9 September 2021

• EBRD launching online “hands on” guidance to help micro and small enterprises
• Platform provides expert advice on various topics including legal and financial matters
• Additional tailored guidance developed for Moldova

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is launching an online resource www.ghidulafacerii.ebrd.md with legal and business guidance to support micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to enhance their response to new challenges following the Covid-19 pandemic. The website also contains a separate section for Moldova that offers country-specific legal and financial guidance in local language, developed with financial support from the UK Government through the Good Governance Fund.

Join us on September 9 at the launch event the EBRD is organizing jointly with GGF, ODIMM, Economic Council to the Prime Minister, Gladei & Partners and Business Development Capital, to explore the tools offered by the website, and discuss the business environment in Moldova and opportunities for business development. Register clicking here.

The new website www.ghidulafacerii.ebrd.md offers expert guidance to help owners and managers of Moldovan SMEs to deal with suppliers, customers and employees, steer operational and financial challenges and navigate a restructuring process. The platform also provides businesses with legal guidance in corporate, employment and insolvency law, areas in which small business have strong demand for know-how and information. The website is structured around six modules or entry points:

1. Developing your business strategy
2. Managing your people successfully
3. Running your business successfully
4. Taking your business online
5. Keeping your business’s finances healthy
6. Restructuring your business finances.

Templates and cases studies support the guidance and help users to apply concepts in their day-to-day operations. No registration is required to use the site.

To produce the guidance for Moldovan businesses, the EBRD team worked closely with the Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister and the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises Sector Development (ODIMM) to create synergies, and together with other local business associations and organisations.

We consulted key stakeholders involved in the project. Steven Fisher, British Ambassador to Moldova, commented: “SMEs account for cca 30% of Moldovan GDP, 98% of all businesses and provide for more 330.000 jobs in the country.  The UK government is pleased to support this excellent initiative which will help those companies to survive and thrive, safeguarding the jobs and livelihoods of many thousands of Moldovan citizens.”

Angela Sax, EBRD Head of Moldova said: “The SME sector in Moldova is central to the country, including to employment and economic growth. This new initiative is yet another sign of our continued support for SME development through financing, advisory and technical assistance”

Finally, Iulia Costin, ODIMM General Director, stated that “this virtual platform for entrepreneurs is welcome and will be an important source of information

The Secretariat of the Economic Council to the Prime Minister is supported by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, funded by the UK Government’s Good Governance Fund.