Twenty small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from the Republic of Moldova will benefit from grants of US$20,000 each – financial assistance provided through the UNDP project “Multidimensional response to emerging human security challenges”, financed by the Government of Japan, IPN reports.

Ten companies from the agri-food sector and ten from the non-agri-food sector will receive financial assistance to improve their productivity, competitiveness and business sustainability. The purpose of the non-reimbursable assistance is to increase energy efficiency and improve food security by strengthening the capacities of agricultural producers affected by the multidimensional crisis.

The assistance will be allocated for the modernization of old production lines, improvement of internal processes and production control, waste heat recovery and efficient energy generation, as well as the modernization of harvesting, production, storage and processing capacities, in compliance with food safety standards.

The grant competition consists of two lots to be implemented between June 2023 and March 2024. The first lot envisions support for at least ten SMEs operating in the agri-food sector to modernize their harvesting, production, storage and processing capacities, enabling them to comply with food safety standards. Companies from three target micro-regions can benefit from this lot. These are: Coșnița, Criuleni, Pârâta, Doroțcaia and Slobozia-Dușca – Dubăsari and Criuleni districts; Nisporeni, Vărzărești, Ciutești, Boldurești, Soltănești, Grozești, Bălăurești and Seliște – Nisporeni district, and Cimișlia, Sadaclia, Ciucur Mingir, Cenac, Valea Perjei, Hîrtop and Mihailovca - Cimișlia and Basarabeasca districts.

The second lot envisions support for at least 10 SMEs working in non-agricultural sectors in two focal regions Cahul and Ungheni, which host a large number of refugees, to reduce environmental impact and improve their efficiency and competitiveness.

Terms, conditions and application guidelines, including details of the file submission process, may be found here. The deadline for submissions is June 6, 2023.