The new business incubator gathers under its roof 15 small companies and it has created 70 new jobs. BIS is a pilot project implemented by SINTEF, a Norwegian international scientific-technical organization, in partnership with the Organization for the Small and Medium Enterprise Development of the Moldovan Ministry of Economy (ODIMM) and with the Soroca Town Council.
The Business Incubator in Soroca is a perfect example of excellent cooperation between Norwegian experts and Moldovan authorities, local government and businesses. A 1700 square meters building, provided by the city of Soroca, has been totally repaired and furnished with all necessary office and industrial equipment; 15 small companies have been selected by tender to organize their businesses in the framework of the incubator with privileged renting terms, free consultancy and guidance provided by experts. The companies will stay in the incubator for 3 years by which time they will have acquired the skills needed to cope with the market by themselves. Moreover, the success of the project lies not only in the incubator as such but also in the lessons learned and the expertise of the ODIMM team who are able to replicate the BIS model in other parts of the country.
The opening ceremony in Soroca was attended by a number of representatives of the local administration, of the business community, of the media, by the vice minister of Economy of the Republic of Moldova, Mr. Sergiu Ciobanu, by the Norwegian State Secretary within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mrs Elisabeth Walaas, by the Norwegian ambassador to Chisinau, residing in Bucharest, HE Mr. Øystein Hovdkinn as well as by the representatives of ODIMM and SINTEF, the people that for the last three years have worked hard and made the idea of a business incubator come true.
The Entrance 2 Your Business project was launched in 2006 by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and is part of the Norwegian contribution to the development of the Republic of Moldova, which amounts to a total of approximately 3 million euro per year in project assistance.