Support Program for Entrepreneurs and Employees within the Switzerland-PNUD Project (Moldova)

This program aims to stimulate the increase in the competitiveness of the local economy, maintain human capital and facilitate local socio-economic development.

Support will be granted to beneficiaries from 3 micro-clusters in three micro-regions, created and developed with the support of UNDP and Switzerland:

• Sheep and goat breeding in the Cimișlia-Basarabeasca micro-region – the “Cimișlia-Basarabeasca” micro-cluster
• Cultivation and processing of medicinal and aromatic plants in the Nisporeni-Ungheni-Străseni-Hîncești micro-region – the “Herbafruct” micro-cluster;
• Rural tourism in the Dubăsari-Criuleni micro-region – the “Heart of the Dniester” micro-cluster.

Thus, 300 beneficiaries from the three micro-regions will receive assistance from Switzerland for the consolidation of economic activities, the qualification of the workforce, the creation and maintenance of jobs, as well as the economic reintegration of returned migrants.

Priorities

• The support, distributed in six distinct batches, will be provided for activities such as the technical consolidation of enterprises, the legal formalization of existing economic activity, the facilitation of the launch of businesses by returned migrants, the validation of professional skills acquired outside the country and the initial training or improvement of the qualifications of employees in enterprises from micro-clusters as follows:
  • Lot 1. Technical consolidation of enterprises
  • Lot 2. Legal formalization of the existing economic activity
  • Lot 3. Business initiation by return migrants
  • Lot 4. Validation of professional skills for returned migrants
  • Lot 5. Increasing the qualification of new and/or existing employees at enterprises
  • Lot 6. Initial professional training and/or retraining of employees or people who intend to (self-)employ

Benefits

• The support, in a total amount of 6,435,000 MDL, complements UNDP’s efforts for inclusive and sustainable local economic development.
• It contributes to the generation and improvement of jobs and the implementation of integrated approaches to local economic development, addressing both local communities and returning migrants and refugees.
• Assistance provided by UNDP may be used to purchase small equipment and fixed assets, to cover costs for services such as legal, accounting and entrepreneurial consultancy, as well as to cover costs related to validating skills acquired abroad or increasing the professional capabilities of existing employees or to new ones in the targeted value chains.

Eligibility Criteria

• Active economic agents from the three value chains, entrepreneurs (natural persons) who wish to formalize their business, natural persons with returned migrant status, who wish to launch or resume their businesses in the chains are invited to participate in the competition targeted value chains or to validate their professional skills and natural persons who wish to increase their skills or retrain in a field relevant to the targeted value chains. The competition is also open to refugees with legal status who operate in the targeted micro-clusters (economic agents and natural persons).
• Eligibility criteria for entrepreneurs and employees from the three beneficiary micro-clusters:
  • Only project proposals targeting economic activities carried out in the following value chains and administrative-territorial units will be admitted to the competition:
  • The “Cimișlia-Basarabeasca” sheep and goat breeding micro-cluster: all territorial administrative units of level 1 in the districts of Cimișlia and Basarabeasca;
  • The micro-cluster cultivation and processing of medicinal and aromatic plants “Herbafruct”: all territorial administrative units of level 1 in the districts of Nisporeni, Străseni, Hîncești and Ungheni;
  • The “Heart of the Nistru” rural tourism micro-cluster: all territorial administrative units of level 1 in Dubăsari and Criuleni district, the priority in the evaluation being offered to participants in the localities of Coșnița, Pârâta, Doroțcaia, Criuleni and Slobozia Dușca.
• The following categories of beneficiaries, citizens of the Republic of Moldova or refugees with legal status in Moldova, who carry out activities in the selected micro-regions, are eligible under the Program, depending on the selected support group:
  • Lot 1. Technical consolidation of enterprises: active economic agents from the 3 value chains who wish to consolidate the technical equipment of the enterprise.
  • Lot 2. Legal formalization of existing economic activity: entrepreneurs (natural persons) who want to launch or formalize their business.
  • Lot 3. Business initiation by returned migrants: natural persons with returned migrant status, who wish to launch/relaunch a business (only for citizens of the Republic of Moldova).
  • Lot 4. Validation of professional skills for returned migrants: Natural persons with returned migrant status, who wish to validate their skills or increase their skills (only for citizens of the Republic of Moldova).
  • Lot 5. Increasing the qualification of new and/or existing employees at enterprises: Active economic agents who wish to raise the qualification level of their employees.
  • Lot 6. Initial professional training and/or retraining of employees or persons intending to be (self) employed: Natural persons employed or intending to be (self) employed, who wish to improve their qualification level or retrain professionally.

For more information, visit UNDP.