Small and medium-sized enterprises of Moldova will be able to access financing for the implementation of energy efficiency projects. This will be possible after representatives of Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) from Poland and the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization of Moldova signed a loan agreement worth 5 million euros in Chisinau on December 19. It will be supplemented by a grant offered by the European Union, worth about 1.6 million euros.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economic Development and Digitalization Dumitru Alaiba said that the financial resources would be used for the development of the economy and the support of local producers, who will have the opportunity to access loans for a long period, at predictable conditions.
“By signing this agreement, we will offer small and medium-sized enterprises more financial instruments through the Entrepreneurship Development Organization (ODA) and financial institutions. Investments will contribute to increasing the competitiveness of companies, will help them to adapt their production and equipment in accordance with new conditions and requirements, to be more energy efficient, to reduce their emissions, to be able to create new jobs”, he said.
The Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Janis Mazeiks, said “together we can make Moldova’s economy more sustainable, more inclusive and more developed”.
According to Ambassador of Poland to Chisinau Tomasz Kobzdej, “the credit will be used to support small and medium enterprises, which are the foundation of a healthy economy.”
The BGK loan will be granted to the Republic of Moldova for a period of seven years. It will support Moldova’s Fund for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth (FACEM), managed by ODA, in order to grant loans to small and medium-sized enterprises in the country, under advantageous conditions. The support of the European Union consists of supplementing the loan granted by BGK, by means of a grant, which reduces the interest rate of the loan for the Republic of Moldova and a grant for technical assistance, which provides assistance in filling out loan applications or carrying out energy audits. (Moldpres/Business World Magazine)