The municipality of Edinet invested 6 million lei in creating a business incubator. Twelve beginner entrepreneurs will be able to develop their businesses in facilitated market conditions. Mayor of Edinet Constantin Cojocaru has told IPN that in a year or two the incubator will host up to 20 small businesses and later the young entrepreneurs will be able to develop independently and to cope with competition on the market.
Constantin Cojocaru said the entrepreneurs during the first few years of work will pay a symbolic rent. “Our goal is not to earn money from running this incubator. We aim to offer the entrepreneurs the possibility of developing so that they are later able to pay taxes and salaries to employees. The incubator will provide consultancy assistance, software and other services. We accept business proposals from young entrepreneurs,” stated the mayor.
He also said that an industrial park started work in the municipality two years ago. Occupying an area of 18 hectares, the park hosts four resident companies that created about 300 jobs for inhabitants of the region. Three of the four companies are Moldovan, while one is a Ukrainian company. This produces apple juice concentrate that is fully exported. The company processes apples grown not only in the northern districts, but also in southern Moldova.
Another resident stores fruit in cold-storage facilities with a capacity of 2,000 tonnes. This has an apple sorting lines that chooses apples for export. The facilities were built at a cost of 8 million lei.
Another company invested 18 million lei in a fruit drying line intended for apples, plums, cherries, grape, etc. There will also be launched a business to build European containers for exporting fruit to the EU market, at a cost of half a million euros.
Some 8 hectares of land at the industrial park are unoccupied and residents are invited.
Edinet has won US$ 20,000 worth of grants for stimulating local businesses from the Government of Switzerland within the Migration and Local Development Project implemented by UNDP Moldova.
