Programme of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development helps over 250 Moldovan companies
The EBRD's Business Advisory Service Programme (BAS) celebrates five years of continuous support for the development of small and medium-size enterprises (SME) in Moldova.
In this period, the BAS has supported over 250 Moldovan SMEs, operating in various economic fields, such as: agriculture, food industry, retail trade, apparel industry. The chief of the Chisinau-based EBRD Office, Libor Krkoska today told a news conference that the total BAS assistance to Moldova was estimated at 1.4 million euros.
The support of the BAS programme to Moldovan SMEs includes assistance at identifying and defining enterprises' business needs, cooperation in selecting the most effective local consultants to settle specific business issues faced by the enterprises and grant assistance.
Libor Krkoska also said that the BAS programme is supporting companies by reimbursing up to 70 per cent of the consultancy project costs, the maximum amount standing at 10,000 euros. Besides, BAS Moldova enhances the competitiveness of the Moldovan SMEs, by organizing specialized trainings and seminars with the participation of high-level international experts.
For her part, the national director of the BERD BAS Programme, Veronica Arpintin, said that "the SMEs are one of the engines of the development of a sustainable economy. Thus, it is very important to assist these companies in order to foster their competitiveness on the market. In this respect, BAS Moldova is operating with well-defined and rigurous criteria while deciding to offer assistance to any SME, therefore ensuring success of all the projects financed by the Programme. The outcome of the BAS projects is estimated by the dynamics recorded by the assisted enterprises in the optimization of the production process, development of employees' skills, all these being reflected in the increased business figures of the companies," Veronica Arpintin said.
The National Director of the BERD BAS Programme also said that enterprises which benefited from the Programme's assistance are operating in all the fields of the national economy. As much as 43 per cent of the BAS beneficiaries are companies operating in rural areas. As much as 62 per cent of the SMEs are service providers and 38 per cent are producers. Presently, the BAS programme is paying a special attention to the promotion of energy programmes, with the support of the Swedish government. These programmes are meant to encourage women in their business activity.
The EBRD's BAS programme started its activity in 1995 and implemented about 9,500 projects in 22 countries, mobilizing up to 95 million euros in donor funds.
Moldpres
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