1’ programme represent approximately RON 200 million and concern various areas of activity: agriculture (greenhouses, cold stores, livestock farms), industry (bakery, building materials, furniture, lighters), services, tourism, construction.

The gender analysis elucidates the fact that 27 % of all PARE 1 + 1 beneficiaries are women, while by age around 39 % of participants are young people up to the age of 30.

The programme runs until 2015, i.e. every person who has worked or works abroad and wishes to invest resources in developing his/her own business, is invited to apply to the “PARE 1 + 1” programme.