Moldovan government approved the PARE 1+2 Program for attracting remittances to the economy.
The program provides financial support from the state in grants up to 500 thousand lei for business development according to PARE 1+2 rules, i.e. for each lei (MDL) invested for the expansion of entrepreneurial activity the investor will receive 2 lei in a grant from the state. PARE 1+2 program was developed by the Ministry of Economy jointly with the Organization of Entrepreneurship Development, as a result of assessing the existing PARE 1+1 program, which proved to be an efficient state instrument of business development and directly contributes to achieving an objective social-economic policy. Beneficiaries of the new program will benefit from financial support in two stages: within the first stage beneficiaries will be offered non-refundable funding based on "1+1 rule", i.e. each MDL invested from remittances will be complemented by 1 MDL from the program and the maximum grant amount will be 250 000 lei. The second stage of financial support for growing businesses will be provided on the basis of "1+2 rule" and will be intended for beneficiaries who have successfully implemented the investment from the first stage (including graduates of PARE 1+1 program) and plan to expand their economic activity by increasing production capacities, product diversification, access to new markets, etc. Under the funding on the basis of "1 + 2 rule" it will be granted up to 500 thousand lei for investment projects aimed at expanding the company's activities. Term of program realization is 36 months with possibility of extension in case of availability of additional financial means. To implement PARE 1+2 program requires an estimated budget of 30 million lei per year, the total budget of the program for the 3-year period of implementation will be about 90 million lei, with the possibility of expansion with the support of local and foreign donors. According to the Ministry of Economy, the projects already implemented under the PARE 1+1 program require further support, as they are not able to introduce innovative technological solutions, new production processes and enter new markets, and their growth potential may remain unexploited. Without government assistance, the current terms of the PARE 1+1 program will generate a diminished impact on SME development. The program risks focusing only on the social dimension of migrant reintegration, without facilitating the accelerated development of established SMEs. As a result, SMEs created by migrants are not encouraged to apply innovative technological solutions, develop new production processes and enter new markets, and their growth potential remains untapped. Thus, the new 1+2 formula program will offer a comprehensive approach of financial and non-financial support to SMEs with growth potential. The improvement of the program will significantly contribute to increasing the impact on the economy through the development of enterprises created by migrants, increasing investment in the economy, improving the competitiveness of SMEs, improving the quality of products and services offered by SMEs from Moldova. // 07.09.2022 – InfoMarket
