LAUNCHING THE FIRST NATIONAL SUPPORT PROGRAM, STARTUP MOLDOVA SUPPORTS IT ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Moldovan startups now have more opportunities to develop innovative products and services with the potential benefits for other sectors of the national economy. With the launch of Startup Moldova, as the first National Program to support IT entrepreneurship in the country, startups can benefit from access to educational programs, infrastructure, consulting, mentoring, opportunities to connect to international events and competitions, as well as to attract funding sources. The program is developed within the Tekwill project with the support of USAID and Sweden development partners, together with the National Association of ICT Companies, Moldova IT Park, UNDP and ODIMM.

Ana Chirița, Tekwill Project Director stated “In the new reality, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, now, more than ever, IT innovations are an absolute necessity, both to overcome current challenges and to combat the economic crisis. We created the Moldova Startup Program to support innovative thinking, the creation of digital services and products, but also intersectoral collaboration. Thus, information technologies will become an important catalyst for stabilization during and after the crisis, as new solutions will meet the development needs of various sectors of the national economy. At the same time, startups will provide new employment opportunities and models, developing young people’s skills and creating new jobs. In this way, they will be encouraged to stay at home and use their potential for the further development of the country. Therefore, we reaffirm our commitment established with the expansion of the Tekwill Project – to start the revolution!”

Startup Moldova – we grow ideas that change the world!

“Startup Moldova” is a platform for generating, piloting, and implementing new ideas for both the local and global market. The program will map all those involved in this field and information technologies will be connected to all areas of public and private interest on local and global markets. The successes and failures of entrepreneurs will be put in the spotlight. The program provides a series of actions to enable:

• connecting stakeholders from different industries, depending on needs – education, business, marketing, technology, financial consulting, mentoring, acceleration programs with national and international expertise;
• creating mixed products in collaboration;
• accessing funds to ensure liquidity;
• receiving extensive assistance for piloting business ideas;
• connecting with global markets and cooperating with similar programs, aimed at digitizing businesses or sectors.

To begin, “Startup Moldova” comes with 3 major programs under one umbrella which will carry out several projects for the development of the business ecosystem based on IT innovations.

The “Digital Upgrade” program provides collaboration between IT and non-IT businesses for the development of a series of projects designed to study the most pressing needs of non-IT sectors of day-to-day business (business to business). It also provides potential for startups and companies whose activity is based on information technologies. Tekwill will support the collaboration between IT and non-IT industries which can adapt and progress with the help of innovations (on verticals) in the fields: FinTech, WineTech, AgTech, MedTech, Lifestyle, Data Science, IoT, and e-commerce. With this program, at least 40 companies will receive support for the digitization of internal processes aimed at increasing productivity, sales, technology and e-commerce for the non-IT sectors. To identify the right solutions the Tekwill project, together with its network of partners (ATIC, Moldova IT Park), will mobilize the entire IT community in Moldova. In other words, over 530 existing companies and startups with potential will come to the aid of traditional industries.

The “Impact” program offers the development of key sectors of the economy by providing research and identifying problems in strategic sectors of the national economy. The program aims to provide real IT solutions for the development of the sector in general, which could later have a major impact on independent businesses, such as process automation solutions, improving business tools, and facilitating the use of e-commerce and tools for sale. Subsequently, the joint working groups consists of representatives of traditional sectors, experts in the fields of reference and IT professionals. These groups will analyze and propose (possibly even fund) the necessary solutions, services or products. In addition to the working groups, virtual guidance sessions will be organized for participants to understand the new business models and opportunities of the sector. Also, in collaboration with the most important representatives of the sector, dedicated sectoral programs for entrepreneurship education and information technologies will be created and offered.

The “Creative Growth” program provides a series of actions to support startups that have a solid business model by ensuring access to education and professional programs, financing, assistance in piloting business ideas, and connecting them to global markets and cooperation with similar programs. The program will also create several opportunities for interaction with experts in the field and investors, such as: Startup Week, Demo Day, Startup Club, Tekwill Travelers, and financing for early stages.

More details about the National Program “Startup Moldova” are available at: https://startupmoldova.digital

TEKWILL project – The revolution begins!

The national program “Startup Moldova” is part of the Tekwill Project, implemented by the National Association of ICT Companies, with the financial support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Sweden. “Tekwill” was created in 2017 as a Center of Excellence of the ICT sector in Moldova with the main purpose of aligning the field with current market requirements. Aiming to contribute to increasing the competitiveness of the IT industry and other strategic sectors of the economy, the center has expanded its fields of activity, becoming in 2019 a complex nationwide project, with the slogan “The revolution begins!”. The basic objective of the Tekwill Project, as a platform dedicated to the progress of the IT sector, is to ensure a major impact on the economic development of the country. It aims to improve the entrepreneurial and educational capacities of society, but also to increase the research and development potential of educational institutions in line with the demand of the IT market.