[Index]
[Russian]
UNECE RAISING AWARENESS ABOUT ENTREPRENEURSHIP
DEVELOPMENT
IN THE REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA
Geneva, 25 June 2004 - The Republic
of Moldova is a small, landlocked country
with 3.6 million inhabitants; the most
densely populated among the countries
of the Commonwealth of Independent States
(CIS). At present the Republic of Moldova
is the poorest country in Europe with
an estimated per capita GDP of some $500
in 2003. According to estimates by the
international financial institutions,
90 percent of the population, a major
part of which live in the countryside,
have an income of less that $1 per day.
The need to raise living standards requires
adequate support from the international
community in the form of market access,
financing, debt relief, where appropriate,
coupled with continuing policy advice.
This support is indispensable to strengthen
the reform process in order to achieve
sustainable growth and to reduce poverty.
Some 90 per cent of the
economy is based on small and medium sized
enterprises (SME) in the country according
to the Ministry of Economy although only
30 per cent of the country’s employees
work in these enterprises. Government
support for entrepreneurship and the infrastructure
needed for SME development has been weak.
The lack of financial resources, low state
support, lack of business information,
frequently changing legislation are all
impediments to the sound development of
entrepreneurship.
H.E. Mr. Marian Lupu,
Minister of Economy of the Republic of
Moldova, invited the UNECE to organize
jointly with the Ministry of Economy a
two-day Training Workshop on “The
Development of Entrepreneurship and the
SME Sector in the Republic of Moldova”.
The UNECE within the framework of its
Regional Advisory Services Programme organized
this Workshop, which will take place in
Chisinau on 29-30 June 2004. The purpose
of the workshop is to stimulate further
development of the SME sector by taking
account of the best international practice
and experiences in this field. The first
day of the workshop will be organized
for high-level Government officials (President
and Prime-Minister’s advisers, Parliamentarians,
Ministers and Deputy Ministers). The second
day will be dedicated to the leaders of
existing SME support institutions, representatives
of the business communities, entrepreneurs,
NGOs, academics and journalists.
The UNECE delegation
headed by Antal Szabó,
Regional Adviser on Entrepreneurship and
SMEs, consists of Dr. Sonia Heptonstall,
Co-Founder of Heptonstall and Associates
(United Kingdom), Dr. Rachel E. Golden,
President of the Rachel E. Golden Foundation
(United States), Dr. Krisztina Takacs
Floreano, President and Founder of
the Education HUMANITAS Foundation (Switzerland),
Božidar Marot, Director
of the Small Business Development Centre
(Slovenia), Andrus Treier, Chief
Financial Officer of the Credit and Export
Guarantee Fund KredEx, (Estonia), and
Tomislaw Bogdanic, President
of the World Youth Bank (Croatia). The
mission will be supported with financial
contributions from the Governments of
Estonia and Slovenia, The Rachel Golden
Foundation and the World Youth Bank.
For further information,
please contact:
Mr. Antal Szabó
Regional Adviser on Entrepreneurship
and SMEs
United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe
Palais des Nations, Bureau 440
CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Phone: + 41(0)22 917
24 71
Telefax: + 41(0)22 917 01 78
E-mail: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/IREEDD/04/P06