Press releases

14 innovative digital or technological business ideas will access up to lei 500 thousand non-repayable funding through the Programme to support digital innovations and technological start-ups, managed by the Organisation for the Development of Entrepreneurship. The total amount of grants provided by the state for implementing projects is approximately lei 5.65 million. The results of the first call for projects were announced today at a public event.

In the opening of the event, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Economic Development and Digitalisation of the Economy, Dumitru Alaibastressed the importance of supporting digital technology companies for the development of innovative products and services in order to boost productivity and economic competitiveness.

“Digitalisation is an area of the economy but also a well-functioning economic policy. Digital technologies and innovations are the type of business we need to sustain. With all winners – young people, entrepreneurs, innovators, who have decided to push up a business home, we want to have continuous communication to identify as many solutions as possible. Solutions to increase business, innovate and bring them externally,” mentioned Vice-President Dumitru Alaiba.

Director ODA, Dumitru Pinian congratulated the finalists for creativity in the design of digital innovations in the entrepreneurial field.

“Innovation is a driver of economic and sustainable development, and through this Programme, the State encourages the deployment of digital innovations, technology and sustainable production in Moldova. We welcome that today we can support the first 14 business ideas, which propose to develop and promote products and services for commercial purposes with innovative elements or launch new products”, said Dumitru Ptea.

“Programmes to support innovation and technological start-ups are more than ever important for Moldovan business, as they allow entrepreneurs to develop their business and prevent risks to become more resilient in their innovative and sustainable projects”, said John Riordan, Deputy Head of Mission USAID Moldova.

And Thomas Alveteg, First Secretary of the Swedish Ambassad referred to: “In my view, Moldova is a country of innovators.This grant programme supports entrepreneurs’ ideas, who are trusted to help them go further in achieving their dream’.

The 14 businesses selected for funding will focus on business areas such as telemedicine, tourism, manufacturing and waste recycling services.

The businesses selected for funding also include the company “TERAFIX” in Foreignises that will access around RON 500 thousand to introduce innovative elements in the field of waste recycling. The management of the business, Cristina Grosu, argues that, together with the team, it will create technology for the production of organic fertilisers and insecticides from organic rests of animal and vegetable origin with the help of Hermetia Illucens larves.

“We will buy machinery for a technological line of production of organic fertilisers and insecticides. We will finalise the working arrangements for each product and prescribed experimental series of fertilisers and insecticids to be tested in the field at different cultures. The equipment to be procured allows a medium-level production to be organised, with maximum productivity of 200 tonnes liquid organic fertiliser and 50 tonnes insecticid per month’, supports the entrepreneurship.

Another unprecedented business is Teleportravel in Chisinau that will access more than lei 300 thousand to develop a virtual market-place platform for tourism.

“With the help of grants from ODA we will develop a product for travel planners and tourist paths both in R.Moldova and abroad. We will set up the ‘Teleportravel’ platform for Google indexation, we will automate emails, shape subscription-based payments, recommend programme and many other market-place elements,” says Stanislav Balaur administrator.

The programme to support digital innovations and technological start-ups was launched by ODA in October 2022 with the objective of promoting technological innovations, accelerating the deployment of the digital, circular and technological economy, as well as increasing Moldova’s economic competitiveness in the area of digital innovation, green technologies and sustainable production.

In the first Programme call, running from November to December 2022, 70 applications were received, of which 34 projects were proposed to the Programme Evaluation Committee (juriu) composed of 11 members: representatives from ODA, Ministry of Economy, but also external experts in the field. Following the final assessment, the 14 most innovative ideas were selected, which will access grants from the State of up to RON 500 thousand with an own contribution of 20 % of the investment project value for project implementation in practice.

The implementation of the actions of the Programme for Supporting Digital Innovations and Technology Startups are financed from the state budget and supported through the Voratory Technology Project, funded by the USAID and the Swedish Government.