The Polish Development Bank (BGK) offers Moldova a €5 million loan for the capitalization of the Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth Fund. This is a state-supported fund through which small and medium-sized enterprises have access to long-term funding in preferential conditions. The European Union will cover the largest part of the interest rate on this loan so that the most attractive conditions are offered to entrepreneurs, director of the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development (ODA) Dumitru Pîntea stated in the signing of the loan agreement between the Government of the Republic of Moldova and the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK) of Poland, IPN reports.
The Government approved the regulatory framework of the Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth Fund (FACEM) in February and the first product – the 373 program – is very popular among entrepreneurs. “At the end of the year, we are ready to launch the second FACEM product that comes with the same attractive conditions for Moldovan entrepreneurs. Respectively, a fixed interest rate of only 7% will be applied to loans in lei, for long-term investment projects. Moreover, the proposed implementation mechanism will enable to provide long-term capital to banks for loans repayable in up to ten years, which will ensure greater predictability, stability, and trust in the national economy,” stated the ODA director.
Minister of Economic Development and Digitization Dumitru Alaiba said that the borrowed money will go to develop the national economy, to support entrepreneurs so that these can access loans for a long period of time, in predictable conditions, through the agency of the ODA and selected banks. “Through this agreement, we offer our enterprises, our national producers more financial resources through the agency of the ODA and financial institutions, mainly commercial banks, for a longer period of time – investments that will contribute to enhancing the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Republic of Moldova,” stated Dumitru Alaiba.
The loan will be supported by €1.6 million in grant funding provided by the EU. EU Ambassador to Moldova Jānis Mažeiks said the development of the private sector in Moldova is one of the component elements of the foreign investment plan. Over the past two years, the European Union supported about 6,000 entrepreneurs who created about 2,000 jobs.
Poland’s Ambassador in Chisinau Tomasz Kobzdej noted that the loan will be used to support SMEs under the management of the ODA. The SME sector is an important element for the proper functioning of the economy. The access to financial instruments, together with technical assistance and a sustainable legal framework, is essential for developing a state.
The Polish loan is repayable in seven years.
