Chisinau City Hall informs that on Wednesday the Municipal Business Incubator was officially launched, which is the place where newly registered businesses can get managerial support, assistance services and advisory support to increase their chance of growth and survival time. The Incubator is located at Mihai Viteazul Street, 2.

The festive event was attended by municipal officials, led by General Mayor Ion Ceban, representatives of UNICEF Moldova, UN WOMEN Moldova, business and other development partners.

The capital's mayor said that through this project, the municipality is creating opportunities for young people from the capital, here at home, to open their businesses.

Ion Ceban said that in the run-up to the launch of the Incubator, more than 1,000 applications were received for the training modules, and this should become a part of the program. Funding opportunities are diverse and the incubator will be a welcome platform.

"We want this space to become youth friendly and we are also looking at more extensive models. We are also working on a research and development concept with a larger space in Chisinau. We want to find, for example, solutions for interventions on free economic zones and business relocations, including in the context of what is happening in the East", Ion Ceban added.

The Municipal Business Incubator opens up new business opportunities for young people in the municipality, as well as for migrants and refugees, and will become a bridge between small and medium-sized enterprises and the local administration. To begin with, the facility, which covers more than 200 square meters, will be able to accommodate up to 30 residents.

According to the program, the beneficiaries of the incubator can be future entrepreneurs, who are between 18 and 40 years old, with a residence visa in Chisinau and want to open a business or own a business registered in the municipality of Chisinau for no more than 12 months. Residents can also be migrant workers aged up to 40 and refugees aged between 18 and 40 who have created a partnership with a young resident, who has a residence visa in the municipality of Chisinau and wish to open a business or own an enterprise registered in the municipality of Chisinau for no more than 12 months.

The Municipal Business Incubator was created with the support of UN Woman and UNICEF MOLDOVA, and its activity will be coordinated by the Municipal Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CMDA) as the institution responsible for the implementation of the Municipal Program "STARTUP for YOUNG PEOPLE AND MIGRANTS" and the municipal policy for the growth and development of entrepreneurship in the municipality of Chisinau.

For the creation of the Municipal Business Incubator was taken into account the positive international experience of setting up and managing

At the current phase, the Municipal Centre for Entrepreneurship Development has finished the implementation of the "Entrepreneurship Training" component of the Municipal Program "STARTUP for YOUNG PEOPLE AND MIGRANTS". Thus, with the help of development partners (America House), 29 entrepreneurial training sessions were organized for more than 1300 applicants of which 545 beneficiaries actually attended the training.

According to the implementation plan, for the next period it is planned to launch the component "Financing investment projects" of the Municipal Program "STARTUP for YOUNG PEOPLE AND MIGRANTS", which will allow potential residents to submit investment projects under the call and become residents of the Municipal Business Incubator.