The EU4Business initiative, with the support of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, recently brought together EU4Business implementing partners, mostly dealing with access to finance support for SMEs, for a half-day event organised in Chisinau.
The event gathered in one place institutions such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova (MEI), the Organisation for Development of the SME Sector (ODIMM), World Bank, KfW Development Bank, as well as commercial banks such as Mobiasbanca, Commertzbank, MAIB, Procredit and Microinvest.
The event organised on 27 February was focused around a roundtable discussion on strong and improvement points in the programming and management of support programmes that ensure access to finance for Moldovan businesses. EU4Business is organising such events in all Eastern Partnership countries and they are intended to provide input to the European Commission on ways to improve the design of such support in the future, by taking stock of the implementation experience of its partners.
As a result, several recommendations were made to improve design of the financing programmes, communication, delivery conditions, impact and management arrangements between implementing agencies and partner commercial banks, as well as between the implementing agencies and the European Commission.
The prominent conclusion of the meeting was that the EU4Business initiative of the European Union removes the obstacles encountered by SMEs through funding, support and training that helps small businesses reach their potential. Key aspects were highlighted by participants for follow-up with the European Commission as a way to improve the EU4Business initiative.
